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Wolves transfer news on Boly

Many Wolves fans have been left flocking to some transfer news that has emerged on Willy Boly.

As per The Daily Mail, the Midlands club are now willing to listen to offers for the central defender in the January transfer window, as he has reportedly falling down the pecking order under Bruno Lage.

He has been left on the bench on injuries, and with the likes of Conor Coady and Romain Saiss to call upon, it may be time for him to leave.

However, he has been a great servant at Molineux, being a mainstay in the Championship-winning campaign and then in the Premier League, and so some WWFC supporters are understandably reluctant to let him go.

Wolves fans on Boly transfer news

These Wanderers flocked to the transfer news as it was shared on Twitter, with one even going as far as to claim that it would be ‘extremely sad’:

“Seen it all now”

Credit: @xReecexx

“NOOOOOOOOO”

Credit: @BekiWolves1877

“Don’t”

Credit: @Millennewell

“Made a massive difference for us when he arrived, I’d be sad to see him go”

Credit: @Wolfy1223754986

“Pain”

Credit: @wwfc_adam

“Would be an extremely sad way for an important player for Wolves over the last few years to leave.”

Credit: @David_gill14

In other news, find out what potential swap deal has Wanderers buzzing here!

Celtic: Jota out for ‘a few weeks’

Celtic winger Jota is set to be missing for ‘a few weeks’ with a hamstring issue, Ange Postecoglou has confirmed.

The Lowdown: Jota’s form

Jota has been in brilliant form in recent months after settling into Parkhead life following a summer switch from Benfica.

The 22-year-old, who the Hoops have the option to sign permanently, has been involved in 14 goals in 18 appearances in green and white.

However, he went off injured against Hearts at the beginning of the month and missed the 3-0 win over Dundee United on Sunday.

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The Latest: Four-game absence?

As reported by John McGinley, Postecoglou – who has called Jota ‘outstanding’ – revealed prior to the win at Tannadice that the Portuguese winger will ‘miss a few weeks’ with his hamstring problem.

Should that prove to be two weeks, the 22-year-old could miss up to four games for the Hoops, including the League Cup final against Hibernian on December 19.

The Verdict: Injury issues continue…

Jota wasn’t the only absentee against Dundee United on Sunday. Anthony Ralston and Stephen Welsh also picked up injuries against Hearts and missed the game, while Christopher Jullien is still yet to feature under Postecoglou.

Giorgos Giakoumakis is out with a knee issue and youngster Karamoko Dembele has also been missing since pre-season, and even though Greg Taylor made a return on the weekend, Postecoglou can’t seem to catch a break when it comes to injuries.

Hopefully the New Year will bring better luck on the injury front, but Postecoglou will be without Jota for a while and may have to rely on Mikey Johnston against Real Betis on Thursday.

In other news: Devlin claims Celtic may now seal move for 12-goal beast before 2022 training camp

Saint-Maximin a doubt for Man City clash

Newcastle United star Allan Saint-Maximin will face a late fitness test ahead of the Magpies’ clash with reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday afternoon.

What’s the latest?

The 24-year-old was forced off late in their 3-1 defeat to Liverpool on Thursday night and could be a potential absentee ahead of the visit from Pep Guardiola’s side on Sunday.

“With Maxi, he took a really nasty tackle,” said Newcastle manager  Eddie Howe. “I don’t know whether his injury is related to that tackle, or is more muscular. I’ve no idea.

“Fingers crossed for him, he’s such a big player for us. We don’t want to lose him for any amount of time.”

Furthermore, Federico Fernandez and Paul Dummett still remain unavailable with their respective injuries.

The Frenchman is the latest name added to what appears to be a growing injury list for Howe. Jamal Lewis was also withdrawn against Liverpool and will be facing a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

Fans could be gutted

The £27m-rated Saint-Maximin will be a major loss for the Magpies if he is ruled out for a significant spell, particularly if his injury makes him unavailable for a chunk of Newcastle’s hectic festive period.

Now in his third season with the club, the Frenchman is certainly a fan favourite amongst many Geordies, and a prolonged absence would leave supporters gutted if he is set to miss a sizeable portion of their upcoming schedule.

United will play four Premier League matches within the next 15 days as things stands and will need their main creative output available, with their top-flight status at risk given their precarious position in the league table.

Saint-Maximin has contributed three goals and three assists in the Premier League thus far this season, playing a part in 33% of Newcastle’s top-flight goals and level with six-goal Callum Wilson in terms of overall contributions.

According to SofaScore, the Frenchman also averages a 76% passing accuracy, as well as 63% dribble success and two shots per game; while WhoScored rank him as by far the Magpies’ highest-rated player so far this term.

Therefore, if the 24-year-old is sidelined for the whole festive period and beyond, his absence would be a huge blow for Newcastle and would leave fans feeling gutted.

In other news – “Senior source says”: George Caulkin delivers DOF update which will delight NUFC fans

Djenepo failing to impress at Southampton

Despite enjoying a successful run of form prior to the current international break, remaining unbeaten in their four previous league games, there have been some figures in the Southampton squad that have failed to prove themselves as important players for Ralph Hasenhuttl.

One of which is 23-year-old winger Moussa Djenepo, who has yet to score a goal or provide an assist in nine appearances across all competitions so far this season.

With five starts and two substitute appearances under his belt in the Premier League this season, Djenepo, who is currently valued at £11.7m according to Transfermarkt, has not featured in any of Southampton’s three previous league games, not even making the bench for their 1-0 win over Watford at Vicarage Road.

Southampton signed Djenepo back in the 2019 summer transfer window from Standard Liege in a deal worth a reported fee of £15m.

Since then, the winger has made a total of 60 appearances for the Saints across all competitions, scoring just four goals and providing two assists in the process, showing that he has not been terribly consistent in front of goal for the club, which seems to have been the case this season as well.

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During his time on the pitch in the Premier League this season, Djenepo has managed to lose possession of the ball 81 times in total and rack up a poor average of 0.1 shots on target per game, showing that he hasn’t tested many goalkeepers that he’s come up against when he’s had the chance to play.

A prime example of this came during Southampton’s 2-2 draw against Newcastle United back in August where Djenepo missed a great chance from the six-yard box, which was then described as “unbelievable” by Hasenhuttl for all the wrong reasons.

The Mali international has not proven himself to be a useful defensive player for the Saints either with an average of just 0.3 interceptions per game, 0.7 clearances per game and 41% of duels won.

All in all, Djenepo’s performances in the league this season have earned him a rather uninspiring overall rating of 6.33/10, making him one of Southampton’s lowest-rated players of the season according to WhoScored. On that basis, it wouldn’t be a great surprise if he was shown the exit door at some point in the next 12 months, something that would sadly be deserved based on his poor showings at St Mary’s.

Taking all of this into account, it’s hard to see Djenepo gaining his place back in the team for a consistent run anytime soon, and even though he’s only 23, the winger hasn’t really proven himself to the manager or to the club that they made the right decision in signing him and thus, he should be axed.

In other news: Southampton handed big triple injury boost that will surely leave fans buzzing – opinion

Newcastle: Dummett closing in on return

An injury update has emerged on versatile Newcastle United beast Paul Dummett…

What’s the latest?

The Athletic’s Chris Waugh has revealed that the defender is back out on the grass and could be available to Eddie Howe in the next few days/weeks heading into December.

A supporter asked him about Dummett’s current situation in a Q&A and the reporter wrote: “It has been a frustrating few months for Paul Dummett, who continues to be ravaged by injury problems.

“However, he did return to the grass last week and the indications I’ve received are that he could be in contention for selection within a matter of weeks, if not potentially even days. He suffered a calf problem during pre-season and then unfortunately had a setback during Bruce’s final few weeks, but he is closing in on a return.

“However, given his lack of action in recent months, and how susceptible he is to injuries, it may take him a little bit of time to get fully up to speed.”

Buzzing

This update could provide Eddie Howe with a much-needed lift heading into a crucial chunk of the Premier League season. The Magpies are heading into the busiest schedule of the campaign throughout December and Dummett’s return could really bolster the squad.

His return could be a big boost as he has proven that he can be a reliable defender in the top-flight in multiple positions.

Since the start of the 2015/16 campaign, he has never averaged a SofaScore rating lower than 6.74 in the league, showing that he has been a consistent performer for the Magpies. Last term, Dummett averaged a score of 6.76 in 15 appearances. He won 56% of his duels over the course of the year and made zero errors leading to goals or shots.

In terms of his versatility, he has shown that he can play at centre-back or left-back during his career. This means that he can feature in either of those positions in a back four, or as a left-sided centre-back or a wing-back in a back five too – giving Howe plenty of options in how he can use him in the coming months.

Therefore, Dummett could provide a massive lift for the ex-Cherries coach, leaving him buzzing in the process at his upcoming availability. He is a versatile, reliable, player who could potentially improve the defence with his presence – given his aforementioned form over the years – and plug gaps when needed due to his ability to feature in a multitude of roles.

AND in other news,  Howe must unleash £10.8m-rated NUFC “dark horse” vs Norwich, it’s his time to shine…

Kazeem Olaigbe could be Southampton’s next Walcott

So far this season, Southampton have only managed to score eight goals in their opening nine Premier League games of the season through five different goalscorers.

One player that hasn’t had a good start to the season in an attacking sense is 32-year-old winger Theo Walcott, who has yet to score a goal or provide an assist in any competition so far this season for Southampton despite making seven appearances.

Given his age, his lack of attacking impact he’s had so far this season and the fact that his current contract at St. Mary’s is set to expire in 2023, we think the club should be thinking about a potential replacement for the Englishman sooner rather than later.

However, we feel as though the club could already have their ideal long-term replacement for Walcott at the club with 18-year-old winger Kazeem Olaigbe.

Olaigbe joined Southampton’s U18 side back in the 2019 summer transfer window from RSC Anderlecht’s youth system for an undisclosed fee.

Since then, the Belgian has gone on to make 21 appearances for Southampton’s U18 side, scoring three goals and providing six assists, as well as making 37 appearances for Southampton’s B team, scoring eight goals and providing one assist across all competitions, showing how much of an attacking talent he is.

So far this season, Olaigbe has played 90 minutes in all of the Southampton B team’s nine league games so far this season in which he has managed to rack up three goals and one assist, with his latest appearance coming in their recent 1-0 win over Reading.

This shows just how important the winger is for the club’s B team and how highly thought of he is there, despite having yet to make a senior appearance for Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

Looking ahead to the future, we think that if Olaigbe keeps performing regularly for Southampton’s B team and keeps racking up goals and assists on a regular basis, he could well break into the senior side at some point soon and go on to become a suitable, money-saving long-term replacement for Walcott if he ends up leaving the club when his contract expires.

In other news: Fewer touches than Forster: 22 y/o Saints passenger badly let Ralph down vs Chelsea – opinion

Liverpool: Fans slam Robertson’s comments

A number of Liverpool supporters have criticised Andy Robertson’s post-match comments following the Reds’ 2-2 draw at home to Brighton.

Jurgen Klopp’s men produced a curiously flat showing against the Seagulls on Saturday afternoon as they dropped two precious points in the Premier League title race.

Early goals from Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane looked to have set Liverpool on their way to a comfortable victory, but they got sloppy as the minutes ticked by.

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In the end, Brighton were more than worthy of a point – indeed, they arguably deserved to win – and the Reds were left ruing a disappointing day at the office.

Speaking after the game [via Anfield Watch on Twitter], Robertson bemoaned the result and said that Liverpool have “got to be better than that.”

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Liverpool fans slam Robertson after post-Brighton comments

Robertson’s own form has not been convincing, with WhoScored ranking him a lowly 15th among Liverpool’s squad for his performances so far this season.

He had come in for criticism from some Kopites over recent displays and was well below his best yesterday, winning only one duel, being dribbled past twice, failing to make an impact getting forward and giving away the ball 13 times (SofaScore).

These Reds fans took to Twitter to criticise the Scotland defender’s remarks after the match.

“You suck”

Credit: @cloppoflopp

“How about some performances on the pitch mate”

Credit: @LFCShafic

“You give a better performance too….you have become too sloppy since you were injured during pre-season…come on Robbo…if you asked me Tsimikas is better than Robbo based on recent performances”

Credit: @eldstal_junior

“Then stop shouting at the refs and play better or give a chance to Tsimikas”

Credit: @AlissonTheGreat

“He better improve”

Credit: @LFC_Matthew1

“It starts with you mate”

Credit: @SheikhSadio

In other news, some Liverpool fans were unhappy with one player’s performance against Brighton. Read more here.

Tottenham set sights on Sam Johnstone

As per Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on England international Sam Johnstone, with one mainstay’s future now in ‘major doubt’.

The Lowdown: Lloris’ future up in the air

Hugo Lloris, signed by chairman Daniel Levy in the summer of 2012, has been a long-standing Tottenham servant and fixture in the starting line up, playing every single Premier League match so far this season.

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However, with the 34-year-old Frenchman’s deal due to expire next year, it now remains to be seen whether this season is indeed his last in a Spurs shirt.

As such, the club and its managing director Fabio Paratici are keeping their eyes peeled for worthy replacements, with fresh reports about Johnstone coming to the fore.

The Latest: Spurs eye Lloris replacement…

Despite signing Atalanta shot stopper Pierluigi Gollini on a season-long loan with the option to buy, it appears that Spurs have a contingency plan as they set their sights on Johnstone.

Having recently established himself both at club level and with England, the 28-year-old is firmly on Tottenham’s watchlist. A senior Lilywhites scout is even said to have watched him in action as recently as last week when his West Brom side took on Preston North End.

Spurs are now believed to be compiling a dossier on Johnstone with the view to making a move, according to Football Insider.

The Verdict: Ideal?

Even though Gollini hasn’t really been given his chance to prove whether he is worthy of taking the mantle from Lloris, you could argue that signing Johnstone is a no-brainer going by his homegrown status.

West Brom were also apparently willing to accept around £15m for the goalkeeper last summer, arguably a bargain price given his status as a Three Lions international and his concession rate of just 0.66 goals per game in the Championship so far this term (six in nine games).

He has also been called ‘world class’ by Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Steve Bull (This is Futbol), so could he be the perfect Lloris replacement in N17? They could probably do a lot worse.

In other news: Levy plan to offload big name Spurs player emerges as source leaks damning Hotspur Way behaviour, find out more here.

Rangers: Aribo stole the show vs Hearts

Rangers retained their place at the top of the Scottish Premiership table as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Hearts at Ibrox on Saturday.

The Gers took the lead through a stunning effort from John Lundstram, with the midfielder curling an exceptional effort from distance that Craig Gordon was unable to deal with. However, a last-minute equaliser from Craig Halkett after Allan McGregor fumbled a corner forced the two sides to share the spoils.

Steven Gerrard’s side now sit on 20 points in the Premiership after nine games, one point ahead of Hearts and four ahead of Celtic.

Whilst Lundstram scored the goal to put the Gers in front in the game, another player stole the show at Ibrox – Joe Aribo.

The ex-Charlton man was deployed out wide on the right instead of his usual midfield role, with Lundstram and Glen Kamara starting in a two-man set-up in the middle of the park. He adapted well to his change of position as he caught the eye with a terrific display on the wing, arguably stealing the applause from the ex-Sheffield United goalscorer.

On the ball, he was superb. Per SofaScore, he completed 100% of his four attempted dribbles. This shows that he was able to beat his full-back with ease and showcase his ability in possession as he utilised his skills to progress Rangers up the pitch.

He also created four chances for his teammates as he provided a creative outlet out wide for Gerrard, although he was ultimately let down by the finishing of others – with Alfredo Morelos attempted seven shots and failing to hit the target once.

Defensively, Aribo pulled his weight for Rangers. Per SofaScore, he won eight of his 14 duels on the pitch, including an impressive seven of his 11 ground battles. He also made one tackle and one interception as he proved that he can play out wide without being a lightweight who the rest of the side need to carry throughout the game, which Gerrard will surely be delighted with.

This demonstrates that Aribo was able to merge attacking flair with hard work and defensive diligence, which is why he stole the show on the day. It will now be interesting to see where he is selected to play against Brondby, in regards to whether Gerrard moves him back into midfield or keeps him closer to Morelos in attack.

AND in other news, Rangers gem has seen value soar 233% since 2018, he’s a Wilson masterclass…

Vieira must start Edouard against Liverpool

Crystal Palace brought Tottenham Hotspur back down to earth in emphatic fashion over the weekend, ending their unbeaten start to the season and catapulting themselves into dreamland in the process.

The Eagles secured their first win under new manager Patrick Vieira thanks to a Wilfried Zaha penalty and a well-taken brace from summer signing Odsonne Edouard.

It was Edouard’s maiden outing in Palace colours since arriving from Scottish giants Celtic on transfer deadline day, but he wasted no time introducing himself to the home crowd, netting his first strike just 28 seconds after coming off the bench as a late substitute.

The 23-year-old’s effort was the fastest by a player on their Premier League debut and instantly highlighted his intelligence inside the box and his goalscoring instinct, taking a touch to steady himself before slotting the ball past an outstretched Hugo Lloris. 

Palace’s problems in attack have been well documented over the past two seasons. The Eagles bagged just 31 goals in 2019/20, with relegated duo Watford and Bournemouth outscoring them. 

Last season saw an improved return of 41, but that measly tally still saw 13 Premier League clubs put the ball in the back of the net more frequently.

The south London outfit also began Saturday’s early kick-off having managed just five efforts on target this season, the lowest of any club in the English top flight as Vieira’s new-look setup struggled to get firing in the final third.

For large periods of their performance against Spurs, it appeared as though it would be another frustrating day’s work. Despite their domination, Palace lacked the precision needed to unlock a well-drilled defence until Ben Davies conceded a 75th-minute penalty.

Zaha scored from the spot, and Edouard then arrived from the substitutes’ bench, injecting fresh impetus and raising hopes that the Eagles may finally have found the solution to their longstanding issues in front of goal.

The goalscorers combined for the Frenchman’s first goal as Palace’s talisman turned provider, and the duo will now be confident of forming a formidable partnership capable of taking on any Premier League defence.

Therefore, Vieira must unleash his new star striker – who was once hailed as “magnificent” by his former boss Neil Lennon – against Liverpool and see if he’s capable of producing a similar performance against one of the division’s best defences.

In other news… Get it done: Parish must sanction Palace swoop for £6.3m-rated beast, Vieira needs him 

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