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Interest in Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Adama Traore is growing ahead of the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Catalan publication El Nacional, who claim that newly-rich Newcastle United are the latest side to take an interest in the Wolves winger, with the Magpies believed to be keeping a very close eye on the situation of 25-year-old ahead of a potential swoop in the January transfer window.

Indeed, previous reports have claimed that Liverpool are also considering a move for the Spain international in the winter market, a switch that Traore is thought to be open to, while Tottenham Hotspur could also reignite their summer interest in the winger come January.

Shi must not sell

Considering just how important a part of the Wolves side Traore has been in recent seasons, should the club’s director of football, Jeff Shi, decide to cash in on the forward this January, it would undoubtedly be a decision that would leave the Molineux faithful livid.

Indeed, while the winger is yet to score or register an assist over his nine Premier League appearances this term, the £27m-rated man has nevertheless impressed, creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as making an average of 1.6 key passes, taking 1.8 shots and completing a whopping 6.1 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the player who Jurgen Klopp claimed is “undefendable” against average a SofaScore match rating of 7.24, ranking him as Bruno Lage’s best performer in the top flight of English football.

As such, should Shi wish to give Wolves the best possible chance of securing a top ten finish in the league this season, he simply must avoid all temptation to sanction the £46k-per-week man’s sale come January.

Traore is undoubtedly a player who possesses the ability to fire his side towards the European places come the end of the current campaign.

In other news: Wolves set for negotiations over “spectacular” £7.2m-rated gem, Lage would love him

So far this season, Bruno Lage has seen his Wolves side rack up an incredibly mixed bag of results in the Premier League with three wins and four defeats under their belt.

In addition to this, Wolves have not been too excessive with scoring or conceding goals so far in their campaign with five scored and six conceded.

In terms of scoring goals, one player that Wolves have relied on to fire the Old Gold from the frontline is striker Raul Jimenez who scored a total of 30 goals combined from his first two Premier League campaigns with the Midlands club.

However, with the striker suffering a very serious head injury last November that brought an end to his season for the club, it’s understandable why the Mexican hasn’t been firing on all cylinders so far this season with just one goal to his name coming in their 1-0 win over Southampton.

With this in mind, one player that Lage could potentially turn to in an attempt to try and inject some life into Wolves’ attacking line is 17-year-old attacker Owen Farmer.

Given how the 17-year-old has managed to score three goals in just two league games for Wolves’ U18 side, it shows he has a knack for finding the net.

Two of them came in their 2-1 win over Manchester City’s U18 side that led to youth manager Steve Davis describing Farmer’s strikes as “poachers’ goals.”

Additionally, the fact that Farmer was recently named in The Guardian’s Next Generation 2021 list of the 20 best young talents across the Premier League clubs, shows how impressive he has been and why he could be a good option for Wolves to use in the future.

Even though Lage has Fabio Silva at his disposal as a potential extra option in the striker position, the fact that he only managed to score four goals in 32 league appearances last season while Jimenez was out of action suggests to us that he may not be suited to English football yet.

In which case, we feel it could be worth giving Farmer a shot to prove what he can do in the senior side at some point in the season.

In other news: Lage could fix big Wolves issue with swoop for £43.2m-rated ace, fans would be buzzing – opinion

Following 360 minutes of football and 71 attempts at goal, Wolves finally found the back of the net last weekend.

In their opening three matches of the campaign, the Old Gold had failed to score or register a single point in the Premier League.

However, that changed in their fourth clash when they travelled to Vicarage Road to face Watford.

On the chalkboard

It was typical that Wolves’ barren run in front of goal was actually ended with an own goal in that 2-0 win just under a week ago. However, the introduction of Hwang Hee-chan seemed to change the game.

The South Korean signed just days before the deadline but had to wait two weeks to make his debut for Bruno Lage’s side.

He came on as a 63rd-minute substitute and found the net from close range to start his Wolves career in ideal fashion.

During the course of his time on the field, Hwang participated in 11 defensive duels, winning five and embarking on three dribbles as he successfully changed the match.

Consequently, he simply has to start against Brentford on Saturday afternoon. After all, this is a player who once beat the goalkeeper on 16 occasions in one season for RB Salzburg. With Wolves struggling for firepower, he needs to be in the starting XI.

The solution

Keeping that in mind, it may have to fall on the shoulders of Trincao to drop out.

Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore are yet to find the net either this term but the duo have both been important parts of the furniture at Molineux in recent years.

Jimenez has netted 48 times in Wolves colours while Traore has registered more successful dribbles per game (9.5) than any other player in Europe’s top five leagues this season.

Trincao has looked bright and has registered 3.3 dribbles per league match himself. However, he’s not shown much goal threat in his brief spell in the Midlands so far.

Wolves have a £25m option to buy the 21-year-old next year and they may well take that up. On his day, he’s a mightily exciting player, one who in the words of former Braga academy coach Jose Carvalho Araujo is “magic.”

Yet, while Wolves try to find the net more regularly, Lage must axe him from the starting line-up.

The 21-year-old didn’t play poorly last week, registering four dribbles and a key pass, but he failed to find the net and lost the ball every 3.3 touches.

The Portuguese starlet will have a huge part to play this season, but after Hwang’s goal last weekend, the Korean feels like the best choice for Saturday.

AND in other news, Forget Gibbs-White: Lage must unleash rarely-seen Wolves ace who’s “very smooth”…

Speaking to AS, Villarreal defender Pau Torres has made a summer transfer admission involving Tottenham Hotspur – revealing why he swiftly rejected a move to N17.

The Lowdown: Spurs eye Torres…

Near the end of the summer window, Tottenham became heavily interested in a move for the Spain international and some sources even suggested a €45 million (£38.5m) offer, plus an extra €5 million (£4.2m) in add-ons, was accepted by his club (Pedro Sepulveda).

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The Lilywhites were in the market for another defender even after putting pen to paper on a deal for Serie A MVP award-winner Cristian Romero, with the likes of Takehiro Tomiyasu also linked at the time. 

Now, Torres has come out with an admission involving Spurs.

The Latest: Torres reveals Spurs rejection…

Speaking candidly to AS, the centre-back has revealed why he swiftly rejected a potential move to north London in the summer window.

The 24-year-old, who was described as ‘one of the stars of Spain’s run to the semi-finals of Euro 2020’, was apparently ‘informed’ of Tottenham’s summer interest but opted to stay at his current club – admitting it was a ‘quick decision’.

“I was informed of Tottenham’s interest, but I have always been clear that I wanted to stay at Villarreal,” he explained to AS, as translated by Sport Witness.

“My idea was to have an exciting season, I was very clear about what I wanted, and that was to stay at home and at Villarreal. That’s why it was a quick decision.

“All decisions are respectable; I wanted to stay. I’m happy with the decision I made, my idea was to stay at home and I’m happy about that.”

The Verdict: Missed out?

Time will tell whether Romero is enough to plug Tottenham’s gaping holes at the back, but the current form of both Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez has certainly helped in that regard.

Torres would have been a brilliant capture for Nuno Espirito Santo going by his age, performances at the Euros and physical presence (6 foot 3).

Called ‘sensational’ by Levante head coach Paco Lopez (The Athletic), we believe Spurs certainly missed out on a transformative defensive signing.

In other news: ‘Finished article’…Sky pundit in awe of Spurs starlet who’s an ‘improved version of Ndombele’, find out more here.

West Ham United return to Premier League action this afternoon as they head to the Midlands to face an out-of-form Aston Villa side hungry for a result.

David Moyes and his side will know that another victory would see them go level on points with defending champions Manchester City, who are currently in third place.

As such, the Scotsman has to make some big calls in regards to his starting lineup, especially after their midweek penalty shootout victory over the aforementioned Citizens in the Carabao Cup.

The Irons have won their last four in all competitions, having defeated local rivals Spurs and Everton by a 1-0 scoreline in recent weeks, as well as Genk in the Europa League.

This hectic fixture list has seen Michail Antonio rested rather often, as he was against City at the London Stadium on Wednesday. But for the trip to Villa Park, Moyes must ensure he’s back in the starting XI as he could really damage Dean Smith’s team.

After some serious investment over the summer, many would have expected the Midlands outfit to mount a serious challenge on the European spots but instead, they find themselves in 15th place, just three points outside of the relegation zone.

They have struggled defensively in recent weeks, conceding six goals in their last two outings – three to Arsenal and three to arch-rivals Wolves.

This is a prospect that should leave both the Hammers boss and Antonio rather excited ahead of kickoff as the 31-year-old talisman could feast if things go his way today.

Antonio sits third on the overall goalscoring charts behind Mo Salah and Jamie Vardy, having bagged six goals and provided three assists in only eight league appearances – 27% of his shots result in a goal, as per the BBC.

The £12.5m-rated forward also ranks as the Hammers’ best-performing player with an average WhoScored rating of 7.59. He leads the way for shots (4.1) and key passes (2.5) per game, proving that he really is Moyes’ main threat in the final third, whilst he isn’t far behind for dribbles per match (1.8) either.

Antonio has been described as the “complete number nine” and “unplayable” on his day by BBC Sport contributor Premier League Panel, whilst Daily Star journalist Paul Brown recently dubbed him a “complete monster” and “absolute revelation” to GIVEMESPORT.

West Ham could really punish Villa today by unleashing Antonio from the off. On current form, he could well destroy the home outfit and that will only bolster their top-four claims even more.

AND in other news, “They have…”: ExWHUemployee drops exciting West Ham claim that’ll leave fans buzzing…

Inter Milan are believed to be ahead of Tottenham United and Leeds United in the chase for Cagliari midfielder Nahitan Nandez [Calciomercato].

The Lowdown: Life under Nuno Espirito Santo

Starting off 2021/22 in strong fashion following consecutive Premier League wins, Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo will be exploring all avenues necessary in order challenge for trophies on domestic and European fronts this campaign.

Bolstering the ranks, he has managed to make three additions in the form of Cristian Romero, Pierluigi Gollini and Bryan Gil.

However, one man he could now be set to miss out on is 25-year-old Nandez, according to reports in the Italian media.

The Latest: Inter Milan steal a march on Paratici and co.

It is said that Nandez could join Inter Milan this summer despite the interest from Fabio Paratici and Spurs, providing that the Serie A giants offload one of their own midfielders before the end of the window [Calciomercato].

The Nerazzurri are working to sell Chilean anchor man Arturo Vidal, even after his goal in their 4-0 rout of divisional counterparts Genoa last week [BBC].

Atalanta, Leeds United and Tottenham are all interested in Uruguay international Nandez, but are now expected to lose the race.

The Verdict: Losing out on Nandez would be a bitter blow

In need of some fresh ideas in midfield, this news will come as a bitter blow to the Tottenham Hotspur hierarchy.

Capable of playing centrally or operating in the wide areas, Nandez is an accomplished and versatile footballer who would bring composure and creativity to the Spurs ranks.

In 2020/21, he excelled for his current employers, registering five goal contributions in 34 appearances; two goals and three assists [Transfermarkt].

Encouragingly, the Uruguayan looks to be someone who can rely on his individual quality even when the chips are down, accumulating five man of the match awards across this time period [WhoScored].

Once labelled as ‘a great player’ by football agent Pablo Bentacur, Tottenham should look to jump back ahead of Inter or risk losing out on a very promising talent.

In other news, Tottenham Hotspur have received another transfer blow. Find out why here.

A number of Wolves supporters are concerned after centre-back Willy Boly was ruled out of the Africa Cup of Nations for health reasons.

Bruno Lage’s side are enjoying a good season in the Premier League, pushing for a European finish and recently picking up a memorable 1-0 win away to Manchester United.

Wolves have again operated with a back-three in 2021/22, with Max Kilman, Conor Coady and Romain Saiss performing impressively as a unit.

Boly has been on the periphery of things, however, having struggled to overcome COVID, making just one solitary Carabao Cup appearance this season.

It has now been confirmed by Talking Wolves on Twitter that Boly has pulled out of AFCON for health reasons, in what is a concerning update.

Wolves fans react to Boly latest

These Wolves fans have taken to Twitter to react to the news, wishing the defender all the best.

“Don’t know if we’ll ever see him play again. Need another CB ASAP”

Credit: @adamwwfc03

“Bit worried for Boly now. Medical reasons sound ominous. Hope he’s alright”

Credit: @parker_bradley

“Hope he’s alright man”

Credit: @SJwolvs

“Really feel for him”

Credit: @Wolvesjay90

“Something not good going on here, wish Wolves would tell us what’s happening”

Credit: @BVitler

“Feel so bad for him”

Credit: @AdamWWFC_

In other news, Wolves have been dealt a potential big transfer blow. Read more here.

West Ham United’s top-six hopes were dealt a big blow this afternoon as the Hammers were held to a 1-1 draw by relegation-threatened Burnley.

The managerless Clarets, who parted company with Sean Dyche on Friday after ten years in charge, took the lead through Wout Weghorst in the 33rd minute and could’ve had a two-goal lead at half-time when awarded a penalty. However, the spot-kick was missed by Maxwell Cornet.

Irons midfielder Tomas Soucek was able to equalise with 16 minutes to go for the hosts to ensure they took something from the match, although after Thursday’s 3-0 win in Lyon, the result will certainly be a disappointment.

Depsite the result, there were some shining lights for David Moyes’s side with attacking midfielder Manuel Lanzini particularly impressive.

According to SofaScore, the Argentinian was the Hammers’ joint-second best player, picking up a 7.4/10 rating alongside right-back Ben Johnson with goalscorer Soucek the highest-ranked with a score of 7.5.

The Czech Republic international’s goal was assisted by the 29-year-old, his fourth of the campaign, who also managed to impressively complete 93% of his passes whilst making 65 touches in a lively 79 minutes.

With three key passes and a 100% dribble success rate, the playmaker was a handful to deal with for Burnley. Moreover, Lanzini also won half of his duels.

Eyelids certainly wouldn’t have been batted outside the London Stadium when team news was announced if the Argentinian wasn’t starting having played from the off three days prior in Lyon.

Furthermore, the attacking midfielder was recently involved in a serious car crash that left him with a knock.

However, once again being deployed in the middle of an attacking midfield trio, the 29-year-old, who was labelled as a “special, special player” by captain Declan Rice earlier this season, impressed.

There’s plenty of competition for places in West Ham’s attacking midfield with the likes of Said Benrahma, Nikola Vlasic, Pablo Fornals and Jarrod Bowen all able to play behind the striker.

The Argentinian is easily the longest-serving of them all though and is certainly a fan favourite after seven seasons at the East London club.

Although, his time as a Hammer may soon come to an end with the maestro’s contract set to expire next summer with few signs suggesting an extension will be signed.

For now, though, Lanzini must continue performing well to maintain a starting spot in both the Premier League and Europa League as the Hammers look to push for European qualification for next season.

AND in other news: West Ham plot bid for £21.6m-rated “leader”, Moyes can now axe “shocking” £61k-p/w dud

Manchester United have received a potential injury blow ahead of their Premier League clash with Norwich City over the weekend after Aaron Wan-Bissaka picked up an issue against BSC Young Boys.

What’s the word?

In his post-match interview on Wednesday night, interim manager Ralf Rangnick confirmed that the 24-year-old is a doubt ahead of their trip to Carrow Road on Saturday.

The right-back took a heavy knock to his hand after falling awkwardly during the game before leaving the field of play on a stretcher after the final whistle had been blown after he collided with the advertising boards in the final seconds of the match.

“Aaron got two knocks again. One on the wrist another one on the knee, so we have to see how this will develop by Saturday,” revealed Rangnick. “It was an experiment but I did it on purpose as I wanted to save the players’ energy for Norwich.”

Ralf Rangnick will be gutted

News that Wan-Bissaka is potentially unavailable for the upcoming encounter with the Canaries will leave Rangnick feeling gutted as he’s dealt his first big obstacle and setback in the Old Trafford dugout.

Although the £90,000-per-week gem is no longer guaranteed a starting spot under the new regime and is facing increased competition from Diogo Dalot, he is still a valuable member of the first-team squad.

As per WhoScored, Wan-Bissaka has averaged 2.2 tackles per league game this season, placing him third amongst his teammates, while also producing 1.3 interceptions, more than any of his colleague’s bar Fred, who has matched his tally.

Therefore, Rangnick is likely to be hugely disappointed if Wan-Bissaka is unable to recover in time for the crucial fixture against Norwich, with United desperate to maintain their momentum as they go in search of a top-four finish.

How the German overcomes his first big dilemma in charge of the club will be fascinating.

And, in other news…Forget Greenwood: Man United beast who won 82% duels took his chance vs Young Boys

Celtic are still thought to be keen on signing Peterborough United forward Siriki Dembele, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Dembele links in 2021

Rumours first emerged regarding Celtic’s interest in Dembele, older brother of Hoops winger Karamoko, back in March.

The versatile forward was involved in 24 goals during the 2020/21 campaign and was reportedly favouring a move to Scotland over the summer, however, he remained with The Posh.

Dembele has gone on to score four times in his first taste of Championship football, and his name has once again popped up when it comes to players being linked with a move to Glasgow.

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The Latest: £4m price tag…

Football Insider shared a story regarding Dembele on Thursday morning.

Within their report, they suggested that Celtic, Rangers and Fulham have targeted the 25-year-old, who now has a £4m January transfer window price tag.

Dembele, who came through Nike’s Football Academy, similar to Tom Rogic, is out of contract at the end of the season at this moment in time, however, Peterborough don’t want to lose him in the New Year and want to scare any interested sides off with the asking price.

The Verdict: Avoid?

It seems as if Celtic will be getting a versatile forward through the door in Daizen Maeda, who like Dembele, can play out wide or centrally.

The Hoops brought in multiple attacking options over the summer as well, so as long as Maeda arrives in Scotland with the Hoops confident of pushing through a winter window transfer, then perhaps Celtic should look at bolstering other areas of the pitch.

Ange Postecoglou has relied heavily on the same three central midfield options, Callum McGregor, David Turnbull and Rogic, while right-back Josip Juranovic has had to fill in on the opposite side due to Greg Taylor’s absence, so those two areas may be worth adding to instead of two attacking options.

In other news: Injury woes continue for Ange as worries on ‘excellent’ Celtic beast emerge prior to semi-final.