All posts by z3u9t.icu

Even though Wolves’ technical director Scott Sellars recently played down the prospect of major spending from the Midlands club during the current January transfer window, one potential deal that they could realistically pull off in the coming weeks would be to bring Matt Doherty back to Molineux from fellow Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.

Earlier this month, it was reported by Football Insider that Wolves had expressed an interest to Spurs that they would like to sign the Irishman this month.

Since then, journalist Pete O’Rourke has said that Doherty “would seriously consider” joining Bruno Lage’s squad and leaving the north London club.

Since joining Spurs back in the 2020 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £14.7m, Doherty has made 41 appearances across all competitions with only 21 of them coming in the Premier League, suggesting that he has not been a first-choice player for the Lilywhites, especially with just four appearances and no starts in the league this season.

During his time as a Wolves player in which he said he felt “privileged” by, loving life at Molineux, the 29-year-old racked up a total of 302 appearances across all competitions, with an impressive return of 28 goals and 41 assists along the way.

Wolves’ current right-wing back Nelson Semedo has been in impressive form in the Premier League so far this season, earning himself an overall performance rating of 6.77/10, making him their fifth-highest rated outfield player according to WhoScored.

That said, Lage could still strike gold by luring Doherty back to Wolves this month to give some competition to the Portuguese international in that position and depth for Lage in case of any potential injuries.

It would also presumably please plenty of Wolves fans to see Doherty back at Molineux given his experience of playing for them and helping them come up from the Championship to the Premier League.

Labelled as a “superb” player for his previous efforts in a Wolves shirt by Danny Mills, the £10.8m-rated defender could potentially receive a hero’s welcome this month if he were to move back to Molineux.

Wolves and Lage should definitely approach Tottenham in the coming weeks to see if they would be willing to let Doherty go for a reasonable fee. After all, the idea of him returning to the Midlands is a sweat one.

In other news: Journalist drops behind-the-scenes January update that’ll have Wolves fans sweating – opinion

Tottenham Hotspur have been handed a massive boost in their pursuit of mooted transfer target Andrea Belotti this week…

What’s the word?

During the summer transfer window, the north London outfit were reportedly ‘observing’ the 27-year-old’s situation as he entered the final year of his current contract at Serie A outfit Torino, as per Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness).

They were once again linked ahead of January and now it seems as if they have been gifted their biggest boost yet, should sporting director Fabio Paratici still retain such interest.

According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, the Bulls have offered him a new deal but nothing has been agreed, as he also relayed comments from club president Urbano Cairo, who said: “I don’t see big chances to extend his contract, but we’ll see.”

Should they swoop?

It would not be a surprise to see Spurs make a move for a striker in the near future, considering an out-of-form Harry Kane is their only senior option. He’s scored just once in the Premier League all season and that has to be a cause for concern to manager Antonio Conte.

Belotti is increasingly likely to be available for nothing in the summer, and that means foreign clubs like Tottenham can submit pre-contract offers to the Torino talisman as early as January.

Valued at a whopping £31.5m by Transfermarkt, the Italy international would be quite the steal, especially fresh off the back of winning Euro 2020. He has proven to be a very prolific goalscorer over recent times.

The forward has bagged double figures in every season since 2015/16, including a career-best tally of 28 goals in the 2016/17 campaign, via Transfermarkt.

Ex-Spurs shot-stopper Joe Hart briefly played with Belotti at the Stadio Olimpico Grande Torino and described the frontman as a unique talent, different to the big names we usually see mentioned across Europe.

“Andrea is similar to all the great strikers, English and not. It’s hard to compare him to someone else because he’s special,” he lauded to journalist Gianluca Di Marzio. “He’s Belotti and that’s it. He has [an] instinct for goals, personality and he’s a team player: he’s always focused on his team and plays hard to help it.”

Things have not gone to plan for him this campaign, managing only two goals and five starts, but injuries have somewhat hampered his season so far and that doesn’t take away from his impressive and consistent goalscoring record over the years; not to mention his role as captain, either.

It’s evident that Spurs are in desperate need of alternatives to the misfiring Kane and Belotti could be a bargain solution, even more so after the door has seemingly opened for them to strike a deal at the turn of the year.

Paratici and Conte should act after this latest development from Romano. They have been gifted a massive boost, so it would be foolish to not at least try and lure the Italian to north London.

AND in other news, Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge drops Spurs update on Joe Rodon…

Crystal Palace will not attempt to sign Wolves left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, according to journalist Tom Barclay.

The Lowdown: Ait-Nouri impresses for Wolves

Wanderers are enjoying a good start to life under Bruno Lage, with Sunday’s 0-0 draw at home to Chelsea their latest positive result. A number of Wolves players have shone this season and one such example is Ait-Nouri, who has produced a string of good performances at left-back.

The 20-year-old has started eight Premier League games and was excellent up against Mohamed Salah in the last-gasp defeat to Liverpool earlier this month. Indeed, his 7.12 WhoScored average rating over the course of the campaign is the best in Lage’s squad, so that performance against the Reds was no one-off.

The Latest: Palace won’t be signing Ait-Nouri

Despite Ait-Nouri being linked with a move to Palace, Barclay has told GIVEMESPORT that the Frenchman will not be moving to Selhurst Park in the January transfer window, news which will surely come as a big boost for Wolves given the youngster’s performances in recent months.

The journalist said of the Eagles’ links with the 20-year-old as a positional rival to Tyrick Mitchell: “They’ve already got a left-back who is young and playing really well. You can see why it doesn’t really make a lot of sense, so I’d be really surprised if that happens. From what I’m told, he’s not a target.”

[freshpress-quiz id=“375704”]

The Verdict: Big player for the future

Ait-Nouri has made such an impressive start to life at Wolves since joining from Angers and he looks a player of vast potential. For that reason, Wolves must do their utmost to keep hold of him for as long as possible, with the young Frenchman likely to keep Jonny out of the team upon the Spaniard’s return from injury.

The 20-year-old has averaged a highly impressive 3.9 tackles per game in the league this season, which is comfortably the most of any Wolves player, highlighting his tenacity.

His current deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2026, so Wolves should at least be able to demand a big fee for his services if another club were to come knocking. The good news for now is that it’s not likely to be Crystal Palace next month.

In other news, Luke Hatfield has talked up a potential Wolves signing. Read more here.

Many Everton fans have been left fuming as some transfer news has emerged on Ivan Perisic.

According to a report from earlier in the week by L’Interista, which has since been shared by EFC DAILY on their Twitter page, the Goodison Park faithful have ‘probed the ground’ about a potential move for the Inter Milan winger, along with AC Milan and AS Roma.

Perisic is one of the most decorated players of his generation, winning the UEFA Champions League as well as several of the biggest league titles in European football with some top clubs (Transfermarkt).

However, he is 32 years of age now, certainly past his best and hardly the type of signing to take the Blues into a new era under Rafael Benitez.

Given that both Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray moved to Merseyside in the summer transfer window as well, wingers should not be a priority for the manager either when it comes to strengthening his squad in January, with right-back perhaps a much more pressing need, as well as the middle of the park.

Everton fans on Perisic transfer news

These Toffees fumed as the transfer news was shared on Twitter, with one supporter even going as far as to claim that Perisic is a ‘finished player’:

“He’s about 56”

Credit: @mxrganhulme7

“He must be nearly 40….planning for the future our Brands!”

Credit: @johntsheedy1

“We’re not and it would be a hard pass for me.”

Credit: @joshwilbert1

“What are yous gonna do for that spare 15 mins a year when he retires? Link him to a coaches job here?”

Credit: @Pau85122588

“Finished player”

Credit: @amir_nazir1

“No thanks, he’s old”

Credit: @toblueforyou123

In other news, find out what other transfer news left Evertonians erupting here!

Many Aston Villa fans have erupted after footage of Emiliano Martínez making an ‘incredible’ save versus Leicester City was shared on the club’s social media accounts.

Aston Villa continued their strong start under Steven Gerrard with a 2-1 win over Leicester, with defender Ezri Konsa leading the comeback after scoring twice at Villa Park.

Following the win, Villa manoeuvred above Leicester in the standings, moving up into the top-half of the table –  in 10th place.

Goalkeeper Martínez continued to be in fine-form after making 3 saves to deny the Foxes a much-needed point, boosting Gerrard’s record to three wins in four.

Having made four clean sheets in 14 appearances in the Premier League this season, Martínez has proven to be essential to Villa. Since his arrival from Arsenal in 2020, the Argentine has become a fan favourite, and with plenty of good reason.

In his debut 2020/21 season, the keeper tied Brad Friedel’s club record of 15 Premier League clean sheets in a single campaign, and so was voted Supporters’ Player of the Season – just last week he landed sixth in the yearly Yashin award.

His importance was certainly on show in the game against Leicester, where Martínez made a ‘magical’ reactionary save to keep the Villans ahead, denying a headed effort from Harvey Barnes.

Villa fans on Martínez’s save

These Villa fans were amazed all over again by the footage (via AVFC Official) on Monday, and flocked to Twitter to express their delight.

“just makes it look effortless doesn’t he”

@catrinavfc

“The man is magical!”

@7500toHolte

“That save was absolutely incredible”@undead_villian”That was out of this world. Brilliant to watch.”@pies61187“Best in the world.”@gerags99″Save of the season”@82Cornelius