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Wolves’ relationship with super-agent Jorge Mendes could bear fruit once again this January if latest reports are to be believed…

What’s the word?

According to Polish outlet Sportowe Fakty, the Midlands outfit are interested in striking a deal over Wisla Krakow wonderkid Aleksander Buksa.

It’s claimed that Molineux is his most likely destination amid uncertainty over his immediate future with his agent Pini Zahavi and Mendes looking to secure a move to Wolves.

The 17-year-old’s contract is due to expire in the summer but he could sign a professional deal in January when he turns 18, but it would mean he is available for just €5m (£4.5m) thanks to a release clause.

Generational star?

You could be forgiven for not knowing who the young striker is but after scoring four goals in 21 appearances for Wisla last season, he made the Guardian’s ‘Next Generation’ list.

They have ranked him amongst the 60 best young talents in world football – Maciej Slominski wrote: “Both Buksa brothers are tall, technically proficient, left-footed, blonde strikers. Barcelona are said to have scouted him.”

Whilst FootballTalentScout likened his playing style to that of Arkadiusz Milik, claiming that Buksa is a “determined forward with killer-instinct, interesting technique on the ball, decent dribbling skills and cleverness at his off-the-ball movements,” so perhaps it is no surprise to see him dubbed the ‘new Lewandowski.’

The Old Gold have a track record of paying up for relatively unknown youngsters – Pedro Neto, Rayan Ait-Nouri (if he signs permanently) and Leonardo Campana spring to mind.

So if they believe that the Polish sensation has a genuine chance of transforming into a generational star, then they should be trusted with the decision – even if Mendes is involved.

It is his relationship with Fosun that could see him come to the Midlands instead of the La Liga giants.

AND in other news, Nuno could land a true Traore replacement in £45m-rated destroyer…

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo despediu-se neste sábado de um dos preparadores físicos mais importantes de sua carreira. Responsável por transformar Zico em um atleta e ídolo do Rubro-Negro, José Roberto Francalacci morreu aos 77 anos, em um hospital no Rio Comprido, bairro do Rio de Janeiro.

Além de ter contribuído para o então franzino Zico (que chegou ao clube pesando 40kg) ganhar cerca de 30 quilos em sete anos, chegando aos profissionais, Francalacci trabalhou no Flamengo durante 28 anos. Em seu Facebook, o Galinho divulgou uma nota lamentando a morte do preparador e destacando a importância dele para sua carreira:

-Acordei hoje aqui na Índia com uma notícia muito triste. Morreu Francalacci. Eu só tenho a agradecer pelo trabalho feito comigo e a importância dele pra nossa geração no Flamengo como preparador físico. Como jogávamos muito e às vezes 3 e até 4 jogos por semana, Franca criou o famoso Pijama Training. Mandava a gente em casa ou no hotel dormir bem e só levantar pra ir para as refeições. Abaixo uma foto em que ele aparece apitando treino com Junior e Leandro em destaque. Força para a família do grande Franca, que ele descanse em paz.

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Francalacci convivia com problemas de diabetes, e passou por problemas cardíacos nas últimas semanas. O ex-preparador físico deixa a mulher, Sônia, e dois filhos.

According to a report by reliable Football.London correspondent Alasdair Gold, Tottenham transfer target Habib Diallo is ‘keen’ to link up with manager Jose Mourinho at Spurs, with the Metz forward on Daniel Levy’s list of attacking candidates ahead of the 2020/21 Premier League season. 

Diallo, who racked up 12 goals and three assists in Ligue 1 last season, has been billed as a player who fits the Mourinho profile, with his price tag currently set at around £18.5m.

Standing at a lofty 6 ft 1, Diallo could be viewed as a traditional target man who can hold the ball up, bring his teammates into play and dominate defenders in the air, made evident by his brilliant record of 4.3 aerial duels won per match during the 2019/20 season (WhoScored).

The Senegalese attacker is also a potent threat in front of goal, having managed 2.9 shots per game last season, an even better average than Spurs’ star striker Harry Kane over fewer league appearances.

Taking this into account, it’s little wonder that Spurs and Levy have considered a swoop for Diallo, with the Premier League’s physicality potentially demanding a forward who can hold his own.

Gold has now claimed that the striker is eager to link up with Mourinho and, by extension, Spurs – gifting Tottenham a boost in the race for his signature. As well as Diallo, strikers Patson Daka and Arkadiusz Milik could be on the Spurs agenda, with the duo totalling a combined 41 goals in all competitions last term (Daka, 27; Milik, 14).

Whether or not Tottenham will prioritise Diallo over the other two remains to be seen, but the 25-year-old Metz attacker could be viewed as a real coup if Spurs can land him.

Spurs fans, is Diallo the perfect solution to your club’s striker conundrum? Have your say in the comments below…

أكد ماركو فيراتي لاعب وسط فريق باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي أنه لا ينوي الرحيل عن ناديه، وسط رغبة مانشستر سيتي الإنجليزي في ضمه.

اللاعب الإيطالي يلعب في باريس سان جيرمان منذ مغادرته بيسكارا في 2012 ولم يلعب في الدوري الإيطالي للدرجة الأولى أي مباراة.

طالع أيضًا | باريس سان جيرمان: يجب معاقبة ريال مدريد.. وتصرفهم مع مبابي “عدم احترام”

وقال ماركو فيراتي في تصريحات لشبكة “فرنس بلو” الفرنسية: “باريس سان جيرمان أعطاني كل شيء، من منظور كرة القدم وفي الحياة بشكل عام”.

وأضاف: “لقد أتاح النادي لي الفرصة للعب مع أبطال عظماء وضدهم أيضًا، وهو ما أردته منذ أن بدأت مسيرتي… لقد وقعت في حب باريس سان جيرمان، وأحاول دائمًا بذل أقصى ما لدي لأكون عند حسن ظن الجماهير دائمًا”.

وأكمل: “كنت طفلًا صغيرًا عندما أتيت إلى باريس سان جيرمان، ومع الوقت ولد أطفالي هنا، لقد أخبرت الجميع بأن باريس سان جيرمان مثل بيتي الثاني، لقد أصبحت رجلًا وأبًا هنا، سأحاول البقاء دائمًا في باريس”.

واختتم: “لدي هنا ذكريات لا تصدق، لا يزال لدي وقتي ولا أرغب في الرحيل الآن، لا أنوي الرحيل أو تغيير القميص”.

The last few days have been very good for all associated with Arsenal as they managed to beat Liverpool in the Community Shield on penalties and then announced the signing of defender Gabriel Magalhaes.

The Brazilian had been linked with fellow Premier League sides Manchester United and Everton but the Gunners managed to acquire him for around £26.5m and he has signed a five-year deal, per ESPN.

It is an exciting time to be an Arsenal supporter as, despite finishing in eighth place in the Premier League last season, there has been an upturn in fortunes since Mikel Arteta took over from Unai Emery as manager, as he has managed to win both the Community Shield and the FA Cup while being in charge for less than nine months at the Emirates Stadium.

This clearly has been a factor in bringing players like Gabriel to the club, and he is very excited to embark on his new journey in the Premier League as he posted on Instagram following Arsenal’s confirmation of his transfer.

His

/CEmdCdBiD_g/”>post was a video of him changing his Lille shirt for the Gunners’ home kit and it was accompanied with the caption: ‘Wearing and representing the Arsenal shirt is the privilege of a few. I thank my parents, my businessmen and everyone who helped me get here. Very happy and motivated to be able to play in such a traditional team of world football. A new beginning. A new story’

Supporters will surely love that he has called it a privilege to play for the club and hopefully the 22 year-old can put in some solid performances at the back to help Arsenal lift more silverware and improve upon their lowly league finish from last term.

Gunners fans, how excited are you to see Gabriel in action? Comment below with your views!

This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.

The 2009/10 season was a rather good one for Glasgow Rangers.

In Scotland, the race for trophies is really between two clubs, and the Gers were victorious that campaign in two of the three competitions on offer, winning the Scottish Premiership and the Scottish League Cup. That year, they were comfortably ahead of their fierce city rivals Celtic, with them finishing a huge six points ahead in the league.

However, not everything was good about that year – the Gers also spent £450,000 on the one-year loan signing of Jerome Rothen. In the end, it didn’t really cost them, but the capture of Rothen was one that many at Ibrox will want to forget.

By the time he made the short-term switch to Glasgow, Rothen had already had a successful career in France. He had made 180 appearances for PSG in all competitions, providing 36 assists, whilst he had also appeared in a Champions League final with Monaco. Whilst he may have been edging towards the end of his career by the time he moved to Scotland, it looked like a wise investment.

It proved to be anything but. He ended up making just eight appearances throughout his spell and provided a solitary assist – he just didn’t take to the game north of the border. The club even wanted to send him back to France in December, but PSG did not want him to return as that would mean they would have to pay an extra 50% of his wages – the Gers paid half of his salary on top of that initial loan fee.

Considering he was on £36,000 a week in Paris, that meant the Gers were paying £18,000 every seven days to a player they didn’t really want. Fortunately, they were able to move him on by January 28th, as he moved on loan to Ankaragucu in Turkey, but that still meant they paid half his wages for 21 weeks – that equated to £378,000.

All in all, considering the deal cost, in total, £828,000, every appearance from Rothen cost the club £103,500. A truly monumental error from the Gers.

Let us know what you think below!

Leicester have been named amongst those interested in acquiring the services of Lyon striker Moussa Dembele this summer.

Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic connections continue to cast light on some tempting transfer targets ahead of next season. The French forward, who joined Lyon from the Scottish outfit in 2018, is reportedly on the manager’s radar. A price hasn’t been set, but Dembele’s current Transfermarkt value sits at £36million, which isn’t an unreasonable amount by any means.

According to France Football (via Sport Witness), Rodgers is keen on reuniting with his former player and using his clinical nature to bolster the Foxes’ attack. However, Dembele is aware of the interest and isn’t making Leicester a ‘priority decision’ despite enjoying his time under Rodgers at Celtic.

The 23-year-old hasn’t specified why he doesn’t see the Midlands outfit as an attractive move, but that could all change if they secure Champions League football next season.

As it stands, Leicester are third in the Premier League table after a fantastic run of form, pushing Manchester City to the wire for second place. With just four points between them and the holding champions, they could well finish in their highest position since their 2015/16 fairytale win.

Club icon Jamie Vardy is still a regular, but he isn’t getting any younger and Leicester must be equipped to fill his boots. The England international currently leads the entire Premier League with the most goals scored – his tally of 19 trumps the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mohamed Salah who have both also had prolific seasons.

Dembele’s stats are numbers to be marvelled at and could be the answer to replacing Vardy once his powers start to diminish. The Frenchman has a 2019/20 season total of 22 goals, just falling shy of last campaign’s tally of 23 (via Transfermarkt).

If Leicester secure Champions League football and continue to show grit in the Premier League, they could sway the striker into joining the King Power after all. And if there is a possibility to sign him up, Rodgers should do everything he can to make that happen.

Would you like to see the Foxes snap up Moussa Dembele, Leicester fans? Join the discussion in the comments below!

When Gordon Strachan handed Sunderland £3.25m for Kevin Phillips in 2003, it seemed like Southampton had completed a marquee signing of real glitz and glamour.

After all, the striker had only recently won the European Golden Shoe award in 1999/2000 after notching 30 goals for the Black Cats, so Strachan appeared to have landed one of England’s best forwards – even if he had only managed to score six goals for Sunderland as they were relegated.

However, amidst all the glitz of this marquee deal, the signing of Phillips turned out to be a poor investment from the Saints.

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The man who won eight caps for England admittedly had a fine goalscoring record for Southampton, netting 25 goals in 71 games which works out at an average better than a goal every three games.

Despite that, Southampton didn’t really get much for their money.

The ex-Watford frontman only spent two years at St Mary’s before joining Aston Villa in a deal worth £1m, meaning that Southampton took a £2.25m loss on their investment and had very little to show for it.

In today’s money, the Saints’ £3.25m capture of the striker in 2003 would be worth £5,177,188.20.

Ultimately, Phillips cost the club £130k per goal, which isn’t awful value for money to say the least.

However, it was the hefty loss that the Saints took when losing the European Golden Shoe winner that makes this deal look like a poor investment, and also the fact that he didn’t manage to score enough goals to keep them in the top-flight as they were relegated under Harry Redknapp in 2005.

It was a signing with good intentions at the time, although one perhaps clouded by Phillips’ mesmeric goalscoring achievements in 1999/2000 – in that respect, you can’t blame Strachan too much for this one.

Having said that, it cannot be denied that the Scot made a blunder when this deal is viewed in hindsight.

From non-League to the Premier League: Where did these top-flight stars begin their careers?

In other news, what does the future hold for this promising Southampton man after his disappointing season?

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Sheffield Wednesday striker Steven Fletcher has been talking up his teammates, praising the atmosphere amongst the dressing room when featuring on the EFL Podcast this week.

What’s he said?

The Owls showed signs that their off-field problems are no hurdle by ending a five-game run without victory by defeating Charlton Athletic 3-1 at The Valley.

Fletcher netted a brace, including one penalty, with his strike partner Atdhe Nuhiu scoring the third in the dying stages of additional time.

The 32-year-old has hailed the group as some of the best he’s been around, he said:

“I think it’s just the atmosphere around the place.

“It’s the best changing room I’ve ever been in. As a group, there’s no cliques or nothing, everyone’s just together. The foreign lads, the English lads, Scottish lads, it’s been brilliant.

“I think that’s what’s showing the character out there. We show it on the pitch and off the pitch and it’s good.”

Character and attitude

Wednesday are facing significant uncertainty off the pitch after the EFL charged the club for financial misconduct, which has since extended out to chairman Dejphon Chansiri and several of the Owls hierarchy, who could all be banned from football altogether.

The club were found guilty over the £60m sale of their Hillsborough stadium to the owner to try and offset any debts occurred in the 2017/18 accounts.

One football finance expert believes the south Yorkshiremen could be punished with a 12-point deduction at the very least, which would almost certainly curtail their season, as it would currently take them from playoff contenders to relegation favourites.

However, in the face of all this adversity, these remarks from the 32-year-old striker offer some hope as the squad appears to be tight-knit and ‘together.’

This could make a major difference if they do indeed receive the consequences this season as they will want to battle for one another to pull the club out of the mire.

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Meanwhile, one of Stuart Gray’s first signings could finally be seeing his career at Hillsborough come to an abrupt end…

In this instalment of our TT Roundup, Football Transfer Tavern have gathered three of the biggest stories to have involved Wolves recently and have provided our thoughts on the reports published.

Wolves target Dani Olmo speaks about his future

In an interview with Spanish publication Sport, the 21-year-old Barcelona academy graduate replied “I hope I can come back” when asked about a possible return to La Liga, although he also stated: “I don’t close the door on any club.”

Verdict

Sport have claimed that Barcelona may be tempted to bring Olmo back to Camp Nou, which could leave Wolves needing to use all their powers of persuasion to try and bring him to Molineux.

He netted on his senior debut for Spain last Friday and scored against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League last month, with a return of six goals from 17 club games this season.

With Wolves not having an abundance of goals from midfield (Ruben Neves is their most prolific in that position so far this term with three), Olmo could be worth another try for Wolves in the January transfer window.

Patrick Cutrone’s agent refutes rumours of possible Wolves exit

Patrick Cutrone’s agent Donato Orgnoni has poured cold water on reports that the striker wants to leave Wolves and return to his native Italy.

Italian outlet Primo Canale reported on Monday [via Sport Witness] that the 21-year-old is seeking a return to Serie A, with Sampdoria considering a loan-to-buy offer in January.

However, Orgnoni subsequently told SampNews24 [via Sport Witness] that his client has not thought about leaving Wolves and is fully committed to the club.

Verdict

Cutrone hasn’t quite hit the ground running at Wolves since joining from AC Milan in July, with just two goals in 19 appearances so far for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team.

Having made just three Premier League starts and remaining in the shadow of Raul Jimenez, who has followed up his 17 goals last season with 13 already this term, the Italian might have been hoping to make more of an impact at Molineux in his first few months at the club.

However, at 21 he has ample time to improve and does not deserve to be written off at Wolves yet, considering his tender years and that this is his first move outside of his homeland.

Wolves maintaining their interest in Danny Loader

Wolves are continuing to keep tabs on Reading forward Danny Loader, having come close to signing the 19-year-old during the summer.

On transfer deadline day in August, the teenager had a medical at Molineux and agreed terms with Wolves, only for the Royals to pull the plug on the deal at the last minute, as tweeted by Sky Sports reporter Anton Toloui.

That hasn’t deterred the Black Country club from renewing their interest in the player, though, with Birmingham Live claiming on Tuesday that Wolves are keeping tabs on him.

Verdict

Loader has yet to firmly establish himself in Reading’s first team, making just six senior appearances (four as a substitute) this season without scoring, as per TransferMarkt.

However, that hasn’t stopped Wolves from being joined in the race for his signature by Manchester United, according to Sky Sports News.

With Raul Jimenez scoring freely and a host of forward options either at the club currently (Diogo Jota, Patrick Cutrone, Pedro Neto) or out on loan (Rafa Mir, Leo Bonatini, Bright Enobakhare, Renat Dadashov), there seems no great need for Wolves to go all-in on an unproven striker who hasn’t yet nailed down a place at the team placed 19th in the Championship.

Wolves fans, what do you make of these stories concerning your club? Share your views in the comments section below!