Rangers boss Mick Beale wants to sign Malik Tillman on a permanent deal, would £5m for the Bayern Munich attacker be good business?
DAVID: He’s got the potential to be a very good player and has shown it in flashes. If Beale can get a tune out of him and turn him into a £20m player then it would be good business. But it’s a gamble.
CRAIG: In today’s market, yes. He’s young, talented and will surely only increase in value if he progresses.
FRASER: Time will tell. It’s a substantial outlay for a player who didn’t set the heather on fire under Gio van Bronckhorst but it sounds like Beale has a plan to unlock his talent by giving him a bit more freedom on the park.
MICHAEL: Beale is just being cute in talking up the US man. He needs to light a rocket under the lad and get the best out of him, so dangling this carrot when he’s not really done enough to justify a permanent move yet is a smart move.
Callum McGregor will walk back into the Celtic side, so what is Ange Postecoglou’s first choice midfield three?
DAVID: McGregor is an automatic, Reo Hatate is a terrific midfielder who has to play, so it’s a toss up between Matt O’Riley and Aaron Mooy. For me, O’Riley is more effective in the forward areas, so he gets the nod.
CRAIG: McGregor, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley. Injury and suspension aside, it picks itself, really.
FRASER: McGregor, Reo Hatate and Matt O’Riley rotating in the middle has a nice balance to it and plenty of energy to support the front men.
MICHAEL: There won’t be one. McGregor will be a permanent fixture, with Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate at the front of the queue, but Aaron Mooy and David Turnbull will be rotated in regularly as starters or from the bench.
How should England’s World Cup campaign be judged?
DAVID: I said on this very jury three weeks ago that England would win their group and get through to the quarter finals where they would lose to France. They have a very good team and did well but are not yet at the level of the elite. With ‘yet’ being the operative word.
CRAIG: Positively. They did enough over 90 minutes to beat France and have a team which is talented.
FRASER: Flattered to deceive again. The draw was opening up for England but they failed their first real test. The Three Lions have talented individuals but collectively aren’t at the level to be winning the World Cup, particularly in defence.
MICHAEL: As a major chance missed. England have a strong squad in a time when International sides are pretty ordinary. Yet again they’ve stumbled at the first sign of trouble and need to find a way of winning silverware.
How will the rest of the competition in Qatar pan out?
DAVID: I picked Argentina at the start and there’s no reason to change my mind. Their only danger is that want it too much - they lost the plot of 15 minutes against Holland because panic set in. But Messi’s on a mission.
CRAIG: It’s up for grabs, but an Mbappe vs Messi king against his heir would make some Final.
FRASER : A repeat of the final four years ago. Croatia are at the top of their game and will send Messi and Argentina packing in the semis. I tipped France from the outset though and can’t see anyone stopping Mbappe, Griezmann and co.
MICHAEL: There’s a real fear Croatia and Morocco could bore their way to the Final but fingers crossed Argentina and France get through two give us a heavyweight showdown on Sunday with Messi finally crowning his sensational career with the big one.
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