All posts by z3u9t.icu

Following on from their impressive 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford in the Premier League last Monday, Wolves are in FA Cup action this afternoon with a clash against Championship side Sheffield United at Molineux. 

With Wolves having the likes of Jonny Otto, Pedro Neto, Yerson Mosquera and Hwang Hee-chan out injured and Romain Saiss away on international duty getting ready to take part in the Africa Cup of Nations, Bruno Lage will have to make do without several members of his senior squad.

On the other hand, with Wolves recently recalling Dion Sanderson and Ryan Giles from their respective loan deals in the Championship and securing a deal for Japanese midfielder Hayao Kawabe, these players could feature prominently today.

Taking all this into account, here’s how we feel Wolves could line up for their FA Cup clash against the Blades. We anticipate as many as seven changes from the side which started in the win at Old Trafford.

In goal, even though Jose Sa has kept eight clean sheets in his 19 Premier League appearances this season, we think Lage will take him out of the team on this occasion and give John Ruddy the chance to play.

In a back three, we can see the familiar duo of Conor Coady and Max Kilman starting, but with the recently-recalled Sanderson coming in for the absent Saiss to see if he can impress the manager and convince him that he deserves to be in the squad on a regular basis.

For the wing-back positions, on the right we think Lage will drop Nelson Semedo and give Ki-Jana Hoever a runout, with Rayan Ait-Nouri coming back in on the left after being on the bench against the Red Devils.

In the two central midfield positions, it’s entirely possible that Lage gives Monday’s match-winning hero Joao Moutinho a rest to save him for their next league outing against Southampton, with Leander Dendoncker coming in to take his place next to Ruben Neves.

With the front three, we can see Lage bringing in Adama Traore and Fabio Silva for Francisco Trincao and Raul Jimenez, who is currently earning £100k-per-week according to Salary Sport but is without a goal in his last six games, in order to freshen up the attack next to Daniel Podence.

In other news: Journalist drops 19-word Wolves update which will surely have a lot of fans fuming

Valerien Ismael will be absolutely thrilled with another three points for West Brom today as they saw off Reading at The Hawthorns with a 1-0 win.

Callum Robinson found the back of the net for the fourth time this season for the Baggies, after Karlan Grant set up the 26-year-old in the 62nd minute of the game as West Brom landed their second consecutive win. That saw them close the gap between themselves and Bournemouth to just three points behind the automatic promotion spot in second.

One man who was an unsung hero on the day was 19-year-old prodigy Taylor Gardner-Hickman, whose work as left wing-back should not go unnoticed for Albion.

Valerien Ismael is a huge fan of the youngster and recently praised the teenager after spotting him in the youth team, saying: “We first spotted him in pre-season. Taylor was the first one because of the intensity he plays at.

“He’s fast, he’s able to cover big distances, he has high speed, he can sprint, he has quality on the ball, he is calm and he has no fear.”As per SofaScore, Gardner-Hickman deservedly had the highest rating on the entire pitch with 8.3, and when you look at his statistics for the game, it’s not hard to see why that was the case. The 19-year-old won 12 duels, with 80 touches and a 92% pass accuracy, which is very impressive and proves just how influential he was to the win today.With only four appearances for West Brom in the Championship so far, and continuing to double up on his under-23 duties in Premier League 2, where he has one goal and two assists, Gardner-Hickman is surely showing Ismael that he is worthy of a regular spot starting in the senior team going forward. Indeed, the youngster is already becoming one of the 46-year-old’s main men at The Hawthorns, as we saw today.In other news: Journalist drops West Brom January transfer claim

Taking to Twitter, Fichajes reporter Ekrem Konur has made a interesting Tottenham Hotspur transfer claim involving Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic.

The Lowdown: Vlahovic chased by Spurs…

Towards the end of the summer transfer window, reports indicated that La Viola’s star forward was very much a wanted man at Spurs.

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Indeed, talks were apparently held over a move for the Serbian powerhouse and there are claims that a bid was even made to bring him to north London by managing director Fabio Paratici.

Now, Konur has shared some news on Vlahovic in another update involving Tottenham.

The Latest: Konur drops interesting Spurs transfer claim…

Taking to his social media, the Fichajes journalist has made an interesting out-of-window claim with Spurs ‘preparing’ an offer to sign him.

The Turkish reporter says that the Lilywhites and Paratici are currently plotting an eight-figure bid of £30 million for Vlahovic despite some reports indicating he could cost over double that amount (Calciomercato.it).

It appears Spurs are planning to play low ball with the 21-year-old still yet to officially extend his stay with Fiorentina.

The Verdict: Certain rejection…

If Tottenham do submit an opening bid that low, we believe it is almost certain to get rejected considering how well he performed in Italy last year.

Vlahovic bagged 21 goals in Serie A alone over 2020/2021, with Italian football expert Conor Clancy calling him a ‘really exciting player’ when he spoke exclusively to The Transfer Tavern.

£30m is an optimistic first offer to say the very least for one of Europe’s hottest young strikers.

In other news: Spurs now want ‘outstanding’ 29 y/o who Pochettino wanted to make one of his highest earners, find out more here.

According to reports by The Athletic’s David Ornstein, reported West Ham target Jesse Lingard has decided that he will not be leaving Manchester United in January.

However, ExWHUemployee has responded to this news, claiming that the mooted transfer is not dead in the water just yet.

The Lowdown: Lingard decides to remain at Man United

Ornstein wrote that Lingard has chosen to remain at Manchester United and intends to battle his way into interim manager Ralf Ragnick’s plans, therefore likely ruling out a move in the upcoming January transfer window.

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This follows The Mirror’s report (via The Independent) which claimed that West Ham are looking to bring in the 29-year-old on a permanent deal in the January transfer window. Lingard has played just 87 minutes of Premier League football this season, having come on as a substitute in each of his eight top-flight appearances.

The attacking midfielder is set to enter the last six months of his contract after talks over a new deal at Old Trafford failed to progress during the summer. However, Lingard looks set to remain at his boyhood club in January, with a move elsewhere proving to be more likely in the summer.

The Latest: ExWHUemployee makes Lingard claim

Despite Ornstein’s announcement, ExWHUemployee claimed on his ‘The West Ham Way’ podcast that both West Ham and Newcastle will still attempt to persuade Lingard to accept a move in the January transfer window.

Taking to Twitter, he said: “It’s a possible option that he was considering. I still think there will be attempts to persuade him otherwise (by us and Newcastle) and hopefully we will succeed but I don’t think he is desperate to go now as options in the summer will be better for him.”

The Verdict: January move unlikely but possible in the summer

It comes as no surprise that the Hammers will continue in their pursuit of the attacking midfielder. The England international enjoyed a fantastic spell on loan at West Ham for the second half of the 2020/21 season, where he scored nine goals and produced five assists in 16 appearances for the club.

Lingard received huge praise after reviving his footballing career, with former Manchester United and Hammers defender Rio Ferdinand describing his stint in London as ‘amazing’.

Despite the Irons’ determination to bring him to the club in January and with Newcastle ramping up their interest, it seems more likely that the 29-year-old will run down his current contract before leaving Manchester in the summer. Where he goes then is the big question.

In other news: ‘I miss this Antonio’ – Lots of West Ham fans react to ‘unreal’ footage shared by the club

According to a recent report, Tottenham Hotspur paid an agent a multi-million-pound fee for the transfer of one of the club’s summer signings.

The report by Football Insider claimed that a ‘recruitment source’ has revealed, as part of Tottenham’s deal to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers right-back Matt Doherty last summer, that Daniel Levy and the Spurs board paid super-agent Jorge Mendes a £6m fee.

As a result, it is reported that only around £10m of the figure Tottenham paid for the £18m-rated defender actually went to the selling club, with the remainder going directly to Mendes.

Transfer Tavern Take

While it is questionable whether Doherty has been worth the £15.12m with which Jose Mourinho’s side parted in order secure his signing last summer – as the 29-year-old has featured in just 12 Premier League games so far this season, over which he has averaged a rather disappointing WhoScored match rating of 6.65 – from Tottenham’s point of view, to whom exactly the Doherty transfer money went is not likely to be a great cause for concern.

The issue would appear to be more of a relevant point for Wolves, who, if Football Insider are to be believed, saw around a third of the transfer fee received for the sale of their fifth-best player in the league last season pocketed by Mendes.

In other Tottenham news, this Spurs transfer admission lifted the lid on a failed Daniel Levy coup with Pochettino – find out more here!

If you thought Olivier Ntcham had a future at Celtic then you are likely very much mistaken.

His season, very much like Celtic’s, has been utterly dreadful. The Frenchman has been tossed aside and is now on loan in his native country where he’s playing for Marseille.

The Hoops are now 18 points behind Rangers in the SPFL and if anything summed up their considerable slump, it would be Ntcham’s form.

Neil Lennon stopped picking him and you can hardly blame him based on his performances and attitude.

Ntcham started just seven games in the league for the Hoops this term, scoring a solitary goal in the process. For a player blessed with the ability to spring from box to box, his performances were lethargic and in January, they’d understandably had enough.

Newcastle were interested in his services but he ultimately went to Marseille.

Speaking about his displays in a Hoops shirt earlier this term, Alan Brazil told talkSPORT listeners: “Ntcham, he looks as if he’s tools down and not bothered.”

He was given a chance of turning around his season in France but it’s gone from bad to worse. Former Marseille boss Andre Villas-Boas resigned after the club signed Ntcham because he didn’t agree with the move.

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Since signing, the central midfielder has been poor for the Ligue 1 side and his most recent game epitomises that. Ntcham was withdrawn at half-time in Marseille’s 2-0 defeat to Lille and was left to feel the wrath of French newspaper L’Equipe at full-time.

The outlet are known for being ruthless with their player ratings and dished out a 3/10 to the 25-year-old. It’s not hard to see why either; he completed just eight passes and won only 25% of his defensive duels.

Ntcham failed to make a single tackle while he offered very little in attack either. The Marseille enforcer didn’t manage to provide a key pass or shot on goal.

It was another rather forgettable night to add to a depressing campaign for the Celtic midfielder. Lennon is very quickly being proven right in his desire to move the £4.5m midfielder on.

His form hasn’t improved in France and with that in mind, they have to wield the axe on his Parkhead career once and for all in the summer.

AND in other news, Desmond may sway Edouard’s Celtic future by hiring 43 y/o with “a science to football”…

Rangers, and by extension their sporting director Ross Wilson, are preparing to make a six-figure bid for Aberdeen starlet Lancelot Pollard, according to The Scottish Daily Express.

The lowdown

Pollard, a 15-year-old attacker, has worked his way up through the youth ranks with the Dons, even featuring for their under-18 side.

Having won the club’s Young Talent of Month award in October, he’s regarded as one of the leading talents in their academy.

Rangers are planning for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s first summer transfer window at the helm after he took over from Steven Gerrard in the autumn.

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The latest

Reliable reporter Scott Burns, a long-serving journalist for The Scottish Express, says that Rangers are ready to submit a six-figure offer for Pollard to win the race for his signature.

They know that there’s ‘big interest’ in the player and therefore feel pressure to get the deal over the line.

Liverpool are actively pursuing Pollard, while Manchester United have been monitoring him too.

The verdict

The fact that six-figure fees are on the table for a player so young speaks to his potential, as does the interest of three heavyweights.

Pollard is seemingly levels above the other players in his age bracket, hence Aberdeen’s decision to fast-track him.

If Liverpool were to match Rangers’ offer, then it could come down to which club can offer the player the clearest long-term path to first-team football.

While he’s unlikely to be in the senior picture for a good while yet, it’s definitely a name worth remembering.

In other news, Frank McAvennie reacts to transfer developments involving Rangers and a PL club.

Wolves’ season has turned into a peculiar state of affairs.

For the first time in Nuno Santo’s tenure at Molineux, he switched from a three-back to a four-man defence a few weeks ago.

It initially paid off with Wolves drawing with Southampton and then beating Arsenal.

However, combined with the injury to Raul Jimenez, Nuno’s defence is suddenly being breached on a regular basis. They have conceded five goals in their last two matches so clearly some degree of change is required.

In fact, we’re tipping Nuno to make as many as three alterations to his starting XI to face Chelsea on Tuesday evening.

We think that with Wolves on a poor run of form that the manager will shift back to his tried and tested three-man defence.

As a result, Wily Boly comes back into the side and we’re also tipping Nuno to remove Marcal from the squad and bring in summer signing Rayan Ait-Nouri.

A notable change comes in midfield where Joao Moutinho is suspended. Consequently, Ruben Neves is back in the side after a run of one start in the last three games.

The final alteration is in attack where Fabio Silva drops out of the side. Despite being the club-record signing, he’s not enjoyed the greatest of starts to his career at Molineux and thus, Daniel Podence leads the line again as he did against Liverpool a few weeks ago.

The Portuguese didn’t score on that occasion but has been lively in 2020/21, providing two goals and registering two assists.

With Jimenez out with a fractured skull, Nuno desperately needs to find a solution to his woes.

In other news, Forget Silva: Wolves can strike gold with swoop for “swashbuckling” 9-goal bully…

According to Sky Sports (via Calciomercato), Nice are interested in signing on-loan West Ham star Jesse Lingard this summer.

Nice eye Lingard

Lingard made the move to the Hammers on loan in the winter transfer window and has impressed in east London, managing nine goals and four assists in 12 games for the club (Transfermarkt).

The Irons want to sign him permanently in the summer from Manchester United (Daily Mail), but it now seems that French club Nice are also eager to capture his services.

Unlikely

Nice have the finances to complete such a deal. British businessman James Ratcliffe is the club’s owner, and according to Forbes he has a net worth of $16.6bn (£12bn). The club is also situated in a picturesque setting on the French Riviera, making it an attractive destination.

However, London is also a desirable location and, from a sporting point of view, there is no reason why Lingard would select Nice over West Ham. The Hammers are currently fifth in the Premier League and are well in contention for European football next term, while Nice are languishing in 10th place in Ligue 1 and will not be playing continental football in 2021/22.

Also, the French top flight lacks the prestige of the Premier League, so while there is no guarantee that Lingard will remain at the London Stadium, West Ham are unlikely to lose out on him to Nice.

In other news, many West Ham fans want this man signed in the summer.

In an exclusive interview with Transfer Tavern, Rob Lee, who made 18 appearances for West Ham, admits he doesn’t think Issa Diop is worth the £60 million West Ham were quoting for him last season, despite having a good campaign.

The Hammers put a £60 million price tag on Diop’s head last summer to put off reported interest from Arsenal, which worked as the Frenchman stayed at the London Stadium.

In January, David Moyes was happy to let the £67,000 per week defender leave on loan but they never managed to reach an agreement with any clubs, and it remains to be seen whether the 24-year old is in the manager’s long term plans.

Speaking on why Diop is not worth £60 million and how he can’t expect to leave easily this summer, Lee told FFC:

“He’s had a good season but would I pay £60 million for him? No. I don’t think he pulled up any trees last year and he has done very well this year but he’s been in a good team.

“He has done well, but why because he has had one good season should he be looking to leave a club that stood by him when he wasn’t great last year?”

The Hammers have lost a bit of their momentum since Declan Rice’s injury having recently lost back-to-back games against Newcastle United and Chelsea.

West Ham have already signed a defender for next season as the club made Craig Dawson’s loan deal a permanent one for just £2 million from Watford.