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There were no doubt fears that it would merely be Russell Martin 2.0 at Rangers, although Danny Rohl has quashed the doubters following a promising start to life at Ibrox.

Saturday’s thumping comeback win over rivals Celtic ensured the German coach has now picked up 29 points from his first 12 Premiership games in charge, losing just once so far.

It has been a different story on the continent, yet Rome wasn’t built in a day, with the Gers’ latest young appointment from south of the border proving far more fruitful.

With just six points separating the Glasgow side and league leaders Hearts at the Premiership summit, now is the time for Rangers to back their man and hand Rohl the appropriate tools to mount a real title charge.

If recent reports are to be believed, such work is already underway at Ibrox.

Rangers launch enquiry over January deal for midfielder

The January window is already almost a week old, yet Rangers have yet to strike thus far, albeit with the midfield ranks seemingly one area that Rohl is keen to strengthen.

Indeed, it has been reported in recent days that Motherwell’s Elliot Watt is on the club’s transfer radar, with the 25-year-old widely viewed as the “best midfielder in the league” so far this season.

Watt, however, isn’t the only midfield man on Rohl’s agenda, with Italian outlet Il Secolo XIX – via tuttomercatoweb – suggesting that talks have been held over a move for Emil Bohinen.

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The report notes that the Gers have made an enquiry over signing the Norwegian playmaker this month, with the 26-year-old – who is currently on loan at Venezia from Genoa – potentially to seal another loan swoop in the coming weeks.

As per the piece, Bohinen is expected to make a ‘final decision’ over the coming days, with Rangers firmly in the mix for his signature.

Why Bohinen could be Rohl's answer to Matt O'Riley

Any move for the Scandinavian talent could well be somewhat left-field, although as another English-born, elegant left-footer, he could perhaps emulate the success of a certain Matt O’Riley in Glasgow.

The London-born, Denmark international was plucked from MK Dons by Celtic back in January 2022, going on to become a key figure under both Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers over the next two years or so.

In all, the relative unknown quantity went on to rack up 62 goals and assists in 124 games in all competitions at Parkhead, prior to moving on to Brighton on a £25m deal in the summer of 2024.

A left-footed, 6 foot 1 midfielder, like Bohinen, O’Riley’s key strength was his box-crashing threat in the final third, notably scoring 18 Premiership goals in 2023/24.

Perhaps, Bohinen can follow suit elsewhere in Glasgow, with talent scout Jacek Kulig having described him as a “box-to-box” asset, while likening him to current Arsenal menace, Mikel Merino.

Formerly a Norway U21 international, it’s fair to say it’s been a difficult period for the wantaway star of late, having failed to score or assist a single goal during his time with Genoa and Venezia.

Subscribe to our newsletter for Rangers transfer insight Looking for deeper transfer context? Subscribe to our newsletter for thorough scouting reports, player profiles like Emil Bohinen, and analysis of how potential signings might fit Danny Rohl’s Rangers.

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That said, he did score three times in just 12 games in Serie B for Frosinone, with the case of O’Riley highlighting why it is worth looking lower down the pyramid for a raw diamond.

Bohinen – 24/25 Serie B rank*

Stat (per 90)

Ranking

Non-penalty goals

Top 11%

Assists

Top 37%

Shot-creating actions

Top 40%

Passes attempted

Top 24%

Pass completion

Top 2%

Tackles

Top 38%

Interceptions

Top 24%

Clearances

Top 14%

Aerial duels won

Top 10%

*vs midfielders

via FBref

Of course, at 26, Bohinen isn’t exactly a player for the future, although there is real potential there if he is able to find a settled home, having once chalked up 19 goals and assists in 73 games for Oslo outfit, Stabaek.

O’Riley had to navigate his own rocky path to Celtic, after being let go by Fulham before moving to Milton Keynes in England’s third tier, with his skill set and physicality ultimately proving a perfect fit for Scottish football.

Hopefully, the same could be true for Bohinen if Rohl and co can wrap up a deal in the near future.

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Posts ByDan Emery

An “immense” manager is now willing to take over as West Ham United manager, with Nuno under pressure after the recent heavy defeat against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

West Ham's survival chances take hit in defeat at Molineux

On paper, a trip to bottom-placed Wolves, who had been without a Premier League win all season, was the perfect opportunity for West Ham to get a much-needed three points on the board, but they came up short, suffering a 3-0 defeat at Molineux.

The Hammers once again failed to close the four-point gap to Nottingham Forest, with their hopes of avoiding relegation taking another hit, and Nuno issued an apology to the fans in the wake of the defeat, which extended his side’s winless run to nine games.

The manager said: “I have to apologise to the fans. It was embarrassing.

“There’s not much I can say other than we are sorry. We are sorry because what we showed was not good enough.

“We need results, we need points. It is a tough situation and nobody expected this performance. Today was the worst performance that we have had.”

It has since emerged that the 51-year-old is now under growing pressure at the London Stadium, given that he is losing the support of the dressing room, with players being left confused by the training methods and starting XI selections.

As such, West Ham may have to start thinking about potential replacements before too long, and it has been revealed former boss Slaven Bilic would be willing to replace Nuno in the dugout, should David Sullivan & co sack their second manager of the season.

That is according to a report from the Sun on Sunday (via Sky Sports), with Bilic available immediately, having been out of work since leaving Saudi Pro League side Al-Fateh back in August 2024.

"Immense" Bilic may not be the answer for West Ham

Former Aston Villa player Lee Hendrie has waxed lyrical about the Croatian in the past, describing him as “absolutely immense”, but West Ham should have some reservations about making a move for their old manager.

Related He's keen on the move: West Ham now eyeing "incredible" £18m English ace

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Posts ByDominic Lund

The 57-year-old hasn’t managed in the Premier League since his stint in charge at West Bromwich Albion, being dismissed after taking just seven points in the opening 13 games of the 2020-21 campaign.

Newsletter: West Ham managerial coverage and analysis Subscribing to the newsletter gives context-rich analysis of West Ham managerial rumours, tactical insights and club direction, plus broader Premier League perspective to help you understand what the next hire would mean.

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Since then, the Split-born manager, who prefers a 4-2-3-1 system, has also managed Watford, but he failed to deliver promotion, being sacked in March 2023, at which point the Hornets were outside the Championship play-off places.

West Ham fans will have some good memories of Bilic’s previous period at the helm, finishing in seventh place in the 2015-16 campaign, but he has failed to deliver any success in quite some time, and appointing him could be viewed as a step backwards.

Andre Adams collected ten wickets for the second time in his first-class career © Getty Images

Andre Adams bowled Auckland to the top of the table with a ten-wicket match haul against Northern Districts in Auckland. Adams has been in devastating form this summer and has 29 first-class wickets at 8.27, adding relevance to his decision to make himself unavailable to play ODIs for New Zealand under the national team’s current administration. Auckland are the beneficiaries of that decision, however, and they beat last year’s champions Northern Districts by an innings and 16 runs. Adams collected 4 for 30 in Northern Districts’ first-innings 169 and 6 for 28 in their second effort of 101. Despite the low scores, Adams said the pitch at the Eden Park Outer Oval was flat. “The new ball seams here, that’s all there is to it,” Adams told the . “If you get through that then you stand a chance. If you don’t, you are in deep.” The result might have been much closer and Auckland could easily have trailed on the first innings when they crashed to 85 for 8, but a 151-run ninth-wicket stand from Reece Young (114) and the 18-year-old debutant Greg Morgan (83 not out) pushed them to 286.Matthew Bell kept up his push for attention from the national selectors when he made 265 in the draw between Central Districts and Wellington in Napier. Bell now has 722 runs from four games this season at the remarkable average of 103.14 and will be considered when the squad for the Test series against Bangladesh is chosen. His effort against Central Districts was his highest first-class score and the third highest of all-time for Wellington, behind innings of 296 and 283 by John Reid. Bell’s blitz did not help his side gain any points, though, as Central Districts led on the first innings thanks largely to Greg Hay, who made an unbeaten 164 in their 486. Neal Parlane top scored with 134 in Wellington’s first innings of 373 before Bell and Luke Woodcock (104) combined for a 253-run opening stand in the second innings. Wellington finished at 468 for 5 and lost their top spot on the State Championship table.Rain ended any chance of a result in Christchurch, where Canterbury had to settle for first innings points against Otago. A 187-run stand between Peter Fulton, who made 126, and Johann Myburgh (105) set up a strong 397 after Otago sent Canterbury in. Otago replied with 365 but while most of their batsmen made starts, they needed somebody to post a century. Instead, Derek de Boorder top scored with an unbeaten 71. Canterbury were 54 for 1 at the close of the third day but rain prevented any play on the final day and left Canterbury third and Otago fourth on the table.Player of the Week Andre Adams
A minor technical adjustment to his bowling action has clearly been an excellent move for Adams, who at 32 is in the form of his life. He finished with match figures of 10 for 58 in Auckland’s convincing win over Northern Districts, giving him his second ten-wicket match in a decade-long first-class career. He now has three five-wicket hauls this summer and his 29 wickets have come at a remarkable 8.27 as he continues to enjoy the seaming Auckland conditions. He has said he will not play ODIs for New Zealand under the team’s current administration but he was non-committal on whether that extended to Tests as well. If he keeps up his form, New Zealand fans might soon find out.

Team	Mat	Won	Lost	Tied	Draw	Aban	Pts	Quotient	For	Against
Auckland	4	2	1	0	1	0	18	1.722	1426/52	1067/67
Wellington	4	2	0	0	2	0	16	1.382	2552/58	2228/70
Canterbury	4	1	1	0	2	0	10	0.957	1917/59	2071/61
Otago	4	1	0	0	3	0	8	0.918	1982/60	1980/55
Central Dist	4	0	1	0	3	0	4	0.756	1871/54	2429/53
Northern Dis	4	0	3	0	1	0	4	0.696	1746/73	1719/50

Khaled Mashud needs runs to boost his World Cup claims © Getty Images

Khaled Mashud, the veteran wicketkeeper-batsman, remains the object of speculation as Bangladesh’s selectors sit to pick a squad for the upcoming tour of Zimbabwe. It is believed that the squad for the four ODIs in Zimbabwe in late January would mirror Bangladesh’s selection for the World Cup, and Mashud’s batting form and treatment by the selectors has raised eyebrows in certain quarters.Almost an automatic selection for the past decade, Mashud’s role in the ODI team has diluted with a loss of batting form. Mashud, 30, was retained in the squad for the last two matches of Bangladesh’s 5-0 sweep of Zimbabwe in December, but did not play. He was then rested for the two ODIs against Scotland. In the recent domestic Twenty20 competition, Mashud was far from impressive, and his next challenge remains the upcoming Premier League competition at home.Faruque Ahmed, Bangladesh’s chief selector, told that it was too early to comment on Mashud’s selection. “There is hardly any chance to see major changes in the team. But I think it is too early to say about any particular player. We will meet on Tuesday to discuss the squad for Zimbabwe,” she said. “We should make a team for the Zimbabwe tour which will likely be the World Cup team because reality is that the players will get only a week after returning from the trip.Ahmed has, in the past, expressed his optimism regarding Mushfiqur Rahim, seen as successor to Mashud behind the stumps. He added: “I won’t say Mushfiqur did a tremendous job in his few appearances but I must say he showed signs that he has the ability to keep his place in the national side.”There was also debate as to whether a seam bowler should be picked over Farhad Reza, the young allrounder. “No doubt Farhad has done well so far and once again I can say it is too early to comment on any particular player,” said Ahmed. “But it is true that we are thinking about including a genuine third seamer considering the conditions in the Caribbean.”

Scorecard

Suresh Raina lifted UP out of strife with a fine 72 © AFP

A double strike by Aavishkar Salvi reduced Uttar Pradesh to a shaky 13 for 3 before half centuries from Suresh Raina and Mohammad Kaif propelled Uttar Pradesh to a first-innings lead but Mumbai fought back through a three wicket haul from Ramesh Powar to restrict UP to 250 in their first innings. The Mumbai openers steered the side to 21, 30 runs still in arrears, by the close of play. It was a day of buzzing activity – a flurry of wickets at the start, a big partnership in the middle and then wickets went down in a heap again- as advantage swung both ways.The young Raina, the left-hand bat averaging 72.40 this season, impressed with his temperament in a semi-crisis situation. On a wicket which aided a bit of seam-movement with the new ball Salvi removed Jyoti Yadav, the opener, and Praveen Kumar, the first-day hero with the ball, before Usman Malvi got rid of the 21 year-old Shiva Shukla to leave UP struggling at 13 for 3. It was then that Raina, who learnt his game under the tutelage of Deepak Sharma in the sports college in Lucknow in the late 90’s, displayed his skill under duress and put up a solid consolidation job, along with Kaif, to rescue UP. Raina reached his half-century at the stroke of lunch and with Kaif just two-runs short of his, UP had reached 111 for 3 at the end of the first session.Kaif, who missed out on the national duty in Pakistan, once again led from the front. He does not boast a great first-class record, averaging just 37.13 in 70 matches, but this season he has been in good nick, averaging 74.50 though he played in only two games. He has led from the front not only with the bat but has infused a fighting spirit in a beleaguered UP side that had a rough start to the season. UP lost the first two matches to Haryana and Baroda and drew their next two games, against Services and Punjab, before Kaif joined the camp to charge them to a place in the semi-final. Kaif guided his younger colleague and the duo kept the scorers busy – 100 runs of the partnership came in 138 minutes off 174 balls – before Raina was removed by Ramesh Powar at the score on 136.The 36-times champions sensed blood and moved in for the kill. The tall Nilesh Kulkarni, the Mumbai captain and left-arm spinner, castled Kaif’s stumps and 20 runs later, caught the veteran Gyanendra Pandey off Swapnil Hazare’s bowling to push UP on the back foot at 180 for 6. But Rizwan Shamshad, no stranger to bail-out jobs, stuck in and put up a dogged innings (40 off 80 balls) to guide UP – with a little bit of help from Piyush Chawla, the 19-year old legspinner – to a valuable first-innings lead.Powar, the man of the season for Mumbai with 37 wickets at 20.89, hastened the end, removing Chawla and Ashish Zaidi to finish with figures of 3 for 98 before Kulkarni got rid of Amir Khan, the wicketkeeper, to terminate UP’s innings. Kharsan Ghavri, Mumbai’s coach who felt his batsmen “threw their wickets away” in the first innings would be expecting a more determined performance tomorrow. The match is intriguingly poised and day three at Wankhede could well make or break both team’s chances.

1st Test: Match Drawn
ScorecardThe drawn first Test produced some remarkable figures and records: Zaheer Abbas became the first batsman from this sub-continent to score 100 centuries; Mohsin reached his 1,000 runs in Tests in a calendar year, while Gavaskar not only passed the 7,000 Test run mark but in the process became only the second batsman after Greg Chappell to score over 1,000 runs against Pakistan in Tests.With Abdul Qadir unfit, Pakistan went into the match with four seamers plus Mudassar and there was so much speculation about the wicket that Gavaskar took the unprecedented step of putting Pakistan into bat after winning the toss. Only the first day produced uneven bounce and once the bright sun evened that out, the wicket became typically placid, giving absolutely no help to the bowlers. The Indian team added to their own misery by dropping Mohsin and Zaheer, who built his innings like a master craftsman. As Pakistani batsmen tried to get quick runs in the later part of their innings, Doshi captured all the last four wickets to finish with five for 91.Pakistan had a chance of exerting some pressure on the third day but the entire afternoon session had to be abandoned due to bad light and rain. Once this chance was lost, the draw was inevitable. Mohinder Amarnath, back in the Indian team after an absence of nearly two years, could not have played a more valuable innings for his team. He and Gavaskar saw India safely past the follow-on danger and then Sandeep Patil, who, like Majid Khan and Zaheer, has a fraction more time to play his strokes, played a gem of an innings. There is going to be plenty more of him as the series progresses and hisuninhibited stroke play is likely to be one of the highlights of this series.Test match hundreds are never easily scored but one felt that Gavaskar allowed one to Mohsinin the second innings rather too easily. Sarfraz, who had announced his intention to retire from Test cricket after this game, captured 4 for 63 and was easily the best Pakistani bowler. Imran then prevailed upon Sarfraz, who decided not to retire in ‘national interests’.Perhaps the most tragic aspect of the first Test was the poor crowd response. Tests betweenIndia and Pakistan have always been great crowd pullers and this should have been no exception. However, in order to earn quick and easy money, the BCCP auctioned the entire series against India to a private party for approximately £800,000. The contractor fixed exhorbitant rates for entry, forcing the cricket crazy public of Lahore to stay away. The yawning empty stands, even on a holiday, compelled the contractor to reduce the rates by half after the second day but the spectators never returned.No game can survive without crowd support and unless the BCCP learns to respect the public all interest in the rest of the series might well be lost. The person most disappointed about the shortage of spectators was Zaheer Abbas: ‘For me, the hundredth hundred was a dream come true but there were hardly any spectactors to see this feat and cheer me up. It made me very sad and took part of the pleasure out of this achievement’.The Cricketer

The Sydney Grade competition’s Round 4 concludes this Saturday. With all matches interrupted by rain last week, teams will be pushing hard to secure early wickets or plunder quick runs. Manly-Warringah’s Mark `Scud’ Cameron and North Sydney’s Waqar Younis will be two such bowlers hoping to finish off opposition tails before their sides take to the batting crease.At Owen Earle Oval, Hawkesbury resumes at 8/215 against a potent Manly-Warringah attack. The Seasiders’ line-up includes young NSW speedstar Mark Cameron, and former Blues paceman Jamie Heath. Cameron is nicknamed `Scud’ by team-mates for his resemblance in looks to Australian tennis star Mark Philipoussis. However, opposition batsman would be mistaken for thinking his nickname derives from the deadly speed of his destructive missiles. Touted as a future Australian representative by former Tasmanian and current Manly-Warringah captain Mark Atkinson, the Seasiders will be hoping that Cameron can account for the Hawks’ resilient tail. Cameron has already claimed three of the Seasiders’ eight wickets, and will be pushing his claim for a permanent spot in the NSW Speedblitz Blues side.North Sydney was well served last week by Pakistani speedster Waqar Younis (3-49), against Sutherland at Caringbah Oval. Younis ripped through the Sharks’ first three batsmen, who included in-form Blues batsman Phil Jaques. The Bears will return to the field with the Sharks resuming at 8/250.At University No 1 Oval, Ed Cowan (114) halted Bankstown’s early-season success, helping his side to 5/247. Sydney University will be hoping Cowan can continue to amass quick runs, in the knowledge that Mark Waugh will turn out for the Bulldogs. Bankstown will look to last-round centurions Waugh and Corey Richards to overcome a challenging Students’ total.In other matches; Penrith 4/120 v Gordon at Howell; University of NSW 4/167 v Northern District at Waitara; Mosman 5/155 v Eastern Suburbs at Waverley; Fairfield-Liverpool 7/210 v Parramatta at Old Kings; Campbelltown-Camden 157 v UTS-Balmain at Raby 1; Western Suburbs 8/240 v Blacktown at Pratten; and Randwick Petersham 8/216 v St George at Petersham.

Hampshire County Cricket Club is £750 nearer achieving its fund raising goal for the Rose Bowl following a sponsored walk earlier this year by the junior sections of a number of Southern Electric Premier League clubs.

Cheque presentation

Several hundred youngsters walked around the Rose Bowl Nursery ground, raising funds not only for their own colts sections but also to help Hampshire’s Rose Bowl project.Hampshire chairman Rod Bransgrove (left) is pictured receiving a cheque for £750 from Neil Owen (Southern Electric Partnership Accounts Manager – right) and Jeff Levick (centre), who organised the walk on the behalf of the league.

Ian Harvey returned Championship-best bowling figures as Gloucestershire took control of the Championship match against Sussex at Hove today.His county were already celebrated an unprecedented domestic one-day trebleafter clinching the National League title last night and the Australianall-rounder seemed keen to carry on the party.Harvey took 6-19, including a 4-7 burst from 11 overs which wrecked the Sussex top order before lunch as the home side, who had won the toss, were bowled out for 138.In a high-class display of swing bowling, Harvey surprised Mike Yardy withextra bounce after he’d helped put on 35 for the first wicket, had Will House caught off the glove mis-timing a pull, trapped Chris Adams lbw and deceived Tony Cottey with an outswinger as Sussex lurched to 87-6 at lunch.Jonathan Lewis, who claimed his 60th Championship wicket of the season, andBen Gannon each took two wickets in support before Harvey returned to mop upthe tail.Only Montgomerie, who made 30 before pulling a half volley from Gannon tosquare leg, and James Kirtley (19) provided much resistance.Kirtley bowled Tim Hancock in the fourth over and Dominic Hewson wassurprised by extra bounce from Robin Martin-Jenkins after making anattractive 35.Bad light forced the players off an hour early with Gloucestershire 74-2,just 64 behind and capable of sustaining their promotion challenge bybuilding a big lead on a good pitch tomorrow.

Speaking to the press, West Ham United manager David Moyes has shared some very interesting transfer news involving Liverpool forward Luis Diaz.

The Lowdown: West Ham fail in summer bids…

According to reliable sources, the Hammers failed in multiple bids to sign attacking talents in last-minute January moves.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-developments-3/” title=”West Ham latest developments!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

Along with Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, West Ham tried to sign Atalanta striker Duvan Zapata last month, with Moyes also refusing to give up on playmaker Jesse Lingard (Sky Sports).

It appears that the Irons, by admission of their manager, weren’t exactly done there, as Moyes lifts the lid on another last-gasp attempt to sign a forward in January.

The Latest: Moyes makes Diaz admission…

According to West Ham’s manager, the east Londoners were actually ‘very far’ down the line in their bid to sign the Colombian star before Liverpool swooped in.

Moyes said on Friday (via Daily Mail): “We were quite far down the line to sign him from Porto. My understanding is Liverpool were going to come in for him in the summer, and I was going to try to get him in January. 

“I don’t know if us trying to get him in January affected Liverpool’s decision but he’s a really good player.“I really hoped that he was going to choose West Ham. We didn’t get him in but our ambition to sign the best players to improve West Ham is good. I want to make us better and I don’t want it to be mediocre if I can help it.” The Verdict: Very interesting…

Reports at the time detailed that Liverpool hijacked Tottenham’s deal to sign the player, but as this news emerges, it appears that they also ruined West Ham’s hopes of signing the 25-year-old.

Hailed as ‘exceptional’ by Reds manager Jurgen Klopp, Diaz would have been a brilliant signing for the Hammers, especially for the initial £37m that Liverpool ended up spending.

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Before his Premier League move, he had notched 14 goals and five assists over 18 Portuguese top-flight appearances for FC Porto this season.

Indeed, Diaz may well have been a truly brilliant capture for the Irons.

In other news: Top club insider says West Ham could now back Moyes in signing ‘world class’ £50m man, find out more here.