One of the biggest clubs in the world are hoping to sign an "irreplaceable" Manchester City player for just £43m this summer, according to a worrying transfer update.

Man City transfer news

Whatever happens between now and the end of the season, Pep Guardiola will again be on the lookout for new signings in the upcoming transfer window, as he freshens up his squad.

While established players are being linked with moves to the Etihad later in the year, youngsters are also needed for the long-term picture, and Lokomotiv Moscow ace Sergey Pinyaev is reportedly wanted by City.

Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz has enjoyed a fantastic season, scoring 11 goals and registering 10 assists en route to Xabi Alonso's side winning the league title recently. The move for Wirtz may have hit a snag, but there is still hope that the German could be at the Etihad in time for next season.

Guardiola may feel that a new centre-back is needed moving forward, especially with John Stones proving to be an injury-prone figure, and Everton ace Jarrad Branthwaite has been backed to sign for City. The young Englishman has been a rare bright spark for the Toffees this season, and could jump at the opportunity to join the reigning Premier League champions despite his success in Germany.

Links surrounding a move for Bayern Munich forward Jamal Musiala are also refusing to go away, with the German having the potential to mature into one of the best players in the world. He has 16 goal contributions (10 goals and six assists) in 20 Bundesliga starts in 2023/24 heading into this weekend.

Man City could lose "irreplaceable" star

According to a fresh claim from Catalunya Radio (as relayed by Sport Witness), Manchester City star Bernardo Silva is wanted by Barcelona this summer, and the player himself has "practically decided" to leave the club.

Barca are hoping to sign the Portuguese for just €50m (£43m) due to a release clause that exists in his current contract, and he sees them as his first choice to join.

Bernardo Silva's key trophy wins for Man City	Year(s)
Champions League	2022/23
Premier League	2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23
FA Cup	2018/19, 2022/23
League Cup	2017/18, 2018/19, 2019/20, 2020/21
Club World Cup	2023/24

Losing Silva this summer would be a massive blow for City, considering he has become a genuine legend during his time at the club, not only winning five Premier League titles and one Champions League crown, but also proving to be one of the league's outstanding players during that period. Meanwhile, Guardiola clearly thinks the world of the 29-year-old, saying of him:

"I could stay here and talk for 10 minutes on what Bernardo Silva means for me and our team. He is a player that is beyond good in all departments – solidarity, intelligence, he understands everything. We are in love with him. The problem is he has no big cars, he [dresses] maybe not for high style. He is humble and everybody loves him in the locker room. We were lucky not to lose him. He is irreplaceable. I know he is happy here."

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Admittedly, Bernardo isn't getting any younger, but he remains a world-class footballer who shouldn't drift past his peak for another few years, so City should do all they can to keep him. That being said, if he has decided he wants to leave, it would be hard to begrudge him a fresh challenge.

Aston Villa are interested in signing an "incredible" attacking player in the summer transfer window, with a bid of around £30m set to be enough to snap him up.

Aston Villa transfer news

The Villans are hoping for a memorable end to the season in the Premier League, as they battle Tottenham for a fourth-place finish and Champions League qualification. The importance of getting into Europe's leading club competition cannot be stressed enough, in terms of bringing in top-quality signings and enjoying improved finances, so the next few weeks feel huge.

Villa are already being linked with plenty of players, however, and Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena has been backed to complete a move to Villa Park in the summer. The 22-year-old is a talented footballer who could be their version of Martin Odegaard, with the Norwegian becoming an outstanding player for Arsenal. In fact, Unai Emery has even asked NSWE to bring him in, having signed an extension as manager earlier this week.

Meanwhile, Baris Alper Yilmaz has also emerged as a reported target for Villa, being looked at as a replacement for current loanee Nicolo Zaniolo and impressing out wide for Galatasaray, scoring 10 goals and registering 11 assists in 103 appearances overall.

Chelsea left-back Marc Cucurella has also been linked with a summer switch to Villa Park, with Emery's natural full backs ageing and injury prone.

Aston Villa want "incredible" attacking star

According to a new update from Football Insider, Aston Villa are keeping tabs on Leeds United attacker Crysencio Summerville, seeing him as a great option to bring in at the end of the season.

The Dutchman is expected to leave Elland Road if the Whites fail to secure promotion from the Championship to the Premier League in the coming weeks, with a bid of more than £30m enough to get him.

Summerville may be playing in the second tier of English football currently, but he could be a brilliant signing for Villa, not only coming in as an important squad player from the off, but also having the long-term potential to develop into a genuinely formidable attacking figure over time.

The Dutchman has been integral to Leeds' promotion push this season, scoring 19 league goals in 39 starts, while former City defender Nedum Onuoha has heaped praise on his pace and finishing at Elland Road: "You can see that Summerville making the run behind and thinking is the ball going to him? He gets dispatched, goes one v one and slams the ball into the top corner. Absolutely incredible finish."

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ByRoss Kilvington Apr 25, 2024

Summerville has shown that he can perform in the Premier League, scoring four goals in the competition to date, but Villa could sign a far more rounded player to the one that left the top flight last season, and at 22, he should only mature further moving forward.

‘If players aren’t able get over to Australia, then it makes sense to postpone it’

Alan Gardner02-May-2020England batsman Jason Roy has conceded that it might “make sense” to postpone this year’s men’s T20 World Cup, with the possibility of travel restrictions and biosecurity issues around the spread of the coronavirus set to impact on the viability of Australia hosting the tournament in October and November as scheduled.While Australia has managed to achieve relatively low numbers of infections and deaths related to Covid-19, and guidelines are already being drawn up with a view to allowing the resumption of professional and recreational sport – possibly as early as later this month – there is a great deal of uncertainty over the global cricket calendar.The ECB has put back the start of the English season until July 1 at the earliest, and delayed the introduction of the Hundred by a year. There have been discussions about continuing the season into October or even taking competitions overseas – although it also remains a possibility that no cricket will be played at all. International tournaments face even greater challenges, with many borders currently closed and less than six months to go before the start of the T20 World Cup.ALSO READ: England tour rearranged for January – SLC chief”If players aren’t able to prepare in the right way and are not able to get over to Australia, then it makes sense to postpone it,” Roy said. “But if it goes ahead, it’s our job to play cricket – and if we’re told we have three weeks to prepare to go and play in the World T20, all the boys will be putting the yards in to make sure we’re ready for that. I think all the boys are on edge, waiting for the call saying, ‘Right, we have a month turnaround or a six-week turnaround. Get in the nets and go hit some balls.’ I think the boys will be as ready as they can be.”While Roy said it would be an “incredible feeling” to be able to return to the field of play, he emphasised that safety was paramount, but added that he placed great faith in the ECB and, in particular England’s limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan, when it came to decisions about cricket’s resumption.”I’ll do what I’m told by [the] bosses,” Roy said. “I won’t be going to my bosses and saying, ‘Put me in the frontline.’ I’ll just get told what to do. I’m just a pawn in the sporting world.”I’ve got a huge amount of trust in the ECB; I think they will look into every single avenue of all the positives, all the negatives. So, I guess I would trust in what they say, probably have a chat with Morgs and see where his head’s at and go with that. I don’t think I’ll have too many questions, especially when it got to the stage of ‘Right, we’re going to play’, because there’ll be a lot of people in those meetings discussing whether it’s the right thing to do or not.Jason Roy works off the pads•AFP/Getty Images

“I just want to play some cricket to be honest. I think for us to be able to go out there and play some cricket would be an incredible feeling. I feel like a kid again. I guess we’re governed by the government here, we don’t really know what is going on or what the safety measures are. There’s way bigger things out there. I’m more than happy to play behind closed doors, it would just be nice to get out there.”The summer of 2019 was a tumultuous one for Roy, who had to battle back from injury during the ODI World Cup at home and then played a key role in England’s success – including fielding the last ball of the Super Over to help pip New Zealand in the final at Lord’s – and made his Test debut before being dropped at The Oval following a torrid time during the Ashes.He will turn 30 this year, and was set to be a key part of England’s back-to-back T20 World Cup planning, as well maintaining hopes of a Test recall. All that is on hold, but while admitting a lost summer would be “a huge chunk out of my international career”, Roy was keen not to dwell on that aspect of the current shutdown.”I try to concentrate on the now, getting as fit and strong as I can now and hopefully reap those rewards coming towards the end of the year,” he said.”I try not to look at it too negatively. It is a huge shame what is happening now and to be missing this amount of cricket is quite a daunting feeling because you don’t quite know how you are going to feel when you get back. You can watch videos and make yourself feel good and train well but, until you’re facing that first ball in the middle, you don’t really know. You worry after three or four months out of the game, are you going to be able to bat, or whatever?”I think mentally over the last year or so has been the best place I’ve been in, barring the end of the summer. Obviously, the Ashes was a very tough time mentally. I think I’ve been in a fantastic place. All I’ve done is just forward on that. Trying to stay as positive as possible, keep a perspective and look at the bigger picture.”

Chelsea have three matches left to play in the Premier League before the end of the season as they attempt to secure qualification for European football.

The Blues are fighting to secure a place in either the Europa Conference League or the Europa League for the 2024/25 campaign, after they went without a continental competition to compete in this term.

Mauricio Pochettino's men took another step in the right direction on Sunday as they hammered West Ham United, pardon the pun, 5-0 at Stamford Bridge.

Despite there still being three games left for the side, with clashes against Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Bournemouth to come, Todd Boehly and his team are already hard at work to identify targets for the upcoming summer transfer window.

Chelsea are reportedly in the market to add another goalscorer to their squad to bolster their attacking options next season, and a Juventus star recently emerged as an option.

Chelsea's interest in Serie A marksman

At the end of last month, journalist Simon Phillips reported, via Chelsea News, that the London-based outfit are eyeing up a number of different strikers ahead of the next window.

Juventus centre-forward Dusan Vlahovic was named as one of the names on the club's list, with the reporter having stated that the attacker remains a target for the Blues.

However, he is not the only name on the shortlist as Roma's Tammy Abraham, previously of Chelsea, Napoli's Victor Osimhen, RB Leipzig's Benjamin Sesko, and Brentford's Ivan Toney are also under consideration.

Vlahovic is said to be lower down on the list than Osimhen, who is the dream target, and Sesko, who the club have already been in contact with through his representatives, and this does not suggest that Boehly is going to make an immediate move for him.

In April, TuttoSport, via TEAMtalk, reported that a bid of €60m (£51m) could be enough to tempt the Old Lady into doing business for their lethal striker ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

That outlet also claimed that Chelsea's Premier League rivals Arsenal are also considering a swoop for the Serbia international, which means that there could be significant competition for his signature.

However, it remains to be seen whether or not the Blues would be willing to pay the reported £51m fee for the former Fiorentina marksman this summer.

If they do, though, Boehly could avenge the disasterclass the club had when they brought in Romelu Lukaku from the Serie A, by landing a fantastic striker from Italy, rather than the flop they got from Inter.

Chelsea's big Romelu Lukaku mistake

In the summer of 2021, Thomas Tuchel swooped to sign the Belgium international from Inter for a mouth-watering club-record fee of £97.5m.

Sky Sports reported that he became the team's highest-paid player on £200k-per-week after tax and that the club had been interested in signing Erling Haaland from Borussia Dortmund before they made the move for Lukaku.

Haaland has gone on to score 88 goals in 94 matches for Manchester City in all competitions, including 36 goals in 35 Premier League games during the 2022/23 campaign, since his switch to England a year later in 2022.

Lukaku returned to Chelsea for a second stint off the back of scoring 24 goals in 36 Serie A matches for Inter throughout the 2020/21 campaign, which convinced the club to splash almost £100m on him.

Appearances

26

Starts

16

Goals

8

Minutes per goal

199

Assists

0

Duel success rate

45%

However, as you can see in the table above, that form did not translate over to the Premier League as he struggled to replicate his goalscoring prowess from Italy in England.

That came as somewhat of a surprise for a player who has scored 121 goals in 278 matches in the English top-flight during his career but issues off the pitch may have contributed to his struggles.

Lukaku revealed his frustration with Tuchel changing the system and said that a return to Inter was something that he hoped to do in the future.

Chelsea opted to send him out on loan to Inter for the 2022/23 campaign, scoring 14 goals in 37 matches in all competitions, and he then joined Roma on loan for the current season.

He is still contracted to the Blues through to the summer of 2026 but it remains to be seen what the future has in store for him after his loan with Roma expires.

Why Chelsea should sign Dusan Vlahovic

Lukaku, as it stands, has been a disasterclass signing for Chelsea as they spent almost £100m and £200k-per-week in wages on him to struggle for one season before being loaned out for the next two.

However, that should not put them off signing another striker from the Serie A as Vlahovic could still be a fantastic addition to Pochettino's squad.

The Serbia international does not have any pre-existing relationship with Chelsea or baggage coming into Stamford Bridge and would arrive with a clean slate, rather than Lukaku – who was at a later stage in his career and in his second stint in London.

At the age of 24, Vlahovic would arrive as a young player with the potential to grow and the right mentality as he would have something to prove in England, whereas the ex-Inter star had already proven himself in the Premier League and did not have a point to prove.

The £51m-rated ace, who was once hailed as a "goal machine" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, has scored 77 goals in 170 Serie A matches in his career to date, and has been in particularly impressive form this season.

Appearances

30

32

xG

16.11

17.14

Goals

16

13

Minutes per goal

135

195

Big chances missed

18

22

As you can see in the table above, the Juventus striker has outperformed current Blues centre-forward Nicolas Jackson at league level this term.

He has scored three more goals than the Senegal international, despite having less xG created for him, and has scored more frequently than the ex-Villarreal star.

These statistics suggest that Vlahovic has the right age profile, mentality, quality, and price tag to avenge the expensive mistake Chelsea made with Lukaku.

Chelsea ready offer for £65 million forward who his agent likened to Messi

The Blues are prepared to spend again.

ByEmilio Galantini May 4, 2024

The Serbian marksman could arrive for over £40m less than the Belgian powerhouse did and offer an upgrade on Pochettino's current starting striker, which is why Boehly should swoop for him.

Ronald Koeman has given Ryan Gravenberch a reminder of the weakness the Netherlands coach saw in the midfielder before his improvement at Liverpool.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Gravenberch has performed well this season
• Midfielder given fresh start under new coach
• Koeman pointed out a flaw that hindered him

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Gravenberch has had a resurgence at Liverpool since new coach Arne Slot came in to replace Jurgen Klopp. The Netherlands international impressed in his first Premier League game of the season as the Reds beat Ipswich, and then attracted further acclaim with his performance in the 3-0 win against Manchester United on Sunday.

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• Voetbalzone
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Gravenberch was named in Koeman's squad for the upcoming Nations League matches against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Germany and the coach was asked about the ex-Ajax man's recent displays. However, the coach was quick to point out a flaw in his game.

• WHAT KOEMAN SAID

  Speaking at a press conference, Koeman said of the midfielder: "I have always seen the potential in him, but I believed he lacked focus, this is something that he had to improve and now it seems that he finally realises what is asked of him."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR GRAVENBERCH?

  Gravenberch will hope to feature in Oranje's games on September 7 and 10. He will then return to Merseyside to start preparing for the Premier League match against Nottingham Forest on September 14.

MatériaMais Notícias

O zagueiro Juninho acertou sua saída do Brasil e rendeu uma boa quantia aos cofres do Palmeiras. Negociado com o Midtjylland, da Dinamarca, o defensor deixará o Bahia por R$10 milhões. Deste valor, o Verdão receberá metade, ou seja, R$5 milhões, dado que detém 50% dos direitos econômicos do jogador.

“Novo Valdivia” deixou o Palmeiras sem jogar: lembre o destino de “Novos Pelés”, “Zicos”e similares

Em 2017, o Alviverde comprou 70% dos direitos do atleta por 3 milhões de euros (R$10,2 milhões de reais, na cotação da época). Dois anos depois, 20% foram vendidos ao Bahia por R$5,7 milhões e o restante permaneceu com o clube paulistano.

>> Veja a tabela completa do Brasileirão

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Juninho não conseguiu se firmar no Palmeiras e foi emprestado ao Atlético Mineiro e ao Bahia. No Nordeste, fez boas temporadas e, com isso, se credenciou a deixar o país, sendo vendido ao Midtjylland, da Dinamarca.

He is charting out training plans as players wait for action to resume

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jun-2020R Sridhar, India’s fielding coach, believes players can return to peak fitness “within four to six weeks of resuming training” post the forced break due to Covid-19. Presently, the BCCI is still looking at the feasibility of starting training camps for the national players even as the Indian government has slowly relaxed lockdown norms.”Fast bowler needs around six weeks, batsmen might take a bit less time,” Sridhar told PTI. “Once we get a date [on start of national camp] from the BCCI and approved by the government of India, we can start working backwards (starting from scratch). The challenge is to proceed in right phases, as players can get excited when they play after 14 or 15 weeks. It is pertinent that we move in right manner forward. Don’t want to look too much ahead.”Sridhar, who has been part of India’s support staff since 2014 (barring a short period in between, when Abhay Sharma was fielding coach), stressed on the need to manage workloads well and was wary of pushing the players too hard early. Currently, training for the country’s top cricketers has been restricted to gym sessions and personalised training charts prepared by Nick Webb, the trainer.ALSO READ – Sridhar interview: ‘Fitter fielders mean faster fielders. That means saving more runs’ (June 2019)”Initially, we have to give them progressive workload,” Sridhar said. “You can’t have a sudden spike in workload which could lead to injuries. First phase, it will be ‘low volume-low intensity’, followed by ‘moderate volume-low intensity’, ‘high volume-moderate intensity’ and then starts ‘high volume-high intensity’ training. This is how we will go.”[To begin with] may be the fast bowlers will bowl two overs from half or quarter run-up. The deliveries will be bowled at 20 or 30% intensity. For a fielder, it will be at the maximum, six throws over 10 metres or six throws over 20 metres at 40-50% intensity. For a batsman, it will start with five to six minutes of batting against moderate pace bowling. For catchers, it will start with semi-soft balls, intensity will be slow and volumes will be less. Then we can slowly pick it up as we cross one phase after another.”We can’t do same training every day as we start with low volume-low intensity training,” he said. “Once we get to the fourth week when high volume-high intensity training starts, the hands will get used to hard balls coming at 140km an hour, 130km an hour, that’s when match-training will start. The sharpest minds will take six weeks to get into Test match mode.”In his second stint with the Indian team, after the Champions Trophy in 2017, Sridhar has helped set up a process to record each ball at a fielding session and cumulative scoring for each player is arrived at through a rating and points systems. Catches are categorised into grade one, two and three, each having a set number of points. Such innovations have helped improve the overall approach to fielding and catching. Now, with players needing to ease themselves back after a long period of inactivity, Sridhar is working on few other innovative ideas to help make the transition smooth.”I am still working on it,” he said. “There are few things on my mind and when we go back and start the camp, basically my mind is working on how to plan the sessions once we get back. In a phased manner, we will incorporate a lot of drills, external props would be used to increase their reflexes, reaction drills, deviation methods, all those things, I have a few things and once the camp starts, it will be there for everyone to see. We will be more realistic as to what elite level cricketers need, we will make innovations that are pertinent to our plans.”

India are set to play their first day-night Test in Australia at the Adelaide Oval and an opening Test at the Gabba in Brisbane, where the hosts have not been beaten since 1988, if the tour gets the green light with Perth having to accept the opportunity to host Afghanistan at the WACA.Cricket Australia is due to confirm its tentative schedule for the 2020-21 season by the end of this week but although venues will be allocated there will be a lot of uncertainty remaining depending on how the Covid-19 situation develops over the next few months. However, the prospect of needing hub venues to host multiple Tests appears to have receded.The India Test series will be scheduled to start on December 3 in Brisbane – where they did not play on their successful 2018-19 visit – before heading to Adelaide for the pink-ball match that has become a traditional part of the Australia season but was absent on India’s previous visit, before the holiday-season Tests in Melbourne and Sydney.Whether there is any chance of crowds being present at matches during the summer will depend on developments at government level regarding mass gatherings.The Test season will be pencilled in to start at the WACA when Australia play Afghanistan for the first time in Test cricket. The association had pushed hard for an India Test at the Optus Stadium where Australia secured their one victory in the 2018-19 season, with matches on the west coast also favourable to the Indian time zone, but they will have to make do with an ODI against them this time.If the Afghanistan Test goes ahead as planned, it will be the first at the WACA in three years. Given the presence of two Test venues in the city, the state association had put themselves forward as a hub venue – along with Adelaide – should the India tour have to be based in a restricted number of cities for bio-security reasons.There remain many moving parts to the schedule, including T20I series against West Indies and India in the early part of the season meant to act as warm-ups for the T20 World Cup which is now expected to be postponed. The ODI series against India, currently set as three matches in January, may expand.There is a chance the team could still travel overseas this year with the possibility of the limited-overs tour of England that was due for July moving to September. If the T20 World Cup is postponed, there are strong suggestions the IPL could take its place, meaning those Australian players with deals would miss part of the domestic season.”It’s not necessarily a new problem; we’ve had the Champions League in that time of the year for probably half a dozen years which has clashed with the domestic schedule here, so I’m sure whatever the solution we’ll sort it out,” Pat Cummins, who has a record US$2.2 million deal with Kolkata Knight Riders, said. “It’s a once-off [the current situation]; it’s unprecedented, so we’ll wait and see. Nothing’s for certain yet.”

As much as everyone involved with Ipswich Town would have been overjoyed at clinching promotion up to the Premier League, there would have been some lingering doubt in the air over who would be kept on or who would be moved on to pastures new right after the dust had settled on all the ecstasy.

Kieran McKenna and Co will now look to clear out some of the deadwood still present at Portman Road in order to build the strongest squad possible capable of not buckling under the pressure of playing in the top-flight, a tight-knit and strong unit needed to defy the odds.

Dominic Ball could be a casualty, therefore, this off-season with his contract expiring next month and the former Tottenham Hotspur's man fringe status in Suffolk not exactly representative of his high wage compared to other key first-teamers.

Dominic Ball's time at Ipswich

Joining Ipswich from Queens Park Rangers when McKenna's men were still languishing in League One, the 28-year-old has been a competent utility figure in the camp across two seasons when called into action.

Able to play in defensive midfield or across a back four, Ball has managed to amass 35 appearances for the now Premier League Tractor Boys with a meagre ten second-tier contests under his belt this dramatic season just gone.

The former Spurs youth product would only start one of these games for McKenna's promotion-chasers, with his position in the Ipswich squad on very shaky ground now after going up automatically.

It looks likely that Ball will walk out of the door this coming June with McKenna waving goodbye to the deadwood in his ranks, especially when you consider the versatile 28-year-old has been pocketing a healthier salary than both Wes Burns and Massimo Luongo despite that named pair being fixed first-teamers all season under the ex-Manchester United coach.

Dominic Ball's wage at Ipswich

Ball rakes in an excessive £6.1k, according to Capology, despite finding himself on the fringes at Portman Road for the majority of his side's promotion-winning campaign.

Both Burns and Luongo must feel incensed that they both earn less than Ball – earning a lesser £5k-per-week salary each – considering they have both accumulated 82 appearances in all competitions this season and have both been key to McKenna's men now boldly entering the Premier League.

The crucial Tractor Boys number seven would fire home Ipswich's opening goal on the final day to ease early nerves and grab that integral three points to move up, adding another strike to his account for the season with that goal which finished at six strikes.

Luongo, who was also on the books at Tottenham as a youngster like Ball before Ipswich came calling, has also been a steady presence in the centre of the park regardless of his lesser salary- the 31-year-old only missing three league games all campaign long.

Ipswich highest earners (permanent) – 2023/24

1. Axel Tuanzebe

£20k-per-week

2. George Hirst

£17.1k-per-week

3. Sam Morsy

£12.3k-per-week

4. Leif Davis

£9.4k-per-week

5. George Edmundson

£8.8k-per-week

Sourced by Capology

Ball's excessive pay packet doesn't quite see him enter into the top five earners on the wage bill when looking at the table above, but releasing the reserve figure will be a top priority so Ipswich can redistribute the salaries out more evenly and give the likes of Luongo and Burns increases for all their hard work.

Ball will be gutted that he doesn't get to test himself in the top flight, even if his minutes would have been irregular, but a severing of ties looks almost inevitable with his contract nearly up in Suffolk.

Related Ipswich could sign "monster" Premier League striker to upgrade on Jackson

Kieran McKenna could finally ditch Kayden Jackson with this Ipswich Town buy.

Posts ByKelan Sarson May 9, 2024

Wolverhampton Wanderers are staggering to the finish line in the Premier League, sapped after an impressive campaign under Gary O'Neil.

The 14th-place side belied pre-season predictions to comfortably stay ahead of their relegation-troubled rivals despite many injuries and losing Julen Lopetegui last summer.

The Old Gold have some excellent forwards in Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan but remain fixed on strengthening their frontline this summer, with an exciting Premier League name touted last week.

Wolves eyeing PL striker

According to a report from 90min last week, Arsenal are willing to sell Eddie Nketiah this summer and will demand a fee in the region of £30-35m for his sale, with Wolves indeed interested.

This might seem a little steep and the Molineux side will no doubt seek to whittle that figure down but Nketiah has demonstrable success in England's top flight and would add a much-needed dimension to O'Neil's attack.

Why Wolves should sign Eddie Nketiah

Nketiah has been described as "the real deal" and a "monster" by journalist Aaron Catterson-Reid and while he hasn't cemented a starting spot in Arsenal's team, he is a talented player who would benefit from a move away to give his career a jump-start.

A crisp player with impressive technicality, he ranks among the top 8% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking box per 90 and the top 10% for pass completion, as per FBref. It's this style that has led Mikel Arteta to praise his player as "top-level".

23/24

27

10

5

2

22/23

30

9

4

1

21/22

21

8

5

1

20/21

17

4

2

1

19/20

13

7

2

0

18/19

5

0

0

0

17/18

3

0

0

0

The 24-year-old has always maintained a steady rate of scoring in the Premier League while never really being handed a position of prominence in Arteta's squad. In all competitions, he has scored 38 goals and added seven assists from 168 appearances – not bad.

Nketiah is a relatively clinical striker but he's patently going to remain on the fringe at the Emirates if he does not try his hand elsewhere, having started one Premier League match since early November.

With a growing feeling that Pedro Neto will take his leave permeating Molineux, perhaps O'Neil will convince Jeff Shi and the rest of the powers that be to keep Cunha on the books.

Sure, his sale would earn Wolves a pretty penny but there's no question that the loss of both Neto and Cunha might tip the boat off-kilter, to a point of irrevocable damage.

Cunha would blend nicely with Nketiah's physical presence and natural goal threat, with the £60k-per-week Brazilian ranking among the top 11% of forwards for assists, the top 12% for progressive passes, the top 3% for progressive carries and the top 2% for successful take-ons per 90 (FBref).

This dynamic fluency would give Wolves the added impetus to lift themselves further up the table next season. O'Neil's counter-attacking expertise has been inculcated smoothly into this Wolves team and Cunha's multi-faceted ability would benefit from a more traditional centre-forward alongside him.

Wolves need to stay competitive and build, fight toward a place among European competition to repeat the golden days of Nuno Espirito Santo's reign.

Wolves must banish fringe player who earns more than Hwang and Cunha

He’s been underperforming while away from Molineux on loan.

ByJoe Nuttall May 12, 2024

Nketiah and Cunha could make quite the strikeforce, allowing Hwang to play on the wing with greater regularity and increasing and deepening the overall dynamism of the Old Gold first team.