Wolverhampton Wanderers succumbed to their first league defeat in 11 matches on Sunday afternoon as Tottenham Hotspur’s resurgence continued at Molineux.

The west Midlanders were left rueing a late, late winner from Jan Vertonghen as he headed home Christian Eriksen’s corner in injury time to send Spurs back to north London with all three points.

Wolves boss Nuno Santo made the brave call to stick with his makeshift defensive trio that mean Romain Saiss and Leander Dendoncker kept their places alongside captain Conor Coady.

And what a disastrous move that has proven to be.

The Belgian, who is valued at £25.2m by Transfermarkt, put in a dire display as he struggled to cope with the firepower of Harry Kane, Lucas Moura and Heung-Min Son.

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Per SofaScore, Dendoncker committed three fouls, lost possession nine times, was dribbled past five times and clinched the lowest rating of anyone on the pitch with 5.8.

He also failed to win barely any of his duels, 50% aerially and just 28% on the ground, meaning he had quite the nightmare at left centre-back.

The 24-year-old can be forgiven slightly as he’s a midfielder by trade, but Nuno needs to rectify this by dropping him for their next game against Norwich City on Saturday afternoon.

In the nine matches that Dendoncker has played central defence this season, Wolves have kept only two clean sheets, via Transfermarkt.

On the bench, the Portuguese boss could have called upon either Max Kilman, who impressed fans in his last outing, or Ryan Bennett, who is the more natural option for the role.

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It seems like a bizarre tactical decision to persist with a midfielder in defence when you have two fit and ready options amongst the matchday squad.

The Canaries have Teemu Pukki leading their line. His nine goals and three assists this term should serve as a reminder of the danger he could pose this weekend, something that Kilman or Bennett would be far more equipped to deal with.

Meanwhile, Nuno Santo should have called on this rarely seen man against Spurs…

Tottenham fans have taken to Twitter to react after Eldesmarque reported that Jose Mourinho has been in contact with Gareth Bale, while a player-plus-cash deal involving Christian Eriksen is a possibility this January.

The Spanish news outlet report that Spurs would offer more than €30m (£25.7m) as well as Eriksen – who has already made clear his desire to leave the club – in order to land the Wales international.

Additionally, the report goes on to state that, while this offer may be too low for Zinedine Zidane’s side, Madrid may be willing to accept the deal as it would ensure that they wouldn’t have to pay Bale’s wages for the remaining two years on his contract – he reportedly earns €17m a year on his current terms.

The 30-year-old forward has scored just two La Liga goals in 11 appearances this term, following a heated summer in which Zidane publicly revealed a desire to see Bale leave the club.

“We hope he leaves soon. It would be best for everyone. We are working on his transfer to a new team.”

In Eriksen’s case, he will be out of contract in the summer, so using him as a makeweight in any potential deal would make sense from Tottenham’s point of view.

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Let’s see how the Spurs fans on Twitter reacted to the news…

To start off with, these two supporters highlighted the fact that the backline is more in need of bolstering rather than the attacking ranks.

The first fan said that Bale’s huge wages would also hinder the north Londoners’ ability to make any other changes that they actually need – the second supporter said that a “whole new defence and a defensive midfielder” is needed.

Contrastingly, this particular fan actually seemed to be in favour of the deal, stating that Spurs “need someone like” Bale as Lucas Moura cannot be relied on.

Elsewhere, these two fans also expressed a desire to see this transfer go through.

One supporter named Chris begged the club to bring Bale back to north London, in saying “please make this happen” – you can see why he wants the Welshman back at Spurs seeing as the former Southampton man netted 56 goals and grabbed 58 assists for the club.

The other fan simply said that they’re on their knees, as if to suggest they are begging for this transfer to happen.

Lastly, this fan kept their reaction short by merely saying “please” as well as posting a GIF of Bale celebrating.

In other news, Tottenham could have a future upgrade on Eric Dier if this transfer deal goes through…

The moment of truth may finally be upon us. After weeks of speculation, it appears as though Eddie Nketiah could finally be on his way out of Elland Road.

With the transfer window due to open on Wednesday, the threat of Arsenal recalling the striker has become very real.

It was claimed on Monday that the Gunners would bring him back to north London within 48 hours, rumours that Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth quickly confirmed.

Since arriving at Elland Road, Nketiah has started a solitary league game, the 5-4 win over Birmingham a few days ago and he hasn’t scored for the Whites since October.

Even when Patrick Bamford went ten games without finding the net, the 20-year-old failed to work his way into the team so it’s a move that can only be described as pointless. That’s especially after Victor Orta worked so hard to bring the youngster to Yorkshire in the summer, taking a presentation to his parent club.

It was reported at the time that the Whites had agreed a multi-million-pound deal to land him with a loan fee and wages taking the deal to around the £4m mark. Considering he’s only been at the club until January, however, that fee would now be less.

The fact the club spent money to even bring him on loan has rattled some supporters on Twitter who were left dumbfounded that they brought him. These frustrations are understandable given Leeds’ battle with financial fair play.

Other supporters had more immediate concerns with the fact that the loanee could torment Leeds in the FA Cup.

The Gunners take on Marcelo Bielsa’s men next Monday in the third round in what should be a close contest given Arsenal’s struggles. They’ve won just once in their last 15 and it would be typical if Nketiah came back to haunt his former side.

Whether or not new Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta would want to use him, however, is another debate entirely.

Further fans decided to lay into the forward for his efforts since he arrived for a temporary stay back in August.

Bamford started every game in the league this term until Leeds met Birmingham and for a period of time, the pair were tied for goals scored, having netted five each a few months ago.

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The former Middlesbrough man has been hailed for his work rate this term and it’s that aspect of the game that Nketiah has failed to deliver in. He’s a very different striker, someone who likes to run in behind rather than aid his teammates more.

But there was a different consensus among two other individuals on Twitter. Rather than pick faults with Nketiah, they were left rather gutted that he could be on his way back to Arsenal.

One fan said it would come back to bite them and given the fact they’ll be left with only one senior centre-forward, it’s hardly a surprise that verdict has been reached.

Even if he didn’t fit Bielsa’s style, he is a natural goal scorer, netting 11 in 20 in all competitions last season.

In other news, Leeds could miss out on one of their definite targets in January…

Theo Walcott has only managed nine goals in 72 appearances for Everton since joining the Merseyside giants from Arsenal in January 2018.

Meanwhile, the 30-year-old has registered just two assists and zero goals in 18 outings for the Toffees during the 2019/20 campaign.

Walcott was named in the starting XI against Liverpool on Sunday but left the field in the 79th minute having failed to make a serious contribution in the FA Cup clash.

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Indeed, according to WhoScored, the attacker only completed 50% of his passes, while he did not have a single shot or complete a single dribble as Carlo Ancelotti’s side exited the competition courtesy of a 1-0 defeat.

And a number of Everton fans have slammed his performance.

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Meanwhile, others have called for their club to sell the Englishman during the January transfer window as they do not want to see him wear the shirt again.

Walcott will see his current deal at Goodison Park expire at the end of next season, and it remains to be seen whether he is wanted as part of Ancelotti’s plans moving forward.

Meanwhile, Everton are reportedly not in the market for this France international despite rumours linking him with a potential switch to Merseyside.

Manuel Lanzini should look at Pablo Fornals’ increased productivity in the final third in order to aid his efforts to usurp him.

On the chalkboard

The Argentinian is still on his way back to the first-team from injury, having played 124 minutes across West Ham United’s last three Premier League games.

However, there is no guarantee that he will come straight back into the starting lineup, considering the improvements Pablo Fornals has made in his absence.

With this considered, Lanzini could benefit by taking lessons from what the Spaniard has applied to his game in recent times, in order to ensure that he can surpass him and be reinstated as an integral part of the team.

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Improving end product

The main trait of this is how prolific Fornals has become in the final third, which has likely come as a byproduct of his rejuvenated confidence levels.

A disparity between their productivity in front of goal can be highlighted by the 2-0 win against Gillingham, in which Fornals came on in the 70th minute, going on to assist Pablo Zabaleta for the opener, then adding a goal of his own.

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In contrast, Lanzini managed three dribbles against the League One opposition but produced just one shot and no key passes.

The Argentinian is a definite threat, but Fornals’ superior production rate also translates to the Premier League, despite less attacking influence in general play, as shown by the statistics below.

All of Fornals’ Premier League goals and assists for the Hammers have come in his last seven games for the club, indicating just how rapid an improvement he has made since setting up Aaron Cresswell against Chelsea.

Lanzini has far superior statistics in the buildup phase of attacks, recording 1.2 more key passes and 1.5 more dribbles per game, but is still yet to score any goals.

If he is able to add the prolific streak that Fornals has developed, the Argentinian will surely be able to force his way back into the starting lineup.

Meanwhile, one West Ham man may have influenced David Moyes’ thinking with his performance against Gillingham.

ESPN pundit and former footballer Craig Burley has called on Spurs to buy a new goalkeeper after criticising Paulo Gazzaniga’s performance in their 2-1 FA Cup replay win over Middlesbrough on Tuesday night.

The Championship side gave Spurs a bit of a fright as they threatened to come from two goals down to force extra time after pulling a goal back late on which Burley feels the Argentinian shot-stopper should have done better to prevent.

Gazzaniga could not stop George Saville’s speculative shot from outside of the box finding the bottom corner – and Burley feels he is not a good enough stand-in for Hugo Lloris, who has been out of action since suffering a serious elbow injury in October.

After the game, Burley told ESPN FC: “[Mourinho] needs a goalkeeper. Don’t know what the state of Lloris is at the moment and how long-term that’s going to be, but [Gazzaniga] makes too many mistakes, another one tonight down to his right-hand side – that’s a worry.”

Given the lack of ferocity in the shot which beat him last night, it does not appear too harsh for Burley to describe Gazzaniga’s failure to keep it out as a goalkeeping error. He won’t be solely to blame for a poor record in goal, but Spurs have nevertheless struggled for clean sheets this term with just two in the league all season – and only Norwich City have recorded as few as that.

That said, despite Lloris playing just seven times in the league this year, he has made more errors leading to goals than his teammate, according to official Premier League statistics. However, that would only serve to enhance Burley’s case for Tottenham to seek a new goalkeeper.

Whether that will prompt Mourinho to find one in the transfer window remains to be seen, though their recent loan capture of Gedson Fernandes suggests a goalkeeper has not been top of his priority list, in any case – which could suggest that the goalkeeping situation is just one of a number of squad issues the manager must get to grips with.

Spurs fans, do you think you need a new GK? Let us know what you think below!

Wolves got back on track with a stunning come-from-behind victory at Southampton this weekend, but Raul Jimenez’s post-match admission offers concerning reading.

What’s he said?

The Mexican striker was central to their comeback. He first tied things up with a 65th-minute penalty after Jonny went down under a challenge from Jack Stephens and Cedric Soares.

Jimenez then found the winner 14 minutes later, slotting home underneath the home goalkeeper after neat work from Adama Traore.

Speaking to The Athletic following his match-winning brace, the 28-year-old revealed he was rather fatigued.

He said:

“I’m tired, But we have time to rest, to recover well and we go again.”

– Raul Jimenez after Wolves’ 3-2 victory at Southampton

Burnout

It’s the first time this season that the Wolves frontman has spoken about his condition, but ultimately, it’s not a surprise to see as worrying as it is.

Jimenez has played 36 competitive matches already this season, excluding a gruelling early pre-season in China and his Gold Cup quest with his national team in the summer.

He’s barely had a break in 18 months or more. The catch 22 is, they need his goalscoring exploits, he’s now found the net 19 times in that run.

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The sale of Patrick Cutrone earlier this month has ramped up the reliance and pressure on the striker to keep on performing, and at some stage, it’s going to impact him, especially after publicly declaring that he’s “tired.”

The Athletic’s Tim Spiers references him looking ‘jaded’ in recent weeks, just like he did earlier in the season. It was only because of the international break that he was able to take a step away from the playing field to recover.

No back-up options, constant 90-minute shifts and a lack of time to rest up are all contributing factors to one of Wolves’ and Nuno Santo’s biggest fears – what would they do without him?

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It has led to the need to strengthen this month with the club expected to sign two attacking players, but only time will tell if it’s enough to give Jimenez enough support to propel their lofty plans into next season.

Nuno’s tactical switch to 3-4-1-2 which was the catalyst for the comeback on Saturday would be a long-term option, though, a viable partner to Jimenez will increase that need tenfold.

And in other news, Wolves may have to rethink their transfer strategy after suffering a devastating blow to a Nuno favourite…

Tottenham Hotspur fans have reacted rather harshly to Gedson Fernandes’ performance against Southampton in the FA Cup fourth round.The two sides drew 1-1 at St Mary’s, a result that will lead to a replay in north London.

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Gedson, who was signed on loan from Benfica last week, started in central midfield and, while he struggled to have a real impact on the game, fans have gone over the top in calling him out for his display.

Per WhoScored, he had just 19 touches of the ball, with just seven accurate passes, though he did lay on one key pass.

The 21-year-old made one tackle and was dispossessed once but was substituted in the 56th minute, replaced by Erik Lamela.

The reaction to his performance has been overly negative, but supporters are being too harsh too soon.

The 5 foot 11 midfielder had made just seven league appearances for Benfica this season prior to his move and did not really look fit enough to be in Jose Mourinho’s team on Saturday.

Of course, the FA Cup can be something of a proving ground for younger players but this was a gamble to throw Gedson in at the deep end and so it proved.

One fan, perhaps in a tongue-in-cheek manner, even asked the question as to whether Gedson had been in the team.

Ultimately though, he was not given much room to succeed, with Spurs also choosing to operate without a proper defensive midfielder in the game. Gedson did not have the freedom to burst forward and properly affect the game in the final third.

In that respect, Jose Mourinho did him no favours and the youngster is now paying the price with a social media backlash.

Meanwhile, one Spurs target would be a proper penalty box poacher for Mourinho’s team!

Crystal Palace striker Connor Wickham is set to leave the club on loan on transfer deadline day, per The Athletic journalist Nancy Frostick.

The forward is said to be “en route” to a medical with Championship club Sheffield Wednesday ahead of a loan deal until the end of the season.

He has twice joined Wednesday on loan before, both from Sunderland, and scored nine goals in 17 outings for the club.

Wickham has struggled to make a proper impact at Palace this season, playing just six times in the Premier League, totalling 90 minutes.

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He did score in the 1-1 draw with Norwich City but Frostick has reported that he is now set to spend the rest of the season at Hillsborough.

Indeed, Wickham’s move to Selhurst Park has not really worked out.

Since his transfer from the Black Cats in 2015, the 26-year-old has made 50 appearances for the club but he has scored a mere 11 goals.

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He does seem more suited to second-tier football; he has scored 22 goals in 87 appearances in the Championship, compared to 19 goals in 120 outings in the top-flight.

Meanwhile, Palace have run into complications in their attempt to sign a Championship ace!

Tottenham’s deadline day doesn’t look as though it’s gone according to plan so far.

Besides a rather remarkable report linking Gareth Bale with a return to Spurs, they’ve been dealt blows in their hunt for a goalscorer.

David Ornstein revealed that Olivier Giroud would stay at Chelsea despite a fee reportedly being agreed earlier in the day but now they’ve suffered a further setback.

Spurs have supposedly been in discussions with Willian Jose over a possible move. The club were put off by a £25m fee to begin with before it was made apparent that he could be available on loan.

However, Real Sociedad have now taken to Twitter to reveal that there will be no further movements from the Spanish outfit for the rest of the window – information that was passed on by Alasdair Gold.

Reacting to the news, there was a sense of disbelief among some supporters who couldn’t believe what had happened.

Given Spurs are without their top goalscorer Harry Kane through injury, you’d think a further forward player would be needed in the January market.

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Tottenham brought in Steven Bergwijn earlier this week but there is still a sense that further firepower is needed after Lucas Moura and Son Heung-Min were charged with leading the attack.

Two further fans were rather amazed that despite the number of strikers out there, they still haven’t been able to bring one in to bolster their attacking ranks.

Jose has scored eight goals this season so would have been able to land a slight helping hand.

Further individuals decided to bring Daniel Levy into the equation as one called Sociedad out on playing the Spurs official at his own game.

One thought it would come down to a choice of three options; panic buy, cough up the money, or go without.

Another fan, meanwhile, still had hope that the Spanish forward would come to Spurs on deadline day.

Whether a deal now happens or not remains to be seen.

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