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Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno Santo made one unforgivable mistake over one-time transfer target Dani Olmo…

What was the word?

Last January, the Midlands outfit were one of several Premier League teams eyeing a move for then-Dinamo Zagreb sensation Dani Olmo, according to Croatian outlet Sportske Novosti.

It was then claimed by The Athletic’s Tim Spiers that Nuno ignored the advice of his recruitment team, namely former sporting director Kevin Thelwell, he said:

“As recently as last month, when fans were baying for new signings, [Kevin] Thelwell, John Marshall and his recruitment team were believed to have put forward Hwang Hee-chan and Dani Olmo as viable transfer targets. Nuno, who has the final say, preferred to go in another direction and the two most high-profile additions of the window (Daniel Podence and Leonardo Campana) were both Mendes clients.”

The 22-year-old midfielder would then go onto sign for Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in a €25m (£22.5m) deal later at the end of the window.

One that got away?

And what a mistake that is looking to be.

Olmo scored five goals across the Bundesliga and Champions League during his first half-season in Germany and has since added four assists to his record this term.

He has become a major source of creativity for Leipzig, averaging 2.3 shots, 1.3 key passes and 1.1 dribbles per game in the league, via WhoScored.

It has led to comparisons to Real Madrid maestro Isco – Bundesliga.com claim Olmo is “one of the most talented players in Spain’s latest generation” due to his “mesmerising” close control and technical ability.

Something reinforced by Julian Nagelsmann, who claimed: “He has exceptional abilities and is very safe with the ball. When he gets put under pressure, he knows how to provoke a foul.”

Once on the books at Barcelona, former youth coach Denis Silva Puig waxed lyrical about his ability in front of the sticks, he said: “He was a typical forward, a very good finisher. He scored goals in every age category. He understood space well, so he could find room to score. He’s a natural-born goalscorer.”

As a result of his impressive performances at domestic level for both Leipzig and Zagreb, Olmo has quickly become a regular for the Spanish national side, picking up seven caps in the past year alone.

Against Switzerland in mid-week, he impressed as a false nine – per SofaScore, the €50m-rated (£45m) wonderkid recorded four key passes, had three shots and had 50 touches.

No wonder Pep Guardiola dubbed Olmo an “incredible player” who has a “bright future.”

Nuno currently lacks creativity in his current side, quite badly too, with none of his current midfield options managing above 1.1 key passes per game in the Premier League this season. A major cause for concern.

But the Portuguese boss had the solution staring right at him last January courtesy of Thelwell, so ignoring that has proven to be absolutely inexcusable.

AND in other news, Wolves suffer a devastating blow to “special” £27m-rated workhorse…

Carlo Ancelotti is not messing around in the ongoing summer transfer window. Everton are on the verge of completing a couple of high-profile signings and with them done, the Toffees’ squad will be looking better than ever ahead of the new 2019/20 Premier League season.

Of course, we are talking about the possibility of incorporating all three of Allan, James Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure in one single swoop. If the recent reports are to be believed, only the final steps are still left for all three of them officially becoming the newest Goodison Park arrivals.

And this, needless to say, is some exciting news for the fans. But apart from just improving the team on their own, Liverpool Echo reporter David Prentice believes they could help unlock Andre Gomes as well.

Here’s what he said on the Royal Blue Podcast, as quoted by Liverpool Echo: “If he fits into the same midfield as two players who are – not water carriers, I don’t want to call them that, because they’re more than that – but he can do what he does best which is play forward passes into dangerous areas and open up defences.

“He can create more. He didn’t do it often enough last season. When he first arrived at the football club we saw it a lot more. It’s a knock-on effect. When we talk about these players it’s not just about what they bring on the pitch, it’s about what they bring to the training pitch, and what effect they can have on people already at Everton.

“Hopefully we will see a better quality Andre Gomes next season. It just looks like a better-balanced unit. We don’t know how it will work yet and how he will fit those players in but it feels like we will see a better Andre Gomes. That excites me.”

Verdict

Of course, even though everyone knows how talented and skilled Gomes is, the Portuguese midfield star hasn’t really been able to fully express himself at Everton.

But with the right players around him and a better unit offering him the necessary support, he could finally be unlocked and show his true colours.

Harry Kane and Heung-min Son will understandably take the plaudits after Tottenham Hotspur’s emphatic 5-2 victory over Southampton.

The former got four assists and a goal, while the latter scored four times throughout the match, which says enough about just how impressive their respective performances were.

However, Jose Mourinho, and Spurs fans, can also be pleased with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg’s display in midfield, as he came up against his former club.

Is it Mido or Pedro Mendes? This Spurs quiz will separate the loyal from the fake…

World Class score: 95% | Expert score: 80% | Veteran score: 65% | Intermediate score: 45% | Amateur score: 30% | Try Again: 5%

He was hit with a tough challenge from Oriol Romeu fairly early on, but this did not deter the Denmark international from putting in a solid performance.

The 25-year-old won four of the six aerial duels that he competed in, as well as winning one tackle, completing one interception and one clearance.

In addition to his defensive and combative involvements, Hojbjerg showed quality with the ball at his feet, completing 83% of the passes that he attempted, as well as completing both of his dribbles.

He was also able to see plenty of the ball, holding 6% of the game’s overall possession, a number that was only exceeded by Harry Winks among his fellow Spurs players.

Having seen his side collectively struggle during the first half, after losing against Everton, Mourinho will be feeling particularly pleased with the eventual scoreline.

The way that they went about securing the one-sided result will make this feel even better for the Portuguese tactician.

He can also add the fact that one of his summer signings put in a highly impressive performance to his positives from the day.

Liverpool’s win over Brighton sees them just eight points away from ending the season as centurions.

The Premier League title may be wrapped up but Jurgen Klopp and his men continue to push for another club milestone. The Reds are on course to finish the season with 100 points and need three more wins from their final four games to secure this accolade.

Liverpool’s win was their 30th of the Premier League season and has pretty much buried any doubts about their ability to complete the season in style. They have drawn a line under their 4-0 defeat to Manchester City and have since won two matches and scored five goals (via Sofascore).

One man who has played an important part in their last two matches but has perhaps slipped under the radar a little is Naby Keita. The midfielder has bounced back from a poor start to the season and a 2019/20 campaign hampered by injuries. He has assisted two goals in his last two appearances and looks like he has truly found his form at last.

Against Brighton, Keita created the most chances (five) and completed the most dribbles (three out of three) in the whole match (via FotMob). The £30.1m-valued man also made seven recoveries and enjoyed an 86% passing success rate.

With his form very much on an upwards trajectory, there’s every chance he could start the remaining Premier League fixtures. At least he deserves to given his current work ethic and with Jordan Henderson potentially looking at a spell on the sidelines following his injury against Brighton (via BBC Sport).

How do you think Naby Keita performed on Wednesday, Reds fans? Let us know in the comments below!

Manchester United fans will probably be hoping they can make some big signings in the transfer window as they will want to battle for first in the Premier League and win some silverware on the way.

However, it seems like they will not be able to compete as much as they would like for a lot of big money players as the latest report suggests that they are only going to be able to make one ‘marquee’ transfer this summer.

This has caused many fans of the Manchester side to react, and understandably they are not happy with this news as the club have been linked with a couple of marquee signings already including Jack Grealish and Jadon Sancho.

Twitter account utdreport posted an article following news from The Guardian, in which they wrote about how if they did sign Sancho, then another signing of this calibre could not be made and instead the club will have to sign players who have potential to become world beaters and are available for a much cheaper price.

They are in this situation due to recent events, but with Manchester City and Liverpool quite far ahead of United at the moment, which is proven by the fact that City finished 15 points above them whilst Liverpool finished 33 points above them, per BBC Sport, then this is a worrying sign for the club.

Here is what fans said following the news:

United fans, what are your thoughts on this news? Let us know down below!

Lots of Liverpool fans are slamming Aston Villa’s Jonathan Kodjia, after the Ivory Coast international celebrated with a dance as he smashed a hat-trick past the Reds’ young Carabao Cup team.

With Jurgen Klopp’s first-team preparing for the Club World Cup in Doha, Neil Critchley was left to lead a young Liverpool side out at Villa Park on Tuesday night.

The young Reds were soundly beaten by Dean Smith’s side, with Kodjia grabbing a first-half hat-trick, but some of the Anfield faithful weren’t happy with what the towering striker did after his goals.

Kodjia got the faintest of touches on a Conor Hourihane free-kick to open the scoring before an unfortunate own goal from Morgan Boyes made it 2-0, and Kodjia then stabbed home his second after a mistake from Sepp van den Berg.

The 30 year-old then completed his hat-trick with a seasoned finish shortly before the half-time whistle, and Reds fans can’t believe how he celebrated, considering the inexperience of their squad.

Check out some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Watch Leicester V Liverpool Free with Prime on Boxing Day

The battle for a place in Europe continues as Leicester try to hold onto their third place spot going into their clash against Everton. 

The Toffees will host Brendan Rodgers’ side as they hope to build on their 1-0 win over Norwich. Leicester on the other hand, are coming off the back of three disappointing results. The Foxes haven’t won a game since the restart and their journey to Merseyside could be another tough game.

Their most recent outing saw them tumble out of the FA Cup after Chelsea squeezed through into the semi-finals following a Ross Barkley goal. Their matches prior to the loss were both draws and they’ve managed to score just one goal since they returned to action.

Both sides are fighting for something and the atmosphere at Goodison Park could be cagey. Neither side will want to make a mistake but both are in need of three points. Transfer Tavern have given their predictions ahead of tonight’s clash…

Georgia Goulding (1-1)

Another draw for Leicester is on the cards. The Foxes really don’t look themselves and are struggling to find momentum in attack, whereas Everton are doing well to keep tight in defence. Carlo Ancelotti’s men could catch the visitors out with an opening goal, but Leicester might just have enough to nick a point. Their FA Cup loss could be the wake up call they need to shift into a higher gear in the league.

At the moment, these are two very similar looking sides and it could go either way at any moment. I think it’ll go right down to the wire, but for me it’s a stalemate between these two teams.

Adam Clancy (2-1)

Everton have been decent since the restart, and Leicester City have not looked the same. The Toffees are keeping goals out, and the Foxes are not scoring enough. It might be a surprise given their positions in the table, but I think Ancelotti will rally his troops against Rodgers’ team. Richarlison is also due a goal and Vardy has been misfiring, so in the battle of the strikers, the Brazilian could come out on top.

Liam Togher (0-0)

Everton have been defensively sound since the league restarted, keeping clean sheets against Liverpool and Norwich. Just one goal at the other end, though, suggests that they either haven’t been creating many chances or are failing to take them.

Leicester have been disappointing of late, held to draws by Watford and Brighton and bowing out of the FA Cup to Chelsea. A mere one goal in those three games indicates that they have lost their edge, which is not ideal when facing a defence as sound as Everton’s has been recently.

This has the look of the archetypal ‘one goal could be enough’ game. We mightn’t even get that.

Ben Crump (0-2)

From here on out, Carlo Ancelotti could look to tinker with his side and gauge an idea of who deserves a place in his squad next term. The Toffees sit 12th and have very little to play for other than pride. Leicester sit comfortably in a Champions League place but they will want to further enhance that with a win at Goodison Park. Brendan Rodgers will be relishing a return to Merseyside and he will want to return to the Midlands with three points.

How do you think the match will play out? Do you agree with any of our predictions? Have your say in the comments below!

In our latest instalment of the Flashback series, we take a look back at a certain moment and look at how things might have changed those initial reactions.

Rangers will hope to move to the top of the Premiership on Sunday when they take on Hearts at Ibrox, a game which may be of interest to a Norway-based striker who has represented both clubs.

In August 2018, Northern Ireland striker Kyle Lafferty swapped Edinburgh for Glasgow as he came back to Rangers for a second spell, having previously played for the ‘Gers for four years in the late 2000s and early 2010s.

Having had an initial bid of £200,000 rejected by Hearts earlier that summer, Lafferty was eventually signed on a two-year deal for a fee of £452,000 (as per TransferMarkt), joining off the back of a 20-goal season for the Jam Tarts.

Some pundits felt that the Ibrox club had pulled off a real coup, with ex-Rangers captain Lee McCulloch telling BBC: “He gives you so many options. He can play on his own and he could possibly be a great foil for Alfredo Morelos. He’s got pace, he can stretch a defence, and he has presence. I don’t see him as a prolific goalscorer but he scores important goals and I think that’s what Rangers need.”

Former Premiership player Scott McDonald hailed Lafferty as “a great addition”, hailing his versatility by saying that “he can fill in somewhere and cause chaos” (as per BBC).

The striker enjoyed a strong early impact in his second coming at Ibrox, scoring twice on his first Premiership game back with the club (a 3-3 draw at Motherwell) and also netting against Villarreal and St Johnstone in September 2018.

After that initial four-goal burst, though, the well ran worryingly dry for Lafferty. While Morelos enjoyed a wonderful campaign which saw him score 30 goals, the Northern Ireland native struggled to hold down a regular starting berth for Rangers.

He would only score twice more for the rest of the season and had his contract at the club terminated by mutual consent in July.

A couple of weeks after his release from Ibrox, Lafferty told the Daily Record that he only had himself to blame for not doing enough in training to convince Steven Gerrard to keep him in the squad.

The 32-year-old said: “I would have liked to be asked to do more, to have had more game time but that was down to the manager. He watched me every day in training and I will be the first to hold my hand up and admit I’m not the best trainer.” [via Daily Record]

A month after leaving Rangers, Lafferty signed for Norwegian club Sarpsborg 08, with one goal in eight games for his current side.

After scoring 36 times in 134 games for the ‘Gers in his first spell at Ibrox, Lafferty’s return was nowhere near as triumphant as McCulloch and McDonald had anticipated, with the player candidly admitting that he failed to make the most of his second chance at the club.

Rangers fans, did you think that Lafferty was a disappointment in his second spell at the club? Did you have high hopes for him when he came back to Ibrox? Share your views in the comments section below!

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Off the Bench series, which places in-game managerial decisions and squad selections under FFC’s microscope.

It was a special moment for Curtis Jones on Saturday against Bournemouth.

The Liverpool youngster has played just twice so far this season for the first team, with both of those appearances coming in the League Cup. That makes sense of course – he is only 18 years of age – but his impressive form for the club’s U23 side, for whom he has scored seven goals and provided four assists in 11 games already this campaign, may have given Jurgen Klopp the urge to play him in one of the more prestigious tournaments.

However, it was against the Cherries where his first taste of Premier League action came. Of course, it was the perfect moment to introduce him to the play – the Reds were 3-0 up at that point, and having had 76% possession there was never a chance that the Cherries were going to make a miraculous comeback – but those 14 minutes he spent on the pitch at the Vitality Stadium will never be forgotten by the Liverpudlian.

With the game already won by that point, it was more of just a game-management situation for the Anfield outfit, but Jones didn’t look out of place. He completed 100% of the passes he attempted, and even managed to get a shot away as well – even if it failed to make Aaron Ramsdale work in the opposition goal.

Can you name the result these iconic Liverpool images belong to? Give it a go now…

We saw a glimpse of the future here, and it was an indication that we may be seeing more of the youngster as the season progresses. He received another boost in November, as well, as he was named in the squad that will travel to Qatar for the Club World Cup along with the entirety of the senior team.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold already a first-team regular, Jones could be the next local lad to make his mark in front of the Kop. And although it may have been an easy time for him to do it, Klopp deserves credit for playing him in a match at the highest level. Right now, it seems he can do no wrong.

Meanwhile, Liverpool are ready to give one youngster a new contract.

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…

The Athletic journalist James Pearce has hailed Liverpool man Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and believes he’s given himself every chance of starting against Manchester City on Sunday.

What did he say?

Liverpool will host City this Sunday in an almighty clash at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp will no doubt look to field his most in-form players, as a win for his side takes the club nine points clear in the table.

Certain players have become guaranteed starters lately, such as Fabinho. However, the likes of Naby Keita have not been able to fully take their chances in midfield. Although one man who seems to impress under the radar is Oxlade-Chamberlain.

Pearce wrote for The Athletic: “Naby Keita certainly didn’t do enough on Tuesday night to stake a claim for a start at the weekend, but Oxlade-Chamberlain couldn’t have done much more to force his way in.”

City’s nemesis

The Englishman bagged the winner for Liverpool in the Champions League this week, which puts the defending champions at the top of the group. It was another occasion in which the versatile star has gone slightly under the radar with his important contributions.

It is easy to praise Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah these days, but Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal against Genk was his third in the Champions League, making him the joint top scorer along with the Egyptian.

There is then the worry for City, having witnessed the 26-year-old smash in a brilliant goal against them in Europe two seasons ago. His goal and overall performance will ring fresh in the memory of the City faithful and should he match this display, Pep Guardiola’s side could be in trouble again.

The £35m man has proved to be a handful for the champions and his pace, tenacity and goalscoring ability could be a key difference on Sunday.

From a City perspective, the fact Pearce believes Oxlade-Chamberlain is in good enough form to be in contention for a place in Sunday’s starting XI is ominous news indeed.