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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who is a Wolverhampton Wanderers Hall of Famer, claims it was fantastic to see Ollie Watkins score for England but admits he must keep his feet on the floor.

Watkins scored his debut for England when he came on as a substitute against San Marino, which he followed up with a goal for Villa against Fulham to secure all three points on Sunday.

The former Brentford striker has been Villa’s talisman in front of goal this season having scored 13 goals, which is six more than Jack Grealish who is their second top scorer.

Speaking on why it was great to see Watkins score despite him being a Villa player and what he must do now, Bull told FFC:

“I think it’s absolutely superb for him. The Wolves fans will say ‘why are you talking about a Villa player’ but you talk about a player if he’s good.

“When you saw him score, his face looked like he was 16 or 17 and he could have cried because he couldn’t believe he had scored.

“That will put him in good stead now as long as it doesn’t go to his head and he keeps his feet firmly on the floor, because he’ll get some more chances.”

Aston Villa put their faith in Ollie Watkins this season when they splashed out and spent £28 million on a striker who had never played higher than the Championship before.

If Watkins can maintain his form for Villa, he could find himself in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Euros this summer as he is currently the sixth-favourite striker to make the squad, according to Sky Bet.

Relaying comments made by interim Tottenham Hotspur boss Ryan Mason, journalist Dan Kilpatrick of the Evening Standard has relayed rising hopes that Harry Kane could be fit in time to face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final (Twitter).

Tottenham gifted possible Kane boost

Indeed, dropping an update on the Englishman ahead of the crunch clash this weekend, Mason says there is ‘hope’ he might be on the training pitch by the end of the week.

Kane has been missing since the 2-2 draw away to Everton last Friday having picked up another ankle problem, with fears emerging surrounding his inclusion for this weekend.

Tottenham have just the Carabao Cup to play for in terms of silverware this season having been knocked out of both the Europa League and FA Cup.

Transfer Tavern take

They’re still in with a shot of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League this season, but a medal could really see off what has been a bizarre season on the right note.

Mason, providing an update, explains that there is hope Kane will be back in training by the end of the week in a possible boost for the final at Wembley this weekend.

Kane is by far Tottenham’s most important player, scoring 21 goals and assisting 13 others in the league alone (WhoScored), and even the slightest possibility he could feature against City comes as a massive boost.

In other news: Tottenham source reveals Mourinho information, find out more here.

Many Republic of Ireland fans were to left to laud the display of Everton man Seamus Coleman despite their 3-2 away loss at Serbia on Wednesday night.

The 32-year-old put in a decent performance in an unfamiliar role on the right side of a back three for Stephen Kenny’s team, despite conceding three goals.

Coleman won no fewer than six clearances, the second-most out of any player to have set foot on the pitch, and topped the stats with four interceptions and two blocked shots (Sofascore).

Despite playing as a central defender, he also got on the ball a lot for the Irish, recording the second-most touches (62) out of any of his teammates, while also achieving an 89% pass accuracy (Sofascore), a stellar overall display by the captain.

Republic of Ireland fan reaction to Coleman display

These Republic of Ireland supporters lauded his performance on Twitter, with one fan even going as far as to claim that he was ‘brilliant’:

“Coleman has been a rock tonight #SRBIRL”

Credit: @ioreilly85

“You got to love Seamus Coleman, gives 110% every time. #SRBIRL”

Credit: @MossBoxx

“Seamus Coleman is solid as rock back there! #SRBIRL”

Credit: @OisinShortt

“Great defensive work from Coleman and O’Shea to keep the Serbs out, Richard Dunne must have been on Zoom to them before this #COYBIG #SRBIRL #WEAREONE”

Credit: @JamieCu46314644

“Coleman outstanding so far. What a player he is. #COYBIG #SERIRL”

Credit: @rorygils6

“Brilliant from Coleman….as per usual #COYBIG”

Credit: @FCr_91

In other news, find out what international update has left Toffees fuming here!

Many fans of Wolverhampton Wanderers have been reacting to a post on Twitter which relayed a report regarding Jorge Mendes’ involvement in Matt Doherty’s transfer.

According to Football Insider, a ‘recruitment source’ has revealed that Mendes pocketed £6m from Wolves’ sale of Doherty to Tottenham Hotspur last summer, meaning the club only actually received around £10m for the right-back, who was valued at £14.4m at the time of his move.

After Alex Richards relayed the report on Twitter, some fans of Wolves flocked to have their say on the matter, with many appearing to be concerned by Mendes’ involvement in the deal (which one fan described as ‘shocking’). Others stated their belief that the agent got Wolves more than enough value in the sale of the defender, even including his reported fee.

So, what exactly did these Wolverhampton Wanderers fans have to say in reaction to the report regarding the sale of Matt Doherty?

“When Mendes is so heavily involved then these things were always going to happen. Have to take the rough with the smooth, I guess.”

@mcooperwrites

“That’s why I don’t like Mendes sniffing around our business.”

@lewis_wwfc7

“A football agent taking a percentage of a transfer deal. Shocking!!!!”

@dp2885

“We can’t really moan I’ve seen some of the best players in 30 years at wolves come in cheap through Mendes.”

@Rich2086

“Still looks like pretty good business!”

@MrRyanLeister

“10p would have done. We had a choice. Build the team forever around Matt Doherty who can play one bespoke role that no-one else in the world plays, or sell him. I would sell him.”

@OscillateWWFC

“That is an absolute steal. I’d certainly pay £6m to get me £10m above the market value.”

@Simon_Hadley

“Even the most avid of #WWFC fans (I include myself) must concede this is well dodgy…”

@MrR1g4t

In other Wolverhampton Wanderers news, many fans were left furious by one update – find out more here!

Arsenal could land a perfect long-term partner for William Saliba next season by bringing in RB Leipzig’s Ibrahima Konate in the summer transfer window.

Reports in recent days have suggested that the Gunners are one of a number of big European clubs who are keeping a track of the France U21 international, with hopes that Leipzig could make him available for a transfer.

The 6 foot 4 defender has already built up considerable experience of playing at the highest level, playing high-pressure games in both the Bundesliga and Champions League – the 21-year-old played the full 90 minutes in the home victories over Manchester United and PSG in the group stages of the competition.

In a profile piece by Bundesliga.com, they likened him to Liverpool star Virgil van Dijk, writing: “Whether it be in terms of positioning, sticking tight to the striker, intercepting passes, tackling or building from the back, Konate cannot just do it all, he makes it look easy.

“He has the pace to match the quickest of attackers and the physique to bully – rather than be bullied by – muscular strikers much more experienced than he is.”

And that pace and speed to catch up with opposition strikers could be absolutely crucial for Arteta, who wants his side to press from the front and play a high-line.

The Spanish boss can be heard and seen on regular occasions on the touch-line gesticulating for his defenders to push up higher, and that kind of tactic only works when you’ve got a pair of centre-backs, in particular, who are comfortable with sweeping up anything in behind.

In Saliba and the £31.5m-rated Konate, the Gunners would have two young defenders who have got that unique pace to fulfil what Arteta wants, and it’s exactly why it has all the makings of being a dream duo for the north Londoners.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano reveals Arsenal are targeting this Premier League star…

The January window of 2019 was a torrid affair for Stewart Donald and Sunderland.

The Mackems approached the New Year period in desperate need of finding a striker to lift the burden from Josh Maja’s shoulders.

However, after Maja’s agent convinced him to move to Bordeaux, the Black Cats were quickly left without a goal scorer. It took a considerable period of time for Donald to find the right man but as things moved closer and closer to the deadline, Sunderland were in limbo.

Clubs they negotiated with knew they needed to sign a forward and thus, they could ramp the price up.

With Maja no longer at the Stadium of Light, they now needed two forwards but they ultimately signed just the one; Will Grigg.

As Tony Coton and Donald squared off in the Sunderland board room, the latter eventually ended up paying £4m for Grigg’s services. That was after having a number of bids knocked back.

He is now on loan at MK Dons after scoring only eight goals in 61 outings for the north-east outfit. It’s fair to say he was a colossal waste of money.

At the same time, Sunderland happened to miss out on John Marquis. A phone call from Coton led to Doncaster telling the Mackems their valuation of the forward was at around £10m.

Completely stunned by the news, they submitted a much lower bid that was ultimately rejected.

Paying such money for a player like that in League One would have been madness, but had they not spent such a seismic sum on Grigg, they could have afforded him a few months down the line.

That’s because Portsmouth paid £2m for his services in the summer of 2019. That came after a season where Marquis had netted 26 times in all competitions. He has subsequently found the net on 28 occasions since moving to Pompey.

Their inability to identify the correct target, therefore, has clearly wreaked havoc with Sunderland. Had they signed a striker of Marquis’ ability and he’d hit the ground running, the Mackems may well already be in the Championship.

Dubbed a “proven striker” by Kenny Jacket, this was precisely the type of player that Donald should have brought to the club.

Of course, they now have 26-goal Charlie Wyke in their possession, but if Sunderland fail to go up again, new owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus may just rue the day that Donald spent £4m on Grigg.

At the moment, it feels like now or never in terms of reaching the second tier for Sunderland. Fall short of promotion again, and they may just be thinking about 2019 again as a period of ‘what if?’.

AND in other news, Phillips would “love” to see 21 y/o at SAFC next season, Speakman must make it happen…

Mbaye Diagne hasn’t taken too long to make an impact for West Bromwich Albion as he impressed for the Baggies in their 2-2 draw with Fulham.

The Senegal international signed for the Midlands outfit from Galatasaray on loan on Friday (wba.co.uk), with him flying over to the U.K from Istanbul. Sam Allardyce initially selected him on the bench, but he was brought on at half-time as West Brom trailed 1-0.

Diagne proved to be a nuisance from the off, and he even provided the assist as Matheus Pereira put the Baggies ahead. West Brom find themselves in a precarious position in the relegation zone, and they will need Diagne at his best between now and the end of the campaign.

The club’s supporters were absolutely delighted with the new man, and they took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about Diagne below

“Hark now hear the West Brom sing a king is born today his name is diagne”

Credit: @MARKDM1973

“Diagne, give him the freedom of West Bromwich”

Credit: @grantharrison91

“DIAGNE !!!! Take a bow son #wba”

Credit: @PJSoulboy

“Fulham are scared of Diagne”

Credit: @JoelDMendez

“Diagne looks an absolute unit, very excited to see him spearhead us for the rest of the season”

Credit: @TomSimp64426593

“You can tell Diagne is a good baller Real presence #wba”

Credit: @MatthewBroad4

In other news, West Brom fans slam this man’s display against Fulham.

So, the rumours were true and Slaven Bilic received his marching orders at West Brom this morning with the club confirming his departure in a statement, it said:

“West Bromwich Albion have today parted company with Head Coach Slaven Bilić.

“Assistant Coaches, Dean Računica and Danilo Butorović, and First Team Coach Julian Dicks have also left the club with immediate effect.”

Perhaps the writing was on the wall for the Croatian and his coaching staff – the Baggies were only just dragged over the line to promotion last term, and have indeed won just nine league matches since the turn of the year.

Albion are currently second-from-bottom in the Premier League, though after last night’s impressive 1-1 draw with Manchester City, they are merely one win from safety – depending on Burnley’s game-in-hand.

Evidently, the decision to let him go was made before the trip to the Etihad and probably sometime after their embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace a couple of weeks ago.

According to multiple sources, Sam Allardyce is the front-runner to take the helm at the Hawthorns – the 66-year-old has been out of work since leaving Everton in May 2018.

The former Blackburn, Bolton, West Ham and Sunderland boss has never been relegated, though the challenge in the west Midlands could prove to be his hardest challenge yet.

He’ll be working under a chairman unwilling to spend or invest – it’s even been claimed that Bilic was on the verge of resigning in October following frustrations over the sale of Ahmed Hegazi and the club’s transfer strategy throughout the summer. He missed out on multiple targets.

This appointment feels eerily similar. Go back to 2017 when Tony Pulis was sacked by Guochuan Lai.

The Chinese businessman turned to an ‘experienced’ head in Alan Pardew but in reality, his time in the Premier League was already done and that has been proven since as he’s only been in charge Dutch strugglers ADO Den Haag since for a very brief stint.

Allardyce came out of retirement to take charge of the Toffees and hasn’t been in the game for over two seasons, so can he really be the man to steer the Baggies to safety this time.

His reputation says yes, but the likelihood isn’t the same as it once was. Pardew only lasted until April before he was given his P45. It would not be a surprise to see the same happen here.

The 66-year-old’s record in the big time is pretty poor besides what it says on the CV, he’s won just 33% of 512 matches – even Pardew’s was better at the time of his sacking at the Hawthorns.

Ultimately, this appears to be a potentially fatal call from Lai. We’ve seen it before and here we are again.

AND in other news, 89% duels lost: Shocking West Brom liability must be running scared after Bilic sacked…

Celtic’s record this season has been nothing short of shambolic for a club of their stature.

That’s why the January transfer window has now come round at an ideal time.

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports, the Hoops are in talks to re-sign defender Filip Benkovic this month.

It’s understood that the 23-year-old is not a part of Leicester’s short-term plans and as a result, Celtic are keen on signing the Croatian on an initial loan deal with an option to buy in the summer.

The Foxes are open to receiving offers for the centre-back who is currently managed by former Hoops boss Brendan Rodgers.

Benkovic spent the first half of this season on loan at Cardiff but was recalled this week after making only one appearance in Wales.

The youngster is rated at just £4.5m via Transfermarkt, and is on a salary of £32k-per-week. Clearly, a deal would not be cheap.

Their next Van Dijk

Despite a few spells on the sidelines with injury when he was last at Parkhead, Benkovic was nothing short of colossal.

He was an imperious defender who undoubtedly improved the way they played. The Croat was capable of playing out from the back and used his mammoth height to overpower the opposition.

If anything summed up his displays, it was a set of quotes from Rodgers this year: “He needs to get working again and show the level he can play at.

“Thankfully for myself, I’ve seen the level. When he was with me at Celtic he played against RB Leipzig and he was sensational,” he commented.

A productive defensive performance has been all too rare at Celtic this term, especially on the continental stage where they conceded 19 goals in only six outings. Though, not only would Neil Lennon find a huge upgrade in Benkovic, but he could also fill the void left behind by a certain Virgil van Dijk.

The Liverpool star is widely renowned as one of the best in the game and the Celtic target possesses similar qualities.

For example, Benkovic completed over 90% of his passes when he was last at Parkhead. Van Dijk, on the other hand, has amassed the same number in the Premier League this season.

They are also both seriously impressive in the air. The Dutchman has won 4.5 aerial duels per game throughout his career, while the Glaswegian’s potential new arrival has won 3.7 on average.

However, it’s the ball-playing aspect that gives us the biggest Van Dijk vibes. He’s a mighty figure in the backline and knowing Celtic like he does, would be their ideal addition this month.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Soro: Hammond can revive Celtic with swoop for £8.5k-p/w tank…

If anything summed up Wolves’ chaotic season so far, it would be their 2-1 win over Arsenal in midweek.

The Old Gold tasted victory for only the fourth time in their last 14 outings and it came in the strangest of ways.

A penalty and two red cards told a sorry story for the Gunners but Nuno Santo won’t care; he has finally ended the diabolical rut his team were on.

On the chalkboard

Most pleasing for Nuno last Tuesday was not just the win but the performance of Joao Moutinho. The Portugal international hadn’t scored all term before that victory but fired home a rasping drive from long-range that ultimately won the game for the Old Gold.

Going forward they were a threat but it was the same old story defensively. Wolves have kept a solitary clean sheet in the league since October and they were given a torrid time once again by Nicolas Pepe.

That was largely down to the performance of Nelson Semedo. The right-back was abject at the back and let Arsenal players surpass him all too easily.

Semedo set the tone when Cedric got past him in the opening exchanges. His fellow Portuguese full-back danced a merry jig past the former Barcelona defender but it only got worse.

Pepe flew down the left-hand side in a similar fashion to Cedric and then with a lovely piece of tricky advanced past Semedo with absolute ease. The Ivorian was then able to find the net in unerring fashion.

The summer signing was absolutely bullied down the right-hand side, losing 67% of his duels, but this is hardly surprising judging by previous performances in recent weeks.

He has been letting his side down for weeks, being branded a “liability” by journalist Tim Spiers for his mediocre performances in defence.

The 27-year-old put in a similar performance when Everton came to Molineux in January. He was caught out of position for Alex Iwobi’s opener and failed to get tight enough to Lucas Digne. The Toffees full-back was able to deliver a large haul of six crosses that day, something that only demonstrates Semedo’s ineptness in recent months.

Nightmare inbound?

With that in mind, he could be given a torrid time by Leicester on Sunday. Jamie Vardy is in contention to return while Harvey Barnes has been a rampant force down the left-hand side for the Foxes this term.

He’s scored seven Premier League goals while registering three assists in the process. With that in mind, perhaps Nuno could benefit from picking Ki-Jana Hoever?

The youngster established a valuable connection alongside Conor Coady when Wolves suffered a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United in December. The skipper was barking orders at Hoever and it very nearly worked.

The Molineux outfit held on until injury time in a game where Hoever stood out on his first Premier League start.

Having dealt comfortably with the likes of Marcus Rashford you sense he could do a similar job against Barnes. After all, Birmingham Live reporter Alex Dicken said after that United game that Hoever “didn’t put a foot wrong.”

It’s time to axe the £73k-per-week Semedo and bring in Hoever.

AND in other news, Wolves could finally axe Moutinho by signing “intelligent” £13m gem Keogh once bullied…