Former players

[2mas]

Lustig on his injury

[2mas]

Everton are showing an interest in West Brom right back Cristian Gamboa as they look for cover for Seamus Coleman.

Read more: Everton show interest in West Brom right back Cristian Gamboa as uncertainty over Seamus Coleman's future continues

Albion are hoping that Everton come in with a bid for Cristian Gamboa having nicked in ahead of the Goodison Park club last summer.

Read more: Georgios Samaras among West Brom trio facing Hawthorns exit

Annan told Starr Sports that though he has no regrets for leaving Germany, his immediate target is to look elsewhere to revive his dwindling career.

“I would not say I regret, but what I will say is I took the opportunity to go there and see how things will turn out, but afterwards it didn't work out very well for me I wasn’t successful.

“I changed and went back again but now I can see it’s not helping me so I have to change and see where it’s gonna help me,” Annan said.

Read more: I failed in Germany - Anthony Annan‏

[2mas]

Henderson faces a huge task to break into a Celtic midfield that boasts the likes of Scott Brown, Nir Bitton, Charlie Mulgrew, Stuart Armstrong and Johansen.

But the Scotland Under-21 international is up for the fight and hopes to be given the chance to shine in tomorrow night’s friendly against Real Sociedad.

He said: “The training facilities in Norway were brand new and the coaches, the boys, were all top professionals.

“Maybe growing up being a Scottish boy and supporting Celtic, it was just a wee bit of realisation that I’m coming back and need to work even harder to try to get in the team.

“The manager and the coaches have been really positive with me since I’ve been back and that gives me confidence that I’ll get an opportunity.”

Read more: Celtic ace Liam Henderson: Going out on loan cost me a Premier League medal.. but it will lead to more titles

"Obviously I missed my friends and family, that was a big part of it as well. It was the first time I had lived by myself and having to cook and clean so you grow up.

"That was one of the main things for me to go out there and become a better person, get more life experience as well as the football side. I think that has really helped me."

Read more: Liam Henderson: Rosenborg loan has made me a better player and person

"Rosenborg wanted to keep me a bit longer but the gaffer said he wanted me to come back here, which was a great confidence booster," he said.

"He asked me if I wanted to stay out there and if I was enjoying it.

"But then he said he wanted me back in for pre-season and I was delighted when I heard that."

Read more: Henderson ready to make impact

[2mas]

''The pre-season has been going on so well, I am just looking forward for the season to start,'' said John Chibuike to news24.

''My target is to help Gaziantepspor to stay in the league for next season because it is not going to be so easy. In Turkey now they have a lot of good players in the Super Lig.''

Read more: John Chibuike sets target for new season

Deila refused to rule out letting 19-year-old midfielder Liam Henderson go out on loan again. Henderson spent several months at Rosenborg this year and has been linked with a temporary move to Dundee United.

"We will see what kind of options we have," Deila said. "Things change very quickly in football. We just have to be good at planning and be aware of everything.

"First of all, I want him to play for Celtic. This is not about Liam, this is about the whole squad. We will see what is best for certain individuals and also the team."

Read more: Ronny Deila says Celtic need to make Champions League experience count

[2mas]

Lustig on Hareide:

“I like him as a personality. You can see it in Mourinho as well. Sometimes he wants to speak to his players through what he says in the media. He wants to make sure his players are confident.

“That is part of the game. He wants to show respect to Celtic but his aim is also to show his players they should not be afraid and that they should go out there with confidence.

“Some coaches and managers are like that. They want to make sure their players have confidence and say that the team they are going to face are not that good etc. It’s part of the game and it’s his way to be a manager."

Read more: Mikael Lustig has knocked out four Swedish teams in European action for Rosenborg and Celtic.. now he is ready to gun down Malmo

More Lustig:

"I’m still being careful in terms of my fitness. I played two games in midweek and the weekend when I played against Partick Thistle after the Qarabag match. But then I took a week’s break.

"Hopefully, it is getting better and better. Maybe in a couple of months, I should be able to play all the games.
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"There is still some pain after the games because my foot is still swollen. If you get a knock on it or something then it can swell up even more. I have to be careful, but so far so good."

Read more: Age Hareide spins like Jose Mourinho but we won't fall for his gamesmanship, says Celtic star Mikael Lustig

Viewed as one of the most promising prospects in Scottish football, Henderson’s decision to go out on loan [to Hibernians] was eased further by the knowledge that his long-term future at Celtic is secure after he was handed a new three-year contract last week.

“It’s good for my confidence that they rate me that highly and want to keep me,” he said.

“Ronny Deila told me to go out and get the year’s experience and be ready to go back and play for them at the end of it. My full focus this year is on 
doing well for Hibs though.”

Read more: Liam Henderson: Scott Brown backed my Hibs move

[2mas]

Henderson is having a good time in Edinburgh. He has scored three times in 15 appearances as Hibs look to try and keep the pace with Celtic's bitter rivals Rangers in the promotion race.

The club are unbeaten in their last 13 games, since a 1-0 defeat to Rangers in August.

Henderson will hope to fire Hibs above Rangers in the league table and secure promotion back to the top-flight for the club before making an impact at Celtic next season.

Read more: Ronny Deila explains why Liam Henderson is on loan at Hibernian

[2mas]

Newly-crowned Costa Rican champion Saprissa announced Monday that it has signed Costa Rica international Roy Miller to a three-year deal.

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On December 2, the Red Bulls announced that they would not exercise the option on Miller’s contract for the 2016 season. Although eligible to remain in MLS through the Re-entry Draft process, the former Cartagines standout was not selected by any team, allowing him to become free agent.

Read more: Saprissa lands Costa Rica int’l Miller

[2mas]

There is no chance of Mikael Lustig being blasé about the Scottish Cup assignment that awaits the Celtic side he will skipper away to third-tier opponents Stranraer tomorrow afternoon. Not because of the folly of that. More the Follo.

At previous club Rosenborg – the king-pins of the Norwegian game – Lustig and his team-mates thought they were on course for a double in 2010 when pitted against Follo in the semi-final of their national cup. In existence for only a decade and mostly part-time, in September that year they were struggling to avoid dropping down to the third tier. Rosenborg, in contrast, were then unbeaten in the top flight they were within weeks of clinching.

What happened when the pair met in Ski Stadium, the home of Follo, was deemed the biggest cup shock in Norwegian football history. The 3-2 scoreline – which paved the way for Ronny Deila’s Stromsgodset to beat the unfancied Follo in the final – was an outcome to knock Celtic’s recent Scottish Cup calamities against Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Clyde and Ross County into a cocked hat.

Read more: Celtic’s Mikael Lustig wants shock therapy against Stranraer

“But the biggest one was when I played for Rosenborg in the Norwegian Cup semi final. We faced a team called Follo, who were bottom of the second division and we lost. It was a massive opportunity to win the double and we didn’t do it.

“We got off to a good start, scoring the first goal and we probably thought the game was over. But they scored a wonder goal in the last minute to take it to extra time and then we lost in extra time.

“The fans weren’t happy. We had one game to get to a final and Rosenborg had not won the double for many years, so that was a real big opportunity. It was tough.”

Read more: Celtic star Mikael Lustig: I know the pain of being dumped out of the cup by minnows - and I don't want to feel it again

[2mas]

Hibs take on title rivals Falkirk today and Henderson is not surprised by the impact their boss Peter Houston is making.

He said: “Peter was a scout at Celtic when I was there. He’s a good guy who knows what he’s doing.

“You can see it with the way Falkirk are playing and they are a good young side.”

Henderson reckons he has been lucky with his loan spells after winning a league winner’s medal in a stint with Rosenborg in Norway earlier this year.

He added: “I’ve been at Celtic at the top of the league and it was the same at Rosenborg. Here we’re winning again.

“The Championship is the most exciting league in Scotland.

“If I was a neutral I would be checking on the Championship scores, it’s bringing a bit of excitement. It’s a title race and it’s good for Scottish football.”

Read more: Alan Stubbs worked wonders for me at Hibs and he’ll do the same for Anthony Stokes says Liam Henderson

[2mas]

Liam Henderson will plead with Ronny Deila to allow him to play in the League Cup final if Hibs and Celtic both reach the Hampden showpiece.

Henderson turned in a man of the match display as the capital club saw off St Mirren 3-1 on Saturday – and immediately turned his attention to firing the Hibees in to the first major final of the season.

Hibs face St Johnstone on Saturday at Tynecastle in one semi-final, before the Scottish champions face Ross County at the national stadium on Sunday.

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“If Celtic and ourselves made the final I don’t think I’m allowed to play – but that won’t stop me asking!

“No matter what the situation is with me, I’ll be giving my all to try and get us into the final – I’m a Hibs player and my only concentration is this club.

“I am loving my time here and the manager has been brilliant for me. I’ve not even thought that far ahead because we have to take care of St Johnstone in the semi-final first.”

Read more: Loan star Liam Henderson desperate to feature in League Cup final – even if Hibs get through to face Celtic

Henderson does not always start every game – manager Alan Stubbs acknowledged a need to use the teenager wisely – but when he plays he tends to make an impact. On the fringes of the Celtic team last season, he gained further match experience during a spell in Norway with Rosenborg – picking up a league medal – and now again under Stubbs’ tutelage. It is a loan move that could yet deliver further silverware, with Hibs just two points behind Championship leaders Rangers who play their game in hand tonight, and still involved in both cup competitions.

“Going out on loan has brought my game on leaps and bounds to be honest,” said the midfielder. “I’m getting toughened up a bit which is good for me. Playing week in week out in the men’s game is what I need at this age. I’m just wanting to repay the faith that the manager and the club have shown in me since I came here. We have an exciting few weeks ahead with some big games coming up, but the manager keeps reminding us that we have to take one game at a time. He doesn’t let us look too far ahead of ourselves, so we will put our focus on St Johnstone.”

Read more: Henderson, not Stokes, the Celtic loanee to shine for Hibs against St Mirren

[2mas]

We can exclusively reveal that Rossoneri scouts have been to watch Markus Henriksen, and are now so blown away that they've informed VP Adriano Galliani of his great box-to-box play, and his scoring instinct.

The -year-old Norwegian international (who faced Italy as recently as last autumn) is a product of Rosenborg's famed academy. He's on a hot streak this season, having bagged 11 goals and 5 assists in only 25 games.

His 17 strikes and 7 assists in all competitions make him Europe's most decisive midfielder, at least in the continent's biggest leagues. Though his contract runs till 2017, Milan can bag him at a discounted price... but they'll rival Napoli, Everton and Crystal Palace for his services.

Read more: EXCLUSIVE Milan join Everton, Napoli in chase for Eredivisie star!

[2mas]

NYCFC manager Patrick Vieira moved Diskerud to a central midfield role this season, a change teammate Patrick Mullins says will benefit the former Rosenborg man.

"I think there's a comfort level, because that's where he really wants to play [in central midfield], I think it complements a lot of his skills well, and also I think it takes a little while to get used to the league," Mullins said.

"I thought he did well last year to fight through some of the tough times when you do get used to the league. I think he's really hitting his stride now."

Vieira agreed, adding: "What I like about him is his cleverness. I think he's a really smart player and he gets things quite really quickly, and technically he's really good, really comfortable on the ball. He's smart, he can score goals, he's a team player and that's good."

Read more: New York City FC's Mix Diskerud hits back at 'most overrated' label

[2mas]

MIKAEL LUSTIG has told Celtic they’ll have to come and see him if they want to talk about a new contract.

The Swedish full-back has another season to go on his deal but with the opportunity to make a big impression in this summer’s Euro finals, he’s in no hurry to sign an extension.

Lustig has enjoyed one of his longest injury-free runs since joining Celtic from Rosenborg in 2012 and the 29-year-old believes that puts him in a strong position as his deal runs down.

He said: “Next season is the last year of my contract. Of course it’s up to Celtic as well what happens.

“I’m just focusing on playing for the club over the next year and we’ll see what happens. Last time I signed a new contract it was Celtic who came to me, so at the moment I’m just sitting quietly in my boat.”

Read more: Celtic defender Mikael Lustig warns: I'll let the club come to me over any new contract at Parkhead