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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who is a Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Famer, believes it will require a stupid amount of money for Pedro Neto to be sold this summer.

The Portuguese international has been linked with a £50 million move to Manchester United this summer after his stand out performances this campaign for Wolves, as he is their joint-top scorer.

Neto is still only experiencing his second season in the Premier League and he’s been able to achieve a 7.13 WhoScored rating, all without Raul Jimenez to tuck away his numerous chances created.

Speaking on how much would be required for Wolves to sell Neto this summer and how good of a player he is, Bull told FFC:

“He’s an absolutely world-class player but money talks. I think if anybody comes in with a stupid amount of money, pays his five-year wages off and gives the club the money they are asking for, then fair play to them.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/exclusive-andreas-sondergaard-wolves-premier-league” title=”Exclusive! Andreas Sondergaard talks all things Wolves”]

“As I said, it would be about £75-80 million and that is some money for a player, but he is a talented player. I wouldn’t say he’s not worth that much but I also wouldn’t say he is worth that much. 

It has also been reported that Bruno Fernandes will try to convince Pedro Neto to join Manchester United this summer during their time away with Portugal.

Wolves have an abundance of attacking options, however, they all rely on a striker being in the box to finish their chances off, which neither Fabio Silva nor Willian Jose have been able to do in general.

Daniel Levy must cash in on forgotten Tottenham Hotspur defender Juan Foyth this summer amid latest claims from his loan club, Villarreal…

What’s the word?

Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, Villarreal boss Unai Emery revealed that he would like to sign the 23-year-old permanently following a successful spell thus far, he said:

“If I would keep [him]? The truth is that it is something that we must wait, but if it were up to me, yes, I would keep [him] with us.”

Although it is claimed that the La Liga outfit may not be able to afford the €15m (£13m) option to buy, so they will have to negotiate with the Spurs chairman in order to keep hold of him past the current season.

Get rid

The report goes onto suggest that Foyth has been one of Emery’s most utilised players, featuring 23 times in all competitions, which is one fewer appearance than what he’s managed for Spurs since the start of the 2018/19 season.

Indeed, the versatile Argentinian has struggled to break into the first-team in north London and the fact that Jose Mourinho was willing to ship him out despite losing the vastly-experienced Jan Vertonghen speaks volumes.

It’s hard to envisage him ever coming back and making an impact at this stage, especially as the Spurs boss is lusting for a ‘transformative’ signing at the back that can echo the rewards of Virgil van Dijk at Liverpool, and Ruben Dias at Man City.

Finances will be tight once again, so it would be wise to now cash in on Foyth to get the money rolling ahead of the summer.

The £9m-rated defender, who earns a reported £36k-per-week in N17, will merely be stealing a wage if he returns to Spurs at the end of the season as he’s surely a fourth or fifth choice behind the likes of Eric Dier, Toby Aldweireld, Davinson Sanchez and Joe Rodon.

If Mourinho gets his wishes, then he’ll only slip further down the pecking order.

In the past, Mauricio Pochettino has lauded the “clever” centre-back someone with “a lot of potential” and “quality” but we’ve never really seen it – last season in the Premier League, he averaged a 6.03 WhoScored rating, which would see him sit comfortably as their worst player this season.

Villarreal want to keep hold of him, so Levy may not get a better time to offload the 2017 signing. It’s time to get rid.

AND in other news, 22 y/o gem could be a perfect replacement for Matt Doherty…

Many fans of West Ham United have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed “unbelivable” footage of the Hammers’ right-back Vladimir Coufal.

Following West Ham’s narrow 2-1 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday – a game in which, despite the loss, David Moyes’ side more than held their own against the runaway league leaders – footage emerged of the club’s £7.2m-rated defender visibly upset by the result.

After West Ham United relayed the clip of the 28-year-old on Twitter, fans of the Irons flocked to have their say on the matter, with many heaping a considerable amount of praise on the £31k-per-week right-back, both for his display in the City fixture as well as his performance in general since joining the club last October.

So, what exactly did these West Ham United fans have to say in reaction to the footage of Vladimir Coufal?

“I love this man so much. He’s barely been here 6 months and a narrow loss to the best in Europe is making him this sad. Hopefully, we use this energy for a win against Leeds.”

@ScoutSoucek

“This guy is becoming my favourite player at an alarming rate.”

@jackgambardella

“This man has so much of my respect. What an incredible person. Any club would be beyond proud to have someone like him in their squad. To see how much it matters to him is such a rare thing to see in today’s day and age.”

@LaRoseanne

“I actually love the two Czechs. Totally transformed the team – brilliant signings.”

@leeroy_acko1

“Loved that. Like he had lost a cup final! So nice it means so much to them out there.”

@Nobby_1977

“If you showed me this video at the beginning of the season, I would’ve thought we just got relegated. Shows how far we’ve come.”

@Icevain7

“Superb mentality.”

@j22oph

“We love to see this kind of attitude in a player.”

@philosophinator

“This man is immense. Best signing ever.”

@s60ttb

“What a player. Unbelievable attitude.”

@sfeehan27

In other West Ham United news, fans wanted this Premier League ace after a contract claim, find out more here!

This season was meant to be all about Celtic’s tenth SPFL crown in a row. Though, for various reasons, that has fallen by the wayside.

The Hoops are 23 points behind Rangers and it looks as though their pursuit of ten in a row is falling flat in the dirt.

This has been a disastrous campaign and it’s rather surprising that Neil Lennon is still in the job. With the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer repeatedly linked with moves away, times could get even tougher for the Northern Irishman.

Edouard is attracting interest from the Premier League while Ajer has been touted with a switch to AC Milan.

It’s clear why the former is such a pillar for Celtic – he scored 28 times and registered 19 assists last season. Ajer, however, seems to coast through games with undoubted solidity in the backline.

Signed for a grand total of £0, Ajer arrived as a free transfer when he was just 17-years-old in 2016. Since then, he has come on leaps and bounds, establishing himself as a leader and stalwart of Lennon’s side.

The very fact Celtic valued the centre-back at around £20m last summer is a testament to what they’ve done with the player and indeed, how impressive the business has been.

Since heading to Scotland, the 22-year-old has played on 159 occasions for the Hoops and along the way, has earned comparisons to a certain Brazilian legend in Cafu.

Of course, Ajer can play at right-back and as a holding midfielder as well, but it’s in the middle of a back four where he’s looked the most comfortable. He has become an impenetrable wall on his way to winning three consecutive Scottish Premiership crowns.

Though, most impressive is the fact that even during tough times, he’s stood out. Celtic’s defence has been woeful this season, conceding 19 in six Europa League outings and shipping 11 more goals than Rangers in three fewer games in the league.

That being said, Ajer has still been a rock.

John Hartson commented earlier this month: “He’s grabbing the bull by the horns and he’s almost dragging the team through, even to these draws. You see him making these lung-bursting runs forward, he’s marauding with that big stride, he’s challenging, on his backside, making blocks, in the opposition’s penalty area.”

Hartson continued: “He’s a credit to the rest of the players. They should all look at him and if they’d all adopted the same attitude as Ajer then might have made a better fist of it in terms of holding on to the title.”

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-celtic-manager-stories” title=”Read this week’s latest Celtic news!”]

That’s about as good as praise can get, but let’s analyse the statistics too. The Norwegian has won more tackles per game (1.5) than any other centre-back in the squad this season, while his pass success rate of 89.2% is the fourth-highest of Celtic’s regular starters.

Furthermore, he ranks in the same place for interceptions per game (1.3). This isn’t a player who hides away and he has shown as much this season. The fact he stepped up and slammed home the winning penalty in the Scottish Cup final is evidence.

Considering they didn’t pay a penny for him, this has been outstanding business. The £10k-per-week earner is a vital cog in the machine at Parkhead.

AND in other news, Desmond eyes “ambitious” Lennon successor, he could fix Celtic’s biggest problem…

Ryan Fraser is a man walking a thin tightrope at Newcastle United after Steve Bruce unleashed a scathing attack on his players for their torrid recent form.

Bruce has refused to hold back any punches after the Magpies were disappointingly beaten 1-0 by Sheffield United on Tuesday night, stating “the gloves are off” after becoming the first side to lose a Premier League game to Chris Wilder’s Blades this season.

“We were absolutely frigging hopeless the other night,” Bruce said, via quotes by The Guardian. “Unfortunately, that’s happened a little too often in my 18-months here; it was nowhere near good enough for the challenge ahead. Maybe it’s a mentality thing.”

One player for whom Bruce’s comments should hit home hard is Fraser, who saw two yellow cards in the space of just three minutes shortly before half-time at Bramall Lane, having carelessly attracted referee Andy Madley’s attention for a shin-high challenge on David McGoldrick.

Fraser had hardly done anything of worth in South Yorkshire to be even slightly forgiven for his clueless actions, as an in-swinging cross to the near post in the 39th-minute that found Isaac Hayden proved to be the former AFC Bournemouth man’s only redeeming moment.

Moments after Hayden’s header failed to break the deadlock, Fraser was in the books for a late foul on John Fleck and play had hardly moved on before the red card was out and the 26-year-old’s time on the pitch was over to warrant WhoScored’s lowest match rating for a player on either side at 4.9.

Bruce rarely saw the Scotland international get on the ball before his sending off, with Fraser offering just eight accurate passes, including a corner kick, as he took a mere 17 touches and offered no dribbles.

Fraser’s performances up until the Sheffield United defeat had hardly seen the diminutive forward write his name in Bruce’s good books, either, having only started two of his seven Premier League appearances and offering two assists after suffering with hamstring and groin injuries.

For their efforts per game in the top-flight this term, Fraser ranks 16th at St. James’ Park for shots with a mere 0.3 strikes, per WhoScored. His record is less than what centre-backs Ciaran Clark (0.6) and Jamaal Lascelles (0.4) have offered and far fewer than Andy Carroll (1), who scored his first Premier League goal in 43 games against Leicester City earlier this month.

Fraser has also offered fewer key passes per league game (0.5) than six of his Toon teammates, with Jacob Murphy, Joelinton, Emil Krafth and Matty Longstaff all offering the same level of creativity as the £11m-rated forward who finished second only to Eden Hazard for assists in the 2018/19 campaign with 14 to the Belgian’s 15.

Bruce will no doubt be demanding far more from Fraser once his suspension is served, and hope to see the £42,000-per-week maestro take on board his criticism as the Toon chiefs comments have dealt the winger certain peril over his position in the side if things do not pick up soon.

AND in other news, Newcastle have enquired over a January loan deal for a £4.5m-rated outcast criticised for his lack of effort.

Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed recently that Liverpool have been offered the chance to sign Arsenal defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos and the Reds would be making a huge mistake if they were to sign the Greek centre-back.

What’s the word?

Romano revealed on his Here We Go podcast that the Merseyside club have been offered the 32-year-old defender this month, as the Gunners look to get the former Borussia Dortmund man off their books.

The Reds are, of course, currently low on defensive options following injuries to Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez earlier in the season but they would still perhaps be best served by avoiding Sokratis, considering he hasn’t played a single minute of senior football this season.

Worse than Lovren?

Liverpool will surely be rueing their decision to sell Croatian centre-back Dejan Lovren in the summer transfer window and not signing a replacement, as Jurgen Klopp has been forced to play Fabinho, usually alongside youngsters Rhys Williams and Nathaniel Phillips in his defence for much of this season.

The 31-year-old averaged a very solid 7.09 rating for his performances in the Premier League last season when called upon by Klopp, whereas Sokratis earned a much less impressive 6.82 rating for the Gunners, suggesting that he would’ve been a much better option to have than the Arsenal man.

Whilst the experienced defender is well-known to Klopp, having featured 73 times under the German manager during his time at Dortmund, he is clearly well past his best, evidenced by Mikel Arteta leaving him out of his Premier League squad for this season.

Therefore, whilst the Greek international would provide a short-term solution in terms of being an available centre-back in Liverpool’s squad, in the time we would see him build his fitness, Matip would probably return from the injury that has kept him out recently, so he would only be useful if the Cameroonian suffered another injury.

Even then Klopp may prefer to keep faith in Phillips and Williams, so signing Sokratis who earns £92k per week at Arsenal would be a rare error from Michael Edwards and the Liverpool board, given the success they have seen from signings such as Alisson, Virgil van Dijk, Thiago and Sadio Mane, to name a few, in recent years.

And, in other news… Bye-bye Matip: Edwards must swoop for £50m titan tipped for “an amazing future”

Sean Longstaff betrayed Steve Bruce with a shocking performance in Newcastle United’s 2-1 defeat at home to Leicester City on Sunday.

Bruce recalled the 23-year-old to the Magpies’ starting line-up in place of the suspended Isaac Hayden, opting to favour the academy graduate beside his brother Matty, with Jonjo Shelvey initially seated on the bench.

However, the Longstaff brothers failed to take control of proceedings in the engine room, with neither man able to apply enough pressure to Brendan Rodgers’ visiting Foxes as Wilfred Ndidi and Youri Tielemans dictated the pace without breaking a sweat.

Matty Longstaff at least brought a boisterous presence to the side as he ran himself into the ground to track back and chase any loose balls, but the same could not be said for his sibling, who found himself overrun time and time again.

Bruce saw enough from his laboursome unit to introduce changes midway through the second half with Shelvey brought on for on-the-day left-midfielder Joelinton, in a decision the Toon chief may soon have regretted when Tielemans doubled Leicester’s advantage.

Andy Carroll would score his first goal for Newcastle since 2010 to offer Bruce’s Toon a glimmer of hope, but his perfectly timed volley proved too little too late, partly thanks to the turgid efforts of Sean Longstaff in the centre.

Longstaff has now started eight of his 11 Premier League appearances this season but is without a goal or an assist.

He only registered one shot during Sunday’s 2-1 defeat with an effort coming in the 21st-minute that was blocked, and he never came close to creating a chance for a teammate to score with just 11 of his 33 passes coming in the final-third, per WhoScored.

The 23-year-old Toon product completed a combined 27 attempted passes against Leicester, yet let Bruce down vividly when off the ball with just one clearance, one interception and one successful tackle to his name.

He had attempted three tackles but was dribbled past twice, while losing three of five ground duels and two of four aerial contests for a mere 44% success rate, plus turning over possession on six occasions, per SofaScore.

Longstaff displayed glimpses of his passing ability with three successful long balls from six attempts, yet never sought to bring play forward himself with no dribbles recorded.

Bruce will be livid with Longstaff for squandering his chance to regain a permanent starting role in Hayden’s absence, and will likely see the £16m-rated lightweight as being firmly behind his younger brother in the Magpies pecking order from now on.

AND in other news, Newcastle United could move to sign a £14.5m-rated gem who can “make things happen” in January.

Speaking in a press conference after his side’s 0-0 draw away to Chelsea, manager Jose Mourinho has expressed joy over the confirmed fan return for Sunday’s north London derby – going on to say it’s a ‘gift for the Tottenham fans’.

After the government announced which regions fell into which tiers as England prepares to come out of lockdown for the second time, London was confirmed to fall into the Tier 2 bracket – meaning a small section of supporters can be in attendance as Spurs take on Arsenal this weekend.

The update, described as ‘good news’ by talkSPORT presenter Ian Moose Abrahams, comes after a lengthy period in which Lilywhites have been forced not to attend their side’s attempted return to glory under Mourinho.

Mourinho swoons over fan return

Now, as it is confirmed that 2,000 fans will be allowed to spectate at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Mourinho has expressed his joy at the news – going on to say it is gift for the club and it’s followers.

“I like the feeling of being top and having our first game back with fans, even if just 2,000 fans, it’s a gift for the Tottenham fans,” he explained in his press conference.

“We came from a difficult position last season and we are happy with that. If we were a bit better, we would have won today. The game was there for us. The next match is a must-win.”

Transfer Tavern take

Whilst all eyes will be firmly on whether Spurs can reign victorious and maintain their place at the Premier League summit, a return for Lilywhites supporters could certainly be a massive boost for the team – especially given the gravity of this encounter.

In other news: Spurs could lose this ‘mainstay’ in January, find out more here. 

Celtic have numerous problems in their club right now.

First and foremost, the manager is struggling and is facing increased pressure after a disastrous week that saw the Hoops lose 4-1 to Sparta Prague.

In the process, they were dumped out of the Europa League after a number of poor performers.

On the chalkboard

One of the worst displays on the night was from veteran midfielder Scott Brown.

The 35-year-old struggled with the pace of the game and looks incredibly out of sorts right now. He had just 40 touches of the ball – the lowest of any Celtic player – and made just one tackle.

Furthermore, Brown was at fault for the opening goal. He was outmuscled and tossed aside like a piece of garbage having failed to clear the ball from a corner.

With that performance in mind, and indeed how his season is panning out, there is a case for him to be dropped from Lennon’s side.

So who could come in and replace him?

The solution

The man we think who should come in and make an impact in the middle of the park is David Turnbull.

Of course, the midfielder is currently in isolation having been diagnosed with COVID-19 so will miss the League Cup clash against Ross County, but once he is fit and healthy again, he simply has to be considered.

The 21-year-old was a target for Celtic in 2019 and then finally signed for the club this year. However, since putting pen to paper he has started just once in the SPFL.

For a player of his talent, it’s rather surprising.

Last term, Turnbull sat out the vast majority of the campaign after requiring knee surgery but he made a devastating impact for Motherwell in 2018/19, registering 23 goal involvements.

Now, he is a very different player to Brown because he generally gets further forward but that is certainly no bad thing, especially with Callum McGregor beside him. Although he likes to drive forward he is also capable in the defensive third, producing 1.2 tackles per game this term.

At the moment, Turnbull is being wasted, especially when the manager rates him so highly. After signing, Lennon commented: “We’ve had a look at him over the last few games and he’s got a real touch of class about him, which is a rarity in the modern game.”

Thus, he needs to be unleashed by the boss and given a lot more game time.

In other news, one Celtic player failed his BIG audition to Neil Lennon on Thursday…

Alex Iwobi is edging ever close to being shown the door at Goodison Park after Carlo Ancelotti overlooked the Nigerian forward against Newcastle United on Sunday, where Everton were without their star summer signing James Rodriguez.

Ancelotti favoured a change in shape to welcome additional central midfielders into the starting line-up in defeat to Steve Bruce’s Magpies, with Gylfi Sigurdsson and Andre Gomes offering the support to Dominic Calvert-Lewin with Richarlison still suspended.

Rodriguez was forced to sit out the Tyneside affair having failed to shrug a testicular injury sustained in the Merseyside Derby, but Everton chiefs remain confident the Colombian will win his race to be fit to face Manchester United this weekend, per the Liverpool Echo.

The former Real Madrid star is believed to be recovering well in the ramp-up to the Red Devils’ trip to Goodison on Saturday, allowing Ancelotti to be hopeful of recalling the 29-year-old after he missed his first Premier League fixture since joining the Blues.

Rodriguez has proven increasingly pivotal to Everton’s form this season, offering three goals and three assists in six top-flight matches, much to the delight of Ancelotti who has set out exacting demands for Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to meet.

“I think James Rodriguez is going to help the strikers because he is a fantastic assist man,” said Ancelotti, via quotes by BT. “The target for Dominic is I hope he can reach 20 goals because he has the quality and ability, like Richarlison.

“With James at the time in Madrid, [Cristiano] Ronaldo scored 56 goals: I am not honestly going to ask Dominic to score 56 goals, but he has to try to do his best.

“We have two fantastic strikers and behind them, we have James and Sigurdsson. I think if they do not score at least 20 goals each they can have a problem with me. If I play as a striker and I have behind me James, Sigurdsson [and] Gomes, I can score goals and so they have to.”

Ancelotti’s support of Rodriguez’s talent comes in vast contrast to his apparent lack of belief in Iwobi, after snubbing the Nigerian who Marco Silva signed for up to £34million and moving away from having natural wingers on the field at Newcastle.

Going into Everton’s first defeat of the season at Southampton, Ancelotti stated that Iwobi would be offered the opportunity to play if Rodriguez was forced to sit out. But while the £50,000-per-week forward did start, he left an appalling impression and was hooked at the break.

“Alex is a player who works hard,” Ancelotti told the official Everton website. “He is fast and with his quality, he can help the team be better in certain situations.”

Those certain situations are appearing ever thinner, as Iwobi could only provide one shot, three unsuccessful crosses, complete one dribble, win four of seven ground duels and lose possession 13 times in the first half at Southampton. He then offered no shots, no dribbles, no accurate crosses, lost possession four times but offered a key ball against Newcastle, per SofaScore, having come on as a 76th-minute substitute.

Given Iwobi’s recent form when needed the most and now with just one start in six Premier League appearances, the outcast forward could soon be facing the axe permanently having already been touted for a potential departure this summer by the Mirror.

It was suggested that Iwobi was one of several fringe players that Everton were looking to offload after struggling to hit the ground running upon his arrival from Arsenal, with Director of Football Marcel Brands keen to trim the squad to a more manageable level.

Iwobi’s efforts in Everton’s recent fixtures will have done little to convince Brands and Ancelotti that he deserved to be retained, and another poor showing or again being overlooked against Manchester United if Rodriguez cannot be passed fit will surely be the final nail in his Toffees coffin.

AND in other news, Marcel Brands can build Everton’s dream unit with a gem who Carlo Ancelotti calls “one of the best”.