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Wolverhampton Wanderers could well be set to have to wait to name their successor to former boss Bruno Lage, according to recent reports.

What’s the word?

As per talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook, the Midlands outfit are currently in talks regarding a deal for ex-Sevilla boss Julen Lopetegui, although any appointment is not set to be made in time for this weekend’s clash with Nottingham Forest.

Writing on Twitter about the ongoing search for a new head coach, amid negotiations with Lopetegui, the journalist stated: “Talks well underway but told it is unlikely at this stage Wolves will have a new manager in the dugout this weekend.”

The 56-year-old – who had been a target for the Old Gold back in 2016 – is seemingly the preferred candidate for the club at present, having only recently become available after being relieved of his duties by the La Liga side.

Real frustration for Fosun

It will no doubt be a real source of frustration for the Molineux faithful and the club’s ownership group, Fosun, that the managerial search is set to drag on, particularly amid a hectic run of fixtures that could well see the club’s current slump continue unless a change is made at the helm.

Wolves are currently languishing in the relegation zone after picking up just six points from their opening nine Premier League games, with the now-departed Lage having been sacked following the defeat to West Ham United a few weeks ago after recording just one win in 15 top-flight games stretching back to last term.

That miserable run of form has left the club now fearing for its safety in what is their fifth successive season back in the top tier, with a return to the Championship seemingly unfathomable for a club who were competing in the latter stages of the Europa League just a few years ago.

As such, a fresh face in the dugout is no doubt needed sooner rather than later to help reverse the club’s fortunes, with Fosun likely hoping to see the cliched managerial bounce effect come into play as a result of a new appointment.

An ideal first meeting for an incoming coach – be it Lopetegui or another – would seemingly have been Saturday’s encounter with fellow strugglers Forest, with that crucial clash with Steve Cooper’s side likely to have offered a great chance to claim a debut triumph.

As per Crook’s report, however, it looks as if the interim figures of Steve Davis and James Collins will remain in charge for the visit of the Garibaldi, with that a frustrating scenario as far as the Old Gold are concerned.

Celtic’s recent triumph over Hibernian at Parkhead on Saturday saw long-serving winger, James Forrest, hit the headlines, with the Bhoys academy graduate having netted a stunning hat-trick to bring up a century of goals in his Hoops career.

The 31-year-old has been on the periphery in recent times during Ange Postecoglou’s tenure – with that win over Lee Johnson’s side having been just his first start of the season – although took what was a rare chance with both hands, proving once again just what a reliable figure the Scotland international has been over the past decade or so.

The £4.5m-rated ace has been a truly “underrated” figure for both club and country over the years, in the words of Stefan Bienkowski, having notably claimed a remarkable haul of ten Scottish Premiership titles to date.

The 38-cap speedster – who made his debut for the Glasgow side back in 2010 – doesn’t appear to be a force on the decline if this recent showing is anything to go by, having begun to justify the new three-year extension that he received at the end of last term.

The diminutive ace remains one of the club’s most notable academy success stories of the modern era – alongside current skipper Callum McGregor – having shown that there is a clear pathway from youth level to the senior ranks at Celtic Park.

The focus now should well be on finding the next promising talent who can emulate the £19k-per-week wide man’s success, with the Prestwick-born sensation a shining example of the benefits of promoting from within, rather than solely prioritising potential incomings.

One youngster whom Postecoglou could well turn to sooner rather than later is 17-year-old, Ben Quinn, with the exciting teenager potentially an ideal fit to fill Forrest’s shoes later down the line, as he also typically lines up in a right-wing berth.

The highly-rated forward – who is the nephew of former Republic of Ireland international Stephen Quinn – has been with the Hoops since joining back in 2019, with the Scottish giants reportedly edging out the likes of Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers for his signature.

That intense interest from the Premier League is a marker of the Irishman’s obvious talent, while he has also scored once and laid on one assist in all competitions so far this term, with the Dublin-born starlet still having plenty of time to develop even further.

Part of the side which claimed victory over RB Leipzig in the UEFA Youth League a few weeks ago – which left coach Stephen McManus to tip his players for a “bright future” – Quinn is already making steps towards becoming the next youth star to force his way into the first-team.

Tottenham Hotspur boss Antonio Conte will no doubt have a number of selection decisions to make ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash against Sporting Lisbon, with the Lilywhites in need of a positive result amid the fiercely contested battle for progression.

The north London outfit head into tonight’s meeting at N17 having slipped to a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United on home soil at the weekend, ensuring that there is now just two points between themselves and the fourth-placed Magpies in the Premier League.

In need of a positive result to lift the mood at the end of a disappointing week for the north London club, the former Chelsea boss could seemingly aid his chances of victory by ditching Emerson Royal for the visit of Ruben Amorim’s side, with the Brazilian dud having underwhelmed once again at the weekend.

After enduring a disappointing debut campaign in the Premier League last term – having been described as “struggling to cope with the pace” of the league by former top-flight manager Alex McLeish – the former Barcelona man has remained Conte’s go-to selection at right wing-back this time around, despite the arrival of promising youngster Djed Spence.

The 23-year-old has started 12 games in all competitions so far this season having retained the trust of his manager, although that faith has seemingly been unwarranted with the £27m-rated man having provided just a solitary assist in that time.

His display against Eddie Howe’s side last time out seemingly epitomised the full-back’s time with Spurs to date, as the six-cap menace ‘provided a willing pair of legs’, although ‘as often is the case, was just missing that final ball’, according to football.london’s Alasdair Gold.

That underwhelming display saw the £40k-per-week defender notably squander possession 16 times and fail to complete any of his four crosses, while also winning only four of his eight duels.

Such a limp performance drew stinging criticism from journalist Josh Bunting, who stated on Twitter: “Emerson Royal just isn’t good enough at all, he’s not Premier League quality whatsoever.

“Dreadful performance again today, decision making and just general football intelligence is simply dreadful. Maybe the worst player to play for Tottenham in my lifetime and I mean that.”

That may be a harsh assessment, although it no doubt rings true such is the lack of quality that Emerson has shown, with it hard to fathom just why the struggling dud has continually managed to secure a starting berth ahead of the likes of Spence and Matt Doherty.

As the old cliché goes, ‘the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result’, with it seemingly having come to a point where Conte must realise that he is unlikely to see much improvement from the floundering Brazilian full-back despite his continued persistence with the player.

Tottenham Hotspur head into Sunday afternoon’s Premier League meeting with Newcastle United on the back of a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in midweek, with Antonio Conte undoubtedly hoping his side can immediately get back on track with a positive result and performance against the sixth-placed Magpies.

Although, with Dejan Kulusevski and Richarlison remaining sidelined due to injury, as well as Lucas Moura struggling to get back to full fitness after his recovery from a tendon injury, the Italian may well be forced to stick with the 3-5-2 formation that looked to be one of the main reasons behind Tottenham’s distinct lack of creativity in Wednesday’s loss at Old Trafford.

Having said that, one way the 53-year-old could look to add a bit more attacking impetus to his starting XI this afternoon is by replacing Yves Bissouma with Oliver Skipp in the heart of the Tottenham midfield, as, despite having played a total of just 16 minutes of Premier League football this season, the 22-year-old has previously proven his ability to add to his side’s attack.

Indeed, during a season-long loan spell with Norwich City back in 2020/21, despite primarily being a defensively-minded midfielder, the £17.5m-rated talent impressed in an attacking capacity over his 45 Championship appearances, scoring one goal, registering two assists and creating three big chances for his teammates.

The England U21 international also caught the eye in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 2.2 tackles, 1.1 interceptions and winning 5.7 duels – at a success rate of 56% – per game, as well as making an average of 0.6 key passes, 0.6 dribbles and playing 2.4 long balls per fixture – proving his ability to progress the ball further up the pitch.

These returns saw the £40k-per-week youngster average an extremely impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.02, ranking him as the Canaries’ joint ninth-best performer in the second tier of English football that season – playing a key role in the club’s promotion back to the Premier League.

Furthermore, following his display in a 2-0 win over Brentford last season, Glenn Hoddle praised Skipp’s ability to progress the ball from central midfield, stating of the Englishman (via the Daily Mail): “Oliver Skipp – I thought it was his best game he has played for Tottenham. There are times when he is a little frustrating, where he looks square and backwards.

“But he is growing into the game, straight away when he is in possession of the ball he is looking forwards, he is getting more confident on the ball, progressive. If he can keep doing that consistently then he will be the player that people were speaking to me about a few years back.”

As such, with Conte’s side desperately lacking a creative spark against United, the 53-year-old manager must finally hand the academy graduate his first start of the Premier League season when Newcastle visit the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium later today, as Skipp undoubtedly has the ability to prove to be a game-changer in Tottenham’s 3-5-2 set-up.

Tottenham Hotspur have now been provided with an exciting update on their pursuit of Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson in a report from Football Insider…

What's the latest Tottenham transfer news?

Tottenham's pursuit of Johnson has been well-documented, but they still have other options in mind as we approach the end of the window, with journalist Rudy Galetti suggesting a deal for FC Porto's Pepe could still be possible, although it will be tough:

"Tottenham are really, really interested in Pepe. They targeted him as one of the profiles to reinforce their squad. They are still pushing hard to change the position of Porto.

"Porto are quite adamant that they are not open to negotiating a different price than the release clause set for the Brazilian winger, which is €75m [£64m]."

Should Spurs miss out on Pepe as a result of Porto's unwillingness to negotiate, they could also pursue a move for Crystal Palace's Eberechi Eze, but the Eagles are set to hold out for over £60m if they are to part with one of their prized assets.

Having already made one bid of £40m for Johnson, which was turned down by Nottingham Forest, journalist Sami Mokbel reports the Lilywhites are expected to return to the negotiating table, but the deal is set to run close to the 11pm deadline.

Football Insider have now shared another exciting update on Tottenham's pursuit of the winger, in which it is detailed he expects to complete his move to north London by the end of today, having agreed the terms of the deal.

Extensive talks have been held with Forest over a deal for the 22-year-old, and Spurs seemingly have a good chance of winning the race for his signature, considering he has made it clear he wants to leave the City Ground and preferably work under Ange Postecoglou.

The Forest forward has been hugely impressed by the plan for his development outlined by Postecoglou, and he could now get his wish of working under the 58-year-old, with Daily Mail reporter Mokbel more recently reporting a deal worth £45m has been agreed in principle.

Read The Latest Tottenham Transfer News HERE

How many goals has Brennan Johnson scored for Forest?

Across a total of 109 appearances for his boyhood club, in which he has played in a number of positions, the Welshman has scored 29 goals, while also picking up 12 assists, so it is clear that he poses a considerable attacking threat.

That said, £45m is a huge sum of money for a player yet to prove himself as one of the Premier League's best players, having scored eight goals last season, and he is yet to get off the mark in the ongoing campaign.

However, Tottenham's proposed swoop for Ansu Fati is now seemingly off the cards, with a move to Brighton in the pipeline, and Eze is set to cost over £60m – at least £15m more than Johnson.

As such, the Wales international, who has been lauded as an "unbelievable" player by former manager Sabri Lamouchi, could be the most viable option for Spurs at this stage, and it is exciting news that a deal is edging closer to completion.

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White has been criticised by Paul Robinson for his comments about the officials during the club’s recent 2-2 draw against Brentford in the Premier League. 

The Lowdown: Forest v Brentford controversy

Speaking after that game, the 22-year-old claimed that his side were “cheated out of three points” after they conceded a controversial penalty last Saturday afternoon. This led to the FA opening an investigation over the comments, with a charge reportedly likely to be handed to the player.

Away from this investigation, it appears that Gibbs-White’s comments have caught the attention of one former Premier League goalkeeper who has not shown much sympathy over what the Forest player said.

The Latest: Gibbs-White criticised

Speaking to Football Insider, Robinson reprimanded Gibbs-White over his outburst about the officials following the Brentford game, labelling the remarks as “stupid”.

The 43-year-old stated: “It is a stupid thing to say. You have got to be very careful with your choice of words. You certainly cannot insinuate that the officials have cheated. If you do that, you will get yourself in trouble.

“You can be frustrated, you can be disappointed and you can voice your opinion. One thing you cannot suggest is that the referees are cheats. They are not.

“They might get decisions wrong but when they do, you have to be careful with your words. Gibbs-White will get himself in trouble because it really is a silly thing to say.”

The Verdict: A big regret for Gibbs-White

Regardless of how frustrated Gibbs-White may have been because of refereeing decisions against the Bees, saying that the officials cheated is a step too far from the youngster.

With that in mind, if a charge from the FA does come his way in the near future, the 22-year-old may well end up regretting what he said after Saturday’s game, especially if it lands him a suspension.

Moving forward, the best thing Gibbs-White can do now is use whatever punishment comes his way as a learning curve and not overstep the mark again when it comes to sharing his opinions on referees.

After a disappointing start to the Premier League season which leaves West Ham United in 13th place, it seems as if David Moyes is already considering how to strengthen his squad.

According to reports from Italy, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham are all keen on Salernitana’s Boulaye Dia after his impressive start to life with the Serie A side.

The Senegal international joined Salernitana on loan from Villarreal during the summer and has already caught the eye in Campania, contributing five goals and two assists in just 11 Serie A appearances.

The report states that while the Italian side have an option to buy Dia as part of their loan deal, president Danilo Iervolino plans to pay the €12m (£10.5m) fee before auctioning him for €17m (£15m) in order to make a quick profit.

This could open the door for West Ham to bring in the 25-year-old and if he were to arrive at the London Stadium he could prove to be the ideal heir to Michail Antonio in Moyes’ side.

Since signing from Nottingham Forest in 2015, Antonio has gone on to make 246 appearances for the Hammers, in which he has contributed an impressive 65 goals and 41 assists, which were enough to see him become their all-time top goalscorer in the Premier League.

However, the 32-year-old has lost his starting spot to Gianluca Scamacca this season and looks to be approaching the end of a superb career with the Hammers, which suggests that a replacement will have to be brought in sooner rather than later.

While there has been something of a ‘striker curse’ at West Ham in recent seasons, Dia has found the net with regularity throughout his career, with strong spells at Stade Reims and Jura Sud Foot before his move to Villarreal.

He would also arrive with the blessing of former Liverpool star Sadio Mane, who plays in attack with Dia for the Senegal national side, having earned his first call-up during his time at Reims, when Mane sang his praises.

He said: “Since the start of the season I started to follow him, and I’m really impressed by his qualities.”

Dia has also averaged more shots, key passes, dribbles and a higher pass success rate than Antonio this season, so he could prove to be the ideal man to replace him at West Ham in the long term.

Graham Potter is undergoing somewhat of a rough patch at Chelsea at the moment, with the club not winning in the Premier League since 16 October following Saturday evening’s 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

There may be more bad news for Potter, with contract discussions surrounding Mason Mount reaching a stalemate. Talks between the club and the player have been ongoing since the summer and the Englishman is heading into the final 18 months of his deal.

The London side have looked at contingency plans in case Mount decides to move on or Chelsea wants to sell, with AS Roma star Lorenzo Pellegrini looked at as a viable alternative.

Potter can ditch Mount

The 23-year-old has been included in England’s World Cup squad and has started every league game under Potter, yet his last two league performances haven’t particularly caught the eye, averaging a rating of 6.7/10 as per SofaScore.

A move for Pellegrini would make sense, especially with his talents, although it could cost the club a big transfer fee, with the Roma player valued at €60m (£53m) by the CIES Football Observatory and Jose Mourinho will surely not even entertain a bid less than that.

The 26-year-old has been praised by Roma icon Francesco Totti previously, who said: “I am not surprised by the development of Pellegrini. As I always know Lorenzo is a phenomenal player. Now, everything depends on him to continue to be at this level.”

His form this season has shown exactly why Chelsea have them on their list as a potential Mount replacement, as he has registered 11 goal contributions – four goals and seven assists – in all competitions from an attacking midfield slot, which is better than Mount’s tally of eight goal involvements.

The Italian also has more shots per game than Mount (2.55 to 1.96), has generated more goal-creating actions (11 to 7), and has a higher dribble success rate (44.9% to 43.2%), proving precisely why Chelsea could look to move on their youth graduate in favour of a flashy new signing.

The 47-year-old will now likely have to wait until after the World Cup to discuss Mount’s contract scenario in depth, but this may mean Pellegrini could attract attention from elsewhere.

It could well be an interesting January transfer market for the Stamford Bridge side as Potter aims to put his own stamp on the team.

Scottish champions Celtic have received a timely boost following an update on the fitness of captain, Callum McGregor.

What’s the word?

As per Daily Record, the Scotland international has revealed that he is in line to make his return to training during the Old Firm outfit’s stint in Australia, with the Hoops set to take part in the Sydney Super Cup.

The 29-year-old stated: “Hopefully I will be joining bits of the sessions this week and just progressing the rehab. It will be an important five, six days for me as well. I am looking forward to getting back on the grass with the boys.”

The long-serving midfielder has been absent since sustaining a knee injury in the Champions League defeat away to RB Leipzig in early October, although the expectation is that the 49-cap gem should be fit to return after the World Cup break.

Huge boost

News of the playmaker returning to the training pitch will seemingly be a huge boost as far as manager Ange Postecoglou is concerned, with the former Yokohama boss likely to be keen to bring his reliable skipper back into the fold.

While the Parkhead giants have no doubt performed well in McGregor’s absence – continuing their march towards the title to move nine points ahead of bitter rivals Rangers at the summit – it has arguably been far from ideal to have been without the academy graduate in recent weeks.

As Postecoglou previously stated, the £32k-per-week machine is a figure that the club simply “can’t replace” such is his wealth of experience and leadership qualities, with the Glasgow-born sensation one of the more senior figures in a squad that is largely made of up relatively recent additions.

Compatriot Barry Ferguson has also recently echoed that sentiment, stating:

“In terms of Callum McGregor I think he is irreplaceable. He’s so important to Celtic on the pitch, off the pitch he’s a massive influence.

“He’s their most important player without a doubt. He’s grown into the position and grown into being a real leader at Celtic, obviously taking over the captaincy.”

There are reports that the Scottish Premiership outfit are targetting a new midfield recruit in the New Year to help bolster Postecoglou’s options in the centre of the park, although it could seemingly be just as important to get McGregor back in the thick of things.

A figure who has enjoyed notable success over the years at Paradise – winning a plethora of major honours and providing 126 goal involvements in 389 games across all fronts – Celtic are no doubt in need of such an experienced head to help guide the emerging talents of Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate.

That latter duo had been forced to produce an “enormous shift” in recent games due to the loss of their “influential” captain – in the words of Postecoglou – with it seemingly unsustainable to once again have to rely on that pair when club action resumes at the end of next month.

As such, it is simply a huge boost to see McGregor edging ever closer to a return, both for the player, as well as his teammates and manager.

The 2022/23 Premier League campaign has so far been a tightly packed one in England and with the season drawing to a paused close the other week to enable the first ever winter World Cup out in Qatar to take place, for very understandable reasons the vast majority of football fans across Europe are focused on the tournament, and not their own domestic game.

Manchester United fans were somewhat otherwise occupied given Cristiano Ronaldo’s rather explosive interview with Piers Morgan as he seemingly tried to engineer a move out of Old Trafford given the fact his second spell has not really gone to plan, and with significant issues this season – missing a portion of pre season training, refusing to come on as a substitute and so on – with the World Cup now underway and Ronaldo’s attentions on Portugal, he has ultimately got what he wanted having agreed a mutual termination of his contract with the Red Devil’s.

This episode though does not diminish the kind of player he has been across his career nor does it change his commitment and focus for all the clubs he has played for prior to this latest move – so for very clear reasons fans will understand why Betway Insider continued to name Ronaldo in their top five of the potential World Cup greatest of all time (G.O.A.T) list.

Fans will certainly have their own preferences for such a list and there are a whole host of players who have lit up the biggest stage in football and would deservedly warrant their place on an extended World Cup G.O.A.T list, but with Ronaldo (who will now have feelers out for a new club) followed by Lionel Messi, Pele, Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, I think the vast majority of fans would agree that they each deserve their spot in top five – the greatest of them all though is certainly very much open for debate.

As Betway explained their choice, for Ronaldo they offered.

“His versatility on the pitch, goalscoring prowess and cheetah-like speed on the ball undoubtedly place Ronaldo among the best players ever. His hat-trick against Spain in 2018 is undeniably one of the greatest World Cup performances off all time, as he scored a flawless free-kick in the 88th minute to earn a point in a 3-3 draw and become the oldest player to ever score a World Cup treble.”

Picking out a particular World Cup memory or performance from the past to justify why the other four are also on the list, they went on to explain.

Messi:

“For Messi’s greatest World Cup moment, we’ve gone with his performance in Brazil in 2014. Not only was he top scorer for Argentina – which included a corker of a strike to send Iran packing, and netting a free-kick with pinpoint accuracy against Nigeria – he was also named the best player of the tournament and won the Golden Ball award.”

Zidane:

“You can’t speak of Zidane without mentioning his heroic performance in the 1998 World Cup final, scoring two headers against Brazil and winning the tournament for France for the first time ever. His graceful display as he floated past defenders with ease and set up his teammates for victory is certainly one for the history books.”

Maradona:

“His single best World Cup moment? There’s only one we could go with. From the deftest of touches to receive the ball and the single-handed demolition of England’s defence, to sliding past Peter Shilton under pressure. It’s a moment still referred to as the goal of the century. God-like, we’d say.”

Pele:

“If we had to pick Pelé’s greatest moment, it would have to be winning Brazil’s first World Cup against Sweden in 1958 at just 17 years old, making him the youngest scorer in World Cup history. During the final, Pelé scored one of the greatest goals ever, effortlessly flicking the ball over the defender and volleying into the back of the net.”

They each deserve their place on the list, but I could not tell you who deserved to be top.

Photo by Unsplash