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Wolves have reportedly made a bid to try and sign Kaio Jorge in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Jimenez cover needed

Losing Raul Jimenez to injury for most of the 2020/21 season was certainly a big blow to the Midlands club in their hopes of finishing in the top half of the Premier League table and qualifying for European competition.

The Molineux outfit should duly be looking for a striker to come in and provide sufficient cover for the Mexico international, in case he is again missing for a large chunk of the upcoming campaign.

The Latest: Jorge bid

As per A Bola (via Sport Witness), Wolves have taken a ‘strong step’ in their attempts to sign Jorge by offering a fee of €15m (£12.9m) for the Santos talent, but the Brazilian club want €20m (£17.1m) if they are to sell him.

New Wolves manager Bruno Lage is also said to be an admirer of the 19-year-old from his time at Benfica, who are also in the race for his signature along with both Chelsea and Juventus.

Jorge’s current deal expires at the end of the year and his renewal process is complicated, meaning that he should be available to sign a pre-contract with another club in July.

The Verdict: Sign

Jorge is an up-and-coming prospect at just 19 years of age but he has played men’s football since 2018, scoring 15 goals and supplying three assists in 71 matches across all competitions for Santos (Transfermarkt).

He also netted six times in 10 matches for Brazil at under-17 level (Transfermarkt) and has even been dubbed the ‘new Cristiano Ronaldo’.

Jorge clearly seems to have the potential to reach the highest level in football, and Wolves would be wise to try and give him a platform to shine while he is still a fledgling talent rather than a bona fide superstar.

In other news, this transfer update has left many Wolves fans talking

Lots of Manchester City fans have been reacting to the news the Citizens are prepared to let Raheem Sterling leave the club this summer.

The Citizens face a huge clash on Saturday night as they prepare to face Chelsea in the Champions League final in Porto. This will be the first time they have played in the biggest match in European club football in their history, so Pep Guardiola and his team will have done all they can to make sure his side is as well-prepared as possible.

Unfortunately, he cannot control what the press decides to report in the build-up to the clash. According to Sami Mokbel of the Daily Mail, Sterling is atop of a list of players City are prepared to offload this summer, with the club willing to listen to offers for the 26-year-old, whose form was questioned by numerous supporters this season after his goal tally dropped by more than half from last term.

The news was shared on Twitter by @City_Xtra, and it attracted plenty of attention from City supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts, and they were fuming at the thought of Sterling possibly being offloaded, with the winger having scored 114 goals in his six years at the club.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Sterling news

“delete this.”

Credit: @mancitybluess

“right before an important game how weird”

Credit: @mcfc_kai

“I will say this again, offloading Raz will be a huge mistake Man City will regret… We still need players like Sterling, yes he had bad season but we need him..he will bounce back to his form.”

Credit: @Zethemb87730720

“Amazing. Everybody’s leaving then. Right before the CL final. Thanks SAMI”

Credit: @NK_ESQ

“Just someone trying to cause issues before a final. Wouldn’t be surprised if it is true though, give us 100 million.”

Credit: @Ethan4707

“What a way to treat one of our best ever players, smh, he has one bad season and the club gives up on him just like that. Shameful”

Credit: @QJweRfWQ4YzvJ8R

In other news, these Man City fans want the club to sign this player in the summer.

Everton are diving through their list of potential managers following the swift departure of Carlo Ancelotti back to Real Madrid and Forza Italian Football editor in chief Conor Clancy has backed Paulo Fonseca to do well at Goodison Park if given the chance.

The Toffees will need to get this appointment spot on as they have spent far too much money over the last few years to be languishing in mid-table, and Fonseca has been tipped as a contender to take up the hot seat at Everton by The Athletic.

Fonseca was the man who guided Roma to the Europa League semi-final which they ultimately lost against Manchester United because of their defensive frailties, however they showed glimpses of real quality especially on the counter-attack and from set-pieces.

Everton have hired and sacked their fair share of managers recently with the likes of Marco Silva, Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce the most recent examples, but Clancy has backed Fonseca to be the man to get it right at Everton, as he told Football FanCast exclusively:

“He got Roma to the semi-final of the Europa League which they shouldn’t have been anywhere near, and I know they got hammered in the end by Man United but that was just a 15-minute collapse.

“I quite like Fonseca and I do think that level of job just below the very top tier is one that he would do really well at and I think if he got the Everton job then I’d back him to do a very decent bit of work there.”

Everton started the season brightly, however, once their form fell off a cliff in 2021 their hopes of a European spot were dashed and considering they lost to the likes of Sheffield United and Newcastle United at home, fans must have expected that outcome.

The Toffees may struggle to keep some of their top players such as James Rodriguez and Richarlison now that Ancelotti’s has left as he appeared to be the glue keeping them all together after several poor seasons at Everton.

Jon Newsome has exclusively told The Transfer Tavern that he’s expecting some high-profile names to leave Sheffield Wednesday this summer.

The Owls were unable to overturn their six-point deduction last season, with their final-day draw at Derby not enough to save them from relegation.

They were just one goal from surviving and replacing Derby above the dotted line, but ended up finishing bottom of the Championship table, which means they’ll be playing in the third tier for the first time since 2012.

Wednesday have several players out of contract at Hillsborough next month, whilst loanees Izzy Brown and Jack Marriott will return to their parent clubs.

Amongst those set to become free agents are both Kadeem Harris and Adam Reach, whilst top goalscorer Josh Windass has already been linked to a number of Championship sides having been a rare positive in an otherwise wretched 12 months for the Owls.

Those three are among some of Wednesday’s highest earners, and Newsome believes that having dropped into League One, the Hillsborough outfit might need to get that trio off the wage bill.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“Adam Reach, Josh Windass, Kadeem Harris, they’ll all be on serious money… big, big, big, big wages, and I don’t think the club can sustain that anymore.”

Reliable reporter Alan Nixon has suggested that Southampton will be keeping a close eye on Celtic midfielder Ryan Christie in the coming weeks.

The Lowdown: Christie a man in demand

Celtic appear to be in a tricky situation with Christie, as his contract actually expires in January 2022.

That means he’ll be able to pen a pre-contract agreement with sides outside of Scotland this summer, ahead of a potential free transfer in the new year.

Both Burnley and Norwich have been linked with a move for the 26-year-old recently, and it seems as if Southampton have become the latest side to show an interest in the Scotland international.

The Latest: Nixon’s Christie claim

According to Nixon, the Saints ‘will watch Celtic’s Ryan Christie at Euros’ – an interesting seven-word claim for the Hoops’ expected rebuild.

Christie was included in Steve Clarke’s squad for the major competition, alongside five other Hoops players.

Nixon took to Twitter on Sunday morning to share the news, saying:

“Southampton. Will watch Celtic’s Ryan Christie at Euros. Contract running down. May get a chance to play in preferred role too.”

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The Verdict: Euros key for Celtic’s financial hopes?

Back in February, a Celtic source informed Football Insider that the Hoops were looking to tie Christie down to a new deal ahead of the summer window.

However, with no deal yet in place, Celtic may have to bite the bullet and look to sell at a cut price, should interested parties be keen on one, to ensure they at least receive something for the attacking midfielder.

He’s currently valued at £6.3m and is on £12,000-a-week at Parkhead, so if the club can receive an offer around £4-6m, they may be silly not to accept given his contract situation.

Hopefully, Christie can impress with his country this summer over the coming weeks, which could end up being key for Celtic earning as much as possible in a permanent deal ahead of the 2021/22 season.

In other news: Source shares further Celtic managerial twist; Dermot Desmond urged to consider Ange Postecoglou alternative, find out more here. 

Plenty of Crystal Palace supporters have been reacting to an update on the club’s reported interest in Juventus midfielder Aaron Ramsey on social media. 

Transfer expert Nicolo Schira suggested last month that the Eagles enquired over the possibility of signing the Wales international in the summer, along with Premier League rivals West Ham.

However, according to The Athletic, Ramsey is enjoying his football under Andrea Pirlo and has received no indication the Italian giants want to sell him over the coming months.

Ramsey, valued at £18m by Transfermarkt, is under contract in Turin until 2023.

He’s made 28 appearances in all competitions for Juventus this season, and it doesn’t seem as if a move to Selhurst Park has any legs.

Palace fans react

@CPFCtransfersHQ shared the update regarding Ramsey on Twitter on Thursday morning, which, as to be expected, received plenty of interaction.

This is what some had to say in reply, with many not exactly surprised.

“Ramsey watched the Chelsea game”

Credit: @RobbieScotcher

“oh no!”

Credit: @palacejacob

“Turin or Croydon?”

Credit: @Palace_CPFC

“Good”

Credit: @Sumo08112

“Can’t believe he doesn’t want to come to palace. Shock.”

Credit: @eagle176

“Ramsey’s wages would liquidate us”

Credit: @Upsided0wncpfc

In other news: Many CPFC fans not impressed at update on Palace pair from reliable reporter, find out more here. 

In a recent interview with Football FanCast, Dean Windass has claimed that Ralph Hasenhuttl has not underachieved during his time at Southampton and that he has, perhaps, been a victim of his own success.

In an exclusive interview with FFC, Windass said:

“There’s a lot of managers now and it will depend on how they start next season off next season, the first points on the board, they will want to win the first game as quickly as possible, because he’s underachieved this year.

“But that’s a big statement – have Southampton underachieved [overall] this season? No. But because of where they were at, and then all of a sudden they have dropped.

“If you asked Matt Le Tissier, ‘are you happy with Southampton’s season?’, he would go ‘unbelievable’. Delighted. When I played, Southampton were always in the bottom four or five. It’s about results and staying in the Premier League.”

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However, plenty of Southampton fans might disagree with Windass’ comments.

The Austrian endured a nightmare start to his Southampton career, with the Saints looking like serious relegation candidates for a lot of last season, before they turned their season around in the second half of the campaign, particularly impressing after project restart.

This left a lot of Saints fans extremely optimistic for the season ahead and it was easy to see why when they started the season in superb fashion, topping the league after a 2-0 win against Newcastle United in November.

However, their league form since January has been abhorrent, with just two wins against Burnley and Sheffield United to their name, with a solitary draw against Chelsea meaning they have taken seven points from their last 15 top-flight games – managers have certainly been sacked for less.

This is undoubtedly relegation form and whilst their early-season performances should be enough to save them this season, it is a huge concern ahead of the next campaign.

The FA Cup semi-final defeat against Leicester City recently may well have been the final straw for some Southampton fans, as they failed to register a single shot on target at Wembley.

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Granted, the Austrian manager has had to deal with injury problems that have seriously exposed the lack of squad depth at the club but if they are able to strengthen the squad in the summer and results do not improve, then club chairman Jisheng Gao could soon be left with a huge decision to make regarding Hasenhuttl’s future at the club.

And, in other news… Southampton suffer huge injury blow to “outstanding” gem, Ralph will be fearing the worst

Former Leicester City midfielder Keith Gillespie has exclusively told Football FanCast he doesn’t believe the Foxes are going to replicate their title-winning season again, but is confident that Brendan Rodgers’ men will finish in the top four.

Despite their defeat against Manchester City on Saturday, Leicester hold a seven-point cushion over fifth-place Tottenham.

It means that Rodgers’ team require at least six victories from their final eight Premier League to guarantee a place in next season’s Champions League.

But Leicester will be wary of what happened this time last season.

Before Christmas, the Foxes were 14 points ahead of fifth-place Manchester United, but ended up winning six of their final 22 league matches and were replaced in the top four by Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer’s side following a final-day showdown.

However, despite Leicester’s final three fixtures being against United, Arsenal and Chelsea, Gillespie isn’t expecting a repeat.

He told Football FanCast:

“In terms of where they are, I really like watching them, but Manchester City are too far ahead of anyone.

“But in terms of what they’ve done, they look pretty safe for top four. They fell away badly last year towards the end, but they haven’t got the Europa League, have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to and are sitting third in the league.”

Gillespie also touched on Leicester’s famous 5000-1 title-winning campaign under Claudio Ranieri, but isn’t expecting a repeat of that any time soon.

He added:

“When Leicester won the league, what are your expectations then? It’s not something that’s going to be a regular thing.

“Anybody who’s a Leicester fan can enjoy that moment and think ‘wow’ how amazing did we do there? But I’ve got to be realistic, we’re not going to do that again.”

This has been a particularly difficult week for everyone associated with Wolves.

They may have defeated Fulham courtesy of a last-gasp strike from Adama Traore but, on the injury front, more negative news has engulfed Molineux.

Last week the Old Gold were rocked by the news that Jonny was ruled out for the rest of the season, and now Pedro Neto is also facing a lengthy absence. After suffering a break to his kneecap, he will miss the next six months of action, so Nuno Espirito Santo will have to dig deep to replace a man of his qualities; he is their joint-top scorer and leading assists provider this term.

With that in mind, how will he line up on Saturday night when they face Sheffield United? Here’s the XI we’re predicting…

We’re tipping Nuno to makes as many as four changes to the side which defeated Fulham.

The first change to note is in attack, where Neto obviously misses out. Daniel Podence moves into the right-hand channel at his expense, with Vitinha afforded a rare start just behind the striker.

Willian Jose again failed to score last time out but Fabio Silva came off the bench to register a crucial assist. Consequently, the teenager leads the line.

There is another replacement in midfield, where Ruben Neves is absent. He is currently at home isolating and can play no part in the fixture. As a result, Joao Moutinho makes his first start since picking up a minor injury on international duty with Portugal.

The final change is in defence. Willy Boly is back from isolation and takes his place in the middle of a back four. He comes in for the £22,000-per-week Romain Saiss.

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Nuno has wanted his side to be more attacking this season and, as they prepare to face rock-bottom Sheffield United, this feels like the perfect time to ditch the wing-backs. That’s something the manager has been keen to do this season when the chance presents itself.

Nuno has confirmed that teenage talent Theo Corbeanu will be in the squad this weekend – he is someone we’ve championed on multiple occasions to get game-time.

AND in other news, Forget Jose: Wolves must swoop for “powerful” 10-goal gem, Shi has already bid £91.4m…

It would be fair to say that not many Manchester United players came out of Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final defeat to Leicester City with much credit.

The Red Devils produced an utterly abject performance at the King Power Stadium, with a brace from Kelechi Iheanacho and another from Youri Tielemans ending their journey in the competition.

Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made a number of changes for the tie, a gamble that did not pay off, with one of those introduced to the starting line up, Donny van de Beek, turning in a particularly passive showing.

Making just his 12th start in all competitions for United since joining from Ajax, the 23-year-old did not do his chances of getting more opportunities any favours.

According to WhoScored, the Dutchman had just 33 touches of the ball throughout the entire game. On first glance, that isn’t too bad of a contribution, but it takes on a completely different complexion when it is noted that van de Beek’s replacement, Bruno Fernandes, had 41 touches, despite getting far fewer minutes on the pitch.

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Even when the former Ajax man did receive the ball, he could not do much with it. He only completed 24 passes throughout his time on the pitch, whilst also not contributing a single shot or key pass.

He did play a key role in United’s only goal of the game as his clever dummy fell kindly for Mason Greenwood to smash home but that did not mask what was otherwise an utterly shocking showing.

Van de Beek continued to struggle against a Leicester midfield full of quality and determination, only completing one tackle and zero interceptions.

His awful evening was eventually brought to an end as he was substituted by Solskjaer in the 64th minute of the tie.

The Norwegian will likely feel that Van de Beek did nothing to earn his £120k per-week wages at the King Power Stadium.

AND in more news, take a look at which midfielder Manchester United should bring in this summer…