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The January transfer window was all about how Wolves could bolster their front line.

They were linked with what felt like every forward on the continent before eventually settling on Willian Jose.

What’s the word?

Jose hasn’t scored since coming to Wolves and it feels unlikely they’ll utilise their option to buy the Real Sociedad forward.

As a result, we could be in for a summer of more links to attacking players. If you believe the word coming from Portugal, those links have already begun.

According to TVI21 journalist Rui Pedro Braz (via Sport Witness), the Old Gold are once again interested in signing Carlos Vinicius this summer.

Wolves are attentive to his situation, with the player’s future currently uncertain. The striker is on loan at Tottenham from Benfica but it looks as though they won’t trigger their buying option in a few months’ time.

As a result, the Portuguese outfit are now willing to negotiate with other clubs. It is claimed that Benfica will accept something between €25m and €30m (£21m-£26m) for his services.

Wolves had reportedly made bids in the past which totalled an incredible sum of €105m (£91.4m). They first put in an offer in January 2020 worth €60m (£52m) before tabling €45m (£39m) last summer.

Forget Jose

For Wolves, anyone feels better than the tall Brazilian forward right now. A similar frame to Raul Jimenez, he had the potential to grab the bull by the horns and really improve Nuno Espirito Santo’s attack.

Unfortunately, hehas been anything but impressive. Jose has rarely found himself in scoring positions and, a few months on from signing, he’s still yet to find the back of the net. It has been a torrid back end of the campaign for the 29-year-old, so Vinicius would be a welcome addition.

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At the age of 26, the Benfica forward is approaching the peak of his career, and despite achieving very little football on loan at Spurs, he has been in the goals. Vinicius has made just nine Premier League appearances but was on fire when he played in the Europa League, bagging six times in a further nine outings. In all competitions this term, he has found the net ten times.

Last season, he beat the goalkeeper on 24 occasions in Portugal, a tally which was considerably better than Fabio Silva’s haul of three goals at the same level.

The Wolves target possesses plenty of traits which could benefit Nuno’s side. He can get in behind, is a powerful ball striker and he can hold the ball up.

Speaking in the midst of Vinicius’ move to Spurs, Jose Gomes, his former manager at Rio Ave, said: “He’s a powerful player, and very intelligent. He is someone who always gets himself into goalscoring positions.”

Gomes continued: “He has a great sense for where opportunities are going to appear. He shoots with enormous power with his left foot. He protects the ball really well – even when defenders are pressuring him, he is able to shield the ball and turn his man to get a shot in.”

How Wolves could do with someone who can protect the ball a bit better. They will have Jimenez back next season but it’s uncertain how quickly he’ll hit the ground running after sustaining a fractured skull back in November.

At a bargain price compared to some of the previous bids they’ve submitted, Vinicius feels like a no-brainer for Jeff Shi.

AND in other news, Shi could have transformed Wolves by signing £30m “monster” with “phenomenal energy” …

Manchester United could be bolstered by the return of Eric Bailly this weekend as they face Leeds.

The Ivorian centre-back has been missing for the past month, having tested positive for COVID-19 whilst on international duty.

As a result, he missed the last five matches in all competitions, sitting out three Premier League games along with both legs of United’s Europa League quarter-final tie with Granada.

However, he is now back in training according to the Red Devils’ official website, handing the team a huge boost for the final month of the campaign as they attempt to secure a place in the top four as well as aiming to win the Europa League.

Whilst Bailly has by no means been first choice under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this season, having started just 13 matches in all competitions and being behind Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof in the pecking order, he provides excellent injury cover should neither of the aforementioned options be available.

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For instance, with Maguire being suspended for the second leg against Granada, Solskjaer was forced to deploy Axel Tuanzebe at centre-back. Whilst not the worst selection the manager could make, the United youngster is probably not a viable option long-term as the Red Devils continue their challenge for honours.

Bailly returning means that the Red Devils have an “immense” defender (in Solskjaer’s own words) they can call upon should either Maguire or Lindelof indeed suffer an injury or become suspended once more during the final few matches of the season.

Whilst the return of the £80,000-per-week defender might not initially be perceived as having a massive impact for Manchester United, it could be pivotal in terms of squad depth for the remainder of the season.

AND in more news, find out why Donny van de Beek is simply not deserving of more starts with the Red Devils…

Former Premier League midfielder Lee Hendrie has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that it would be brilliant if Jose Mourinho joined Celtic.

Mourinho is, of course, set to start a search for work following his recent sacking as Tottenham manager. Meanwhile, Celtic’s own search involving the dugout goes on after Neil Lennon’s resignation back in February.

Eddie Howe was said to be the frontrunner for the job, but that has since gone cold. It leaves Celtic needing to consider other options and, now that he is available, there has been some talk about Mourinho potentially being that other option for the Bhoys.

For Hendrie, it is something that he would love to see. He told FFC:

“Listen, I’m a Celtic fan; I’d like to see him up there. I think he’d bring a bit of character to the place and, yes, it would be brilliant for Scottish football.”

Having already managed Chelsea twice, Manchester United and now Tottenham, as far as managing in England goes, Mourinho is running out of top teams to coach.

When you consider that, perhaps his next venture is likely to be outside of the Premier League. And if he wants to continue managing at a huge club and competing for trophies, then joining Celtic could be a very a logical move.

A source from Tottenham Hotspur has dropped a worrying two-word bombshell on Harry Kane.

According to Football Insider, a source has claimed that the England international captain is ‘hell bent’ on engineering a summer move away from Spurs after they lost the Carabao Cup final 1-0 to Manchester City at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening.

Kane has made it privately clear that he would like to challenge at the very top and win major trophies, and that may not be possible at the North London club given their latest failure and the fact that he is not getting any younger.

However, sources have also claimed that he would like to stay in the Premier League as he is ‘desperate’ to beat the goal scoring record set by Alan Shearer, but Daniel Levy does not want to sell to a team in the top flight.

Tottenham must keep Kane

If the Lilywhites have any ambition to win trophies in the near future, they must try and keep hold of Kane at all costs.

The 27-year-old is simply too important to the side right now, with no fewer than 31 goals scored and a further 16 assists in 44 games in total over all competitions across the 2020/21 term so far (Transfermarkt), a simply remarkable return.

Nonetheless, it may hinge on the striker over whether he wants to stay at THFC, but they must show some more ambition in the transfer market to give them the best possible chance.

In other news, find out what ‘fantastic’ manager has been offered to Tottenham here!

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Rob Lee, who is a Newcastle United Hall of Famer, believes many fans are losing hope in their club because they can’t see any change on the horizon.

The Magpies had never been relegated from the Premier League until Mike Ashley took over the club and since then, they have experienced two relegations in 2009 and 2016.

After Rafa Benitez left Newcastle, the board appointed Steve Bruce as his replacement and the former Sunderland manager has failed to improve the side in two seasons, despite significant investment on the pitch.

He has bought the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton, the latter for a club-record fee of £40m, but that has not stopped Newcastle from finding themselves in a relegation tussle this term.

Speaking on why many fans are now falling out of love with Newcastle and what they want to see from their club, Lee told FFC:

“Fans are losing interest in Newcastle because they can’t see any change; they can’t see anything happening at the club.

“They can’t see any excitement coming, they can’t see anything in the future and I can’t see any hope of change, and you need hope in football.

“I don’t care if we change the manager or players because what we need is to change the owner.”

Newcastle have been involved in a legal battle with the Premier League regarding their failed takeover last summer, with it about to go through arbitration.

Chris Hughton’s Nottingham Forest side must do all they can to ensure that James Garner remains at the club beyond this season.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Forest midfielder Ryan Yates, who, in a recent interview with the Nottingham Post, heaped a considerable amount of praise on the Manchester United loanee, as well as urging his club to bring the defensive midfielder back to the City Ground this summer.

He said: “He’s a quality player. Teams are going to want him, of course, they are if you’re performing well at his age. He’s a Manchester United player, so it wouldn’t be a surprise if other teams want him.

“It’s completely down to him – what’s best for his development. He’ll eventually want to play consistently in the Premier League one day. Of course, we’d love to keep him. We want quality players in every position, especially if we’re fighting at the right end of the table next year – if he came back, that would only benefit us.”

Marinakis must act

While Forest fans have endured a season that they would probably rather forget, one bright spark of the club’s campaign has been the performances of Garner.

Since arriving on loan from Manchester United back in January, the 20-year-old has highly impressed over his 19 Championship appearances for Hughton’s side, with the midfielder scoring three goals, in addition to making an average of 1.6 interceptions, 1.9 tackles and one key pass per game, culminating in an average WhoScored match rating of 6.93 – ranking him as the club’s best performer in the second tier.

As such, it is no wonder why Yates appears desperate for the club to bring the £3.6 million-rated youngster back to the City Ground this summer, as he has proven in a relatively short space of time that he can be a huge part of Forest’s potential push for a play-off spot next season.

And, with the likes of Nemanja Matic, Donny van de Beek, Fred and Scott McTominay currently ahead of Garner in the ranks at United, it would seem a likely scenario that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could indeed look to loan the England U20 international out once again next season.

So, it would be highly advisable for Evangelos Marinakis to listen to the advice of Yates, and to do everything he can to secure another season of Garner playing his football for Forest, rather than another Championship club snapping up his services up in the summer transfer window.

In other news: Journalist drops update on “outstanding” £3.6m-rated ace, Forest fans will be gutted – opinion

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers are now just one game away from finishing the season unbeaten.

The champions earned a comfortable 3-0 win against Livingston at the Tony Macaroni Arena on Wednesday evening, with Gerrard delighted with his team’s performance after the game.

Goals from James Tavernier, Ryan Kent and Ianis Hagi secured the win against David Martindale’s side, although Rangers were perhaps fortunate not to concede, with the hosts hitting the woodwork twice and missing a number of opportunities in the game.

Following the full-time whistle, Gerrard was full of praise for Nigeria international Joe Aribo, who filled in at left-back in the absence of Borna Barisic and Calvin Bassey, with the 40-year-old manager saying:

“A manager can ask a player to do a role and good players can do some and good players can’t do some – but Joe Aribo is a top player.

“Whatever I ask him to do, he goes out and gives it his best shot.

“He’s my man of the match tonight just because, if you think about it, he’s a number 10.

“And he’s just been so comfortable at left-back, cruised it and breezed it.

“That left-back performance is as good as we’ve seen in my three years of being here.

“So well done to him for parking his ego and doing a job for his teammates.”

Although the former Charlton Athletic man is obviously not a natural at left-back and stepped up admirably, Gerrard’s praise for him feels slightly over the top when you consider his overall performance.

Two of Livingston’s best opportunities of the game coming down Aribo’s side, with Jaze Kabia somehow hitting the post when presented with an open goal after Nicky Devlin’s cross, before another cross from the Livingston right-back led to Kabia missing again from just a few yards out.

As per SofaScore, Aribo would earn a 6.6/10 rating for his performance against Livingston, with only Kemar Roofe (6.5) and Jack Simpson (6.4) rated lower of the Rangers players who started the game, which again emphasises that Gerrard was perhaps wrong to call him his man-of-the-match.

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During his time on the pitch, the 24-year-old would lose possession 24 times, which was the joint-most of any player who featured.

Just 32/43 of Aribo’s passes on Wednesday evening were accurate, resulting in a less than impressive 74% pass accuracy rate, which is comfortably below the 84.4% he has averaged in the Premiership this season.

He was also accurate with just one of his five long balls, and none of his crosses found a Rangers shirt, so it is difficult to argue that this was one of the best left-back performances for Rangers, especially considering the form Barisic has shown in that position throughout his time at Ibrox.

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Therefore, whilst Aribo did a solid job out of position on Wednesday evening and he deserves credit for playing there, Gerrard’s post-match comments were way over the top.

And, in other news… Forget Wright: Gerrard can sign Rangers’ next Ryan Kent in £3.42m-rated wizard

Ryan Mason will be sweating on the fitness of one of his key Tottenham Hotspur stars ahead of kick-off this evening…

What’s the latest?

Gareth Bale has emerged as a major doubt to feature in their clash with Aston Villa in North London, meaning the 31-year-old may not receive a send-off in front of the fans for one last time before he is due to return to Real Madrid.

The 29-year-old interim revealed his concerns in his pre-game press conference ahead of tonight’s encounter. When asked about Bale’s involvement, he told reporters, via the Evening Standard:

“I am not sure. Gareth was probably the best I have seen him all season at the weekend. He was sharp, he was running at players, he has that confidence back of playing in repetitive games and he feels confident in his body,” Mason claimed.

“He also knows his body. He is a question mark for tomorrow. We are not sure whether or not he is going to be ready. It is down to the player, he is experienced enough.

“We’ll see. Like it was with Serge [Aurier against Wolves], if a player doesn’t feel 100 per cent, I don’t feel confident enough, we have enough players ready, enough players competing, that want to play.

“If a player doesn’t feel 100 per cent and it is not right then he won’t play.”[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/spurs-managerial-latest-update-transfer-rumours-gossip” title= “Read the latest Spurs news, managerial gossip, transfer rumours and more!”] Cause for concern

If he’s absent, it will come as a massive blow to the interim head coach as he has relied on Bale’s exploits immensely since he took over from Jose Mourinho a month ago.

Indeed, the £18m-rated beast has found the net four times, having started every single league game under Mason, taking his total for the campaign to 14 goals, as per Transfermarkt.

10,000 supporters will get to attend the match this evening, so it will also be a gutting blow to them, with Bale’s future still up in the air. The Evening Standard claim it is unclear whether he will return beyond his one-year loan agreement from the La Liga giants.

After another 89 minutes in the bank on Sunday afternoon, it was only the second time that Bale had started four or more consecutive matches but the first involving so many minutes on the pitch, so understandably he may be a little jaded.

Spurs also know that a win over Villa would seal a place in Europe next season as they won’t be able to finish worse than seventh place, and their chances of clinching all three points are damaged if Bale is sat in the stands.

Heading into 6pm, Mason will surely be worried as he mulls over who could replace him in the starting XI.

AND in other news, Mason must unleash “unplayable” £45m-rated Spurs beast today, could be a game-changer…

Football Insider pundit Alex McLeish believes Celtic won’t be happy with the delay of announcing Eddie Howe as their new manager.

The Lowdown: Howe agrees move, delay down to Bournemouth

According to talkSPORT, Howe has agreed to become Neil Lennon’s successor and will be in the Parkhead dugout for the 2021/22 season.

The delay in regards to an official announcement on the 43-year-old is thought to be due to Bournemouth’s involvement in the Championship playoffs.

Howe wants to bring some coaching staff members from the south coast to Scotland, with the report claiming the Englishman could be forced to look elsewhere, should the Cherries return to the top flight at the first time of asking.

The Latest: McLeish’s claim

Talking to Football Insider regarding that update and possible complication, McLeish, 62, believes Celtic could feel second-best due to the long process of getting Howe through the door.

“If Celtic have got to wait on Eddie, it’s not something the big clubs like to do.

“If they’re seen to be doing that then, if you finally get the manager or the coach, it feels second hand and he’s looking for something else. They will be unhappy about that. At the end of the day, they know the level they have to bring to Celtic to win trophies.

“They have successfully done it over the years. Celtic famously stopped Rangers doing ten-in-a-row one of the years. They brought the right manager in at the time. Now they have to do that again to stop Rangers, launching an onslaught.

“One of the other important things, of course, is recruitment. It would be up to that coach who comes in, with the vision, to see who should come to Celtic.”

The Verdict: Celtic shouldn’t feel second best

In our opinion, the Hoops shouldn’t be feeling like they are Howe’s second choice, should a deal go through.

Yes, it’s not ideal with having to wait until the Cherries’ season is complete, as that may run until the end of the month.

However, should Howe officially put pen to paper on a Celtic contract, there should be no comments on him taking the job half-hearted, as he revealed back in November his next position in management needs to be one that ‘really motivated’ him.

Hopefully, the club will announce Howe as their new boss over the coming weeks, bringing to an end a two-month process following talks with the Englishman at the start of April.

In other news: Odsonne Edouard closing in on Celtic exit, find out more here. 

This has been a torrid season for Wolves but, with Raul Jimenez set to return during pre-season, the Old Gold can be positive about their prospects in 2021/22.

It was wonderful news to hear the Mexican had now made a full recovery from the horrendous fractured skull he sustained back in November.

He has been a monumental loss to departing manager Nuno Espirito Santo this term, with the Molineux outfit struggling for goals. That’s hardly a surprise, though, especially when you consider that Jimenez returned 27 strikes in 2019/20.

Since his time on the sidelines, Fabio Silva has only found the net four times and Willian Jose has scored once. Therefore, to have their main man back will come as music to the ears of Wolves supporters.

It will also be welcomed by Pedro Neto, a player suffering from his own lengthy injury.

He was named the club’s Player of the Season this week and it was easy to see why. He is their joint-top scorer and has more assists than any other player in the squad. However, those numbers would be far better if their Mexican number nine was available throughout the campaign.

Providing Wolves can get him and Jimenez back fit, they could have a brilliant chance of breaking into the European places next season. Add Xherdan Shaqiri into the mix and their hopes become even brighter.

The Liverpool forward was tipped to be a good addition for Wolves by Football Insider pundit Noel Whelan earlier this year.

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He commented: “Where would he end up going [from Liverpool]? You’re probably talking middle of the table. Maybe Wolves, that might suit a player like him. But I doubt the top six would take a chance on him. He’s got a great left foot but he hasn’t been playing regularly. He’s been a bit-part player.”

As a player blessed with plenty of creativity, a front three of him, Neto and Jimenez is a mouth-watering one. Shaqiri possesses what has been described as “breathtaking technique” and you can see that in the way he carves out chances for others.

Despite his limited game-time at Liverpool this term, he has still managed 1.4 key passes per match. That tally is only bettered by Adama Traore and Neto at Molineux.

The comparisons with Nuno’s front three are rife, possessing flair and trickery to beat defenders on a regular basis.

During an interview with Football FanCast’s sister site This is Futbol, Old Gold legend Steve Bull said: “Shaqiri is similar to Neto, Podence and Traore so he could actually fit in and I wouldn’t rule that out at all. He’s that type of player who is busy, small, light on his feet and a dead ball specialist.”

If a player is good enough for Bull, he should be good enough for Wolves’ new manager next term, and indeed Fosun.

Shaqiri’s salary of £80,000 per week is steep but he would add plenty to a Wolves squad who are in desperate need of more quality and options in the final third.

AND in other news, Wolves intend to buy “unpredictable” 23-goal Mendes client, he’s an upgrade on Podence…