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According to The Sun, Manchester United are in talks to offer Eric Bailly a new three-year contract at the club.

What’s the Word?

The Ivory Coast international is reportedly in talks to sign a new deal with 16 months left to run on his current contract, but there is still continuing speculation surrounding his potential exit out of Old Trafford.

The Metro has subsequently claimed that the offer is merely a rouse to sell Bailly on for a higher fee, and one would hope this isn’t the case given the defender’s series of gutsy displays in recent weeks.

Bailly has been blighted by injuries during his time at United and has had an extended period out of the team this season with a knock and a troublesome muscle injury, but remains a hugely popular figure in the United dressing room.

The 26-year-old was mobbed by his teammates after producing a superb block in the dying moments of the Red Devils’ 2-1 tense win over Aston Villa in January to keep out a Keinan Davis effort that prompted jubilant scenes at full-time.

But he has struggled to nail down a consistent starting berth in the side since his return to action, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer often preferring Victor Lindelof to play alongside Harry Maguire in the Premier League, accelerating the rumours that the Ivorian is on his way out.

Sign Him and Keep Him

If the speculation that United are offering Bailly a new deal only to offload for a higher price is true, then that would represent pretty shabby treatment of a player who has given his all every time he has donned the famous red shirt.

Ed Woodward should be doing everything possible to keep the £80,000-a-week colossus, who Solskjaer described as being “absolutely top” following a series of impressive performances at the turn of the year.

Gary Neville added to the debate in his analysis of United’s recent disappointing 1-1 draw with West Bromwich Albion, and he believes having the physicality of someone like Bailly is crucial to complement the qualities of £80-million-man Maguire to shore up their defensive frailties.

Strengthening United’s defence should be a priority for Solskjaer, but the solution to this problem could be right under his nose.

And in other news, Man United: Kylian Mbappe has interest in Old Trafford move

Celtic are reportedly monitoring Hibernian goalkeeper Ofir Marciano ahead of the summer window.

There has been a key development regarding his future, with Hibernian manager Jack Ross confirming that the 31-year-old has turned down a new contract at Easter Road.

Premier League ambitions

Marciano, who has made 145 appearances for Hibernian and has turned out 23 times for Israel, will now leave the club at the end of the season when his current deal expires.

Celtic aren’t the only side who have been linked with the shot-stopper. Hapoel Be’er Sheva are another club thought to be keen on Marciano, who has Premier League ambitions.

Transfer Tavern take

It remains to be seen what Celtic’s goalkeeping plans are for the 2021/22 campaign, but statistically a move for Marciano could be a shrewd one.

He has kept 12 clean sheets in the Premiership this season, the same number as Scott Bain and more than Vasilis Barkas (10).

Performance-wise, Marciano leads the way among the trio, as per WhoScored. The Israeli averages a Premiership match rating of 6.73, up on Barkas’ score of 6.49 and Bain’s 6.62.

Conor Hazard recently penned new Parkhead terms, so you’d expect that either Barkas or Bain would have to make way in order for Marciano to come in.

In other news: Celtic are keen to talk to teenage ace who attracted interest from Bayern Munich and Juventus last year, find out more here.

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Joey Pelupessy was one of many Owls stars to let Darren Moore down this week.

The Yorkshire giants ended a run of seven straight defeats with a 1-1 draw over their local rivals at Hillsborough Stadium, but it still leaves them a whopping nine points adrift of safety with only ten games left to play.

Callum Paterson was brought on as one of three changes on the hour mark, though his only involvement saw him put the ball past his own goalkeeper for Huddersfield’s crucial equaliser.

He knew nothing about it, but ultimately, it cost the Owls dearly. The Scotsman shouldn’t be blamed, however.

Pelupessy was arguably the worst player on the pitch, drawing a 6.6 rating from SofaScore – the second-worst of any home starter.

It’s been quite a surprise to see the Dutchman remain in the starting XI under Moore with departing starlet Liam Shaw sat on the bench but perhaps the 46-year-old is keeping an eye on next season, and we know the Celtic-bound ace will not be here irrespective of what division the Owls find themselves in.

Therefore, it’s important for Pelupessy to deliver. He’s out of contract at the end of the current campaign, so he’s pretty much playing for his future at Wednesday.

The £12.5k-per-week midfield enforcer struggled to have any influence against the Terriers.

Per SofaScore, Pelupessy managed only 40 touches of the ball throughout his 90 minutes on the pitch. This was considerably worse than his midfield partner Barry Bannan (62) and not too far behind shot-stopper Keiren Westwood (45).

As someone who is supposed to dictate the play, he should certainly be more involved than the goalkeeper.

The 27-year-old also struggled in his battles, winning just one of five duels (20%), whilst he was also dribbled past on two occasions which means the opposition – namely Lewis O’Brien and Jonathan Hogg – absolutely dominated him.

His passenger-like presence would have, somewhat, contributed towards the visitors remaining in the game and he certainly failed to offer much going forward either as the long-serving Owls passenger made only 28 passes, none of which were converted into key opportunities.

Pelupessy massively let Moore and Wednesday down last night.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Palmer adamant Liam Shaw shouldn’t be playing for Sheffield Wednesday…

Liverpool could be handed a significant boost ahead of their clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers, with Roberto Firmino’s reported return to fitness.

The Brazilian missed the Reds’ last Premier League clash, the 1-0 defeat to Fulham at Anfield, with a knee injury but he is set to be assessed of the trip to Molineux on Monday.

Should he be fit enough to start for the Reds, Jurgen Klopp has to put him in from the beginning of the match, even with Diogo Jota also returning to contention in recent weeks and gunning to start against his former club.

Put simply, the former Hoffenheim man is a key player for the current reigning Premier League champions.

In 37 appearances in all competitions so far this season, he has 13 goal contributions – six goals and seven assists. Only Sadio Mane and Mo Salah have contributed more to Liverpool.

His statistics also put him right at the top end of Liverpool’s attacking output. According to WhoScored, the 29-year-old averages 2.4 shots, one key pass and 1.6 dribbles per match in the Premier League.

This is some way higher than the player who may likely replace him in starting line-up, Jota. The former Wolves man averages just 1.9 shots, 0.6 key passes and one dribble per game.

It would not make a lot of sense to keep the Portuguese in the starting XI at the expense of Firmino then.

Some will argue that there is no need to reintroduce him so quickly especially after recovering from injury. However, with a player so key to Liverpool, with Klopp even labelling him as “special”, it would seem baffling to leave the £64.8m-rated forward out of the side.

AND in more news, have a look at why a current FC Porto man and former Premier League flop is not what Liverpool should be looking at in the summer transfer window…

Manchester United’s FA Cup journey came to an end in unceremonious fashion as they were batted aside 3-1 by Leicester City at the King Power Stadium.

Following the Red Devils’ exploits against AC Milan in the UEFA Europa League mid-week, it was a disappointingly under-par showing from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.

Not many players were immune from criticism on the day, with Fred turning in a horrendous showing. However, it was actually Nemanja Matic who stood out, but not for the right reasons.

Deployed at the base of a midfield diamond alongside the likes of Fred, Paul Pogba and Donny van de Beek, the Serbian looked ponderous and off the pace throughout the majority of the tie.

According to WhoScored, he only managed to contribute two tackles and not a single clearance.

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Considering that the former Chelsea man was intended to be a shield for the Red Devils’ backline, it was no surprise that Leicester midfield dynamo Youri Tielemans was able to waltz through unopposed on numerous occasions. The Leicester man even punished the Red Devils at the start of the second half, playing a quick one-two before finding the bottom corner.

For all of his experience and pedigree, Matic was also extremely sloppy on the ball – although that was not an uncommon feature for the entire United team.

The 32-year-old completed 34 passes throughout the game which isn’t too bad of a count but considering that he racked up just a 73.5% completion rate, it is damning. For context, that is the second-lowest in the entire Red Devils squad, with just Alex Telles accumulating worse.

Matic’s shocking afternoon was brought to an end in the 64th minute of the game as he was replaced by fellow midfielder Scott McTominay, who only completed ten fewer passes than Matic despite playing for half of the time.

It is fair to say that Solskjaer will certainly have been expecting more from his £120k per-week midfielder.

AND in more news, have a look at which current Red Devils midfielder has to be convinced to sign a new contract at Old Trafford…

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have hit out at former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn after he urged the Gunners to ‘go all in’ for Jack Grealish this summer.

The 25-year-old has been influential at Villa Park this season, scoring six goals and registering 12 assists in the Premier League.

Dean Smith has been without the attacking midfielder since the end of February because of injury, with Villa picking up just five points out of a possible 18 during that time.

Arsenal’s previous Grealish interest

Arsenal registered an interest in the 25-year-old during the summer. However, due to Grealish’s £80m price tag, a move to the Emirates Stadium never materialised.

Gunners legend Winterburn – quoted by Football London, as cited by Birmingham Live – has now urged his former club to move for the England international, saying:

“I’d like to see Arsenal go all in and sign Jack Grealish

“He is a terrific player. His ability speaks for itself and he’s the type of player that if we want to move forward then we should be looking to buy.

“He tends to prefer to play on the left-hand side so we’d need to see how that works with Arsenal’s current set up but I’m sure he could play in that No 10 role as well.”

Villa fans react

Birmingham Live shared the story on Twitter regarding Winterburn’s comments about Grealish, with many Villa supporters understandably not impressed.

“Still laughing. Villa owners worth double Arsenal owners”

Credit: @Chloe19428004

“Arsenal advised to take out mortgage on the Emirates and London Colney to pay for it”

Credit: @JackRJ89229896

“Doesn’t Winterburn realise Arsenal don’t have the money to buy Grealish”

Credit: @BrianGarratt1

“Arsenal advised to jog on”

Credit: @davidallen1975

“Can’t afford to pay the dinosaur.”

Credit: @silkievillain

“Please stop regurgitating this drivel”

Credit: @PaulTomlinsonn

In other news: Many AVFC fans buzz over footage of two Villa youngsters, find out more here. 

West Brom are back in action this lunchtime as they head to Chelsea in the Premier League, looking to move closer towards safety.

The Baggies are ten points adrift with only nine games left to play, and it doesn’t get any easier as they have to face an in-form Blues outfit who are trying to make the top four this season.

Last time out, Albion were defeated by Crystal Palace to put a massive dent in their survival hopes, although Sam Allardyce’s side should be buoyed by the fact that they drew 3-3 with their opponents earlier in the season – even if things are vastly different now.

What sort of Baggies XI could we see at Stamford Bridge? Here’s the line-up we’re predicting…

There could be as many as three changes from the side which tasted defeat to the Eagles, one of which is enforced.

Conor Gallagher isn’t available for selection as he’s on loan from Chelsea, meaning Big Sam has to alter the three-man engine room with which he has persisted recently.

It could mean that Robert Snodgrass is in line for a recall, which would allow Matheus Pereira to be deployed in his better central position. He could join loanees Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Okay Yokuslu in the middle.

Sam Johnstone didn’t feature for England despite earning his first senior call-up and he should remain between the sticks, but we’re expecting a return for Semi Ajayi in the back four.

The 27-year-old will likely partner Kyle Bartley, whilst Conor Townsend keeps his place over the departing Kieran Gibbs at left-back. That move does give Allardyce a dilemma, as Dara O’Shea hasn’t done anything wrong to warrant being dropped, so he could start on the right over Darnell Furlong.

The third and final change could see Grady Diangana earn his first start since early January. The 66-year-old trusted him to start his first four games in charge but has seemingly lost his place following injury.

He could take the place of Matty Phillips on the wing, with the Scot among Albion’s poorer performers this season, as Galatasaray loan star Mbaye Diagne continues up top.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Steve Bull says West Brom should keep Big Sam if they get relegated

West Ham dodged a £32m bullet thanks to Kevin Wimmer rejecting a move to the London Stadium in favour of leaving Tottenham Hotspur for Stoke City.

The 28-year-old revealed in an interview with football.london recently that he was offered the chance to switch life in the north of the capital for east London back in 2017, but elected to join the Potters after a chat with Mark Hughes.

The Austrian’s time at White Hart Lane had reached its end after only two seasons following the arrival of Davinson Sanchez from AFC Ajax, having struggled for game-time under Mauricio Pochettino.

Wimmer made 21 appearances across all competitions during his first season at Tottenham after a £4.3m move from 1.FC Koln in 2015, but would only feature 10 times the following term as Spurs ended the season second in the Premier League table.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy breaking the bank to sign Sanchez for a then club-record £42m ensured that the Austrian was shown the door, and he would go on to seal an £18m move to Stoke – but not until he had held talks with West Ham.

“I was talking to West Ham and West Brom. For me, it was just like Mark Hughes at this time at Stoke, he gave me a very good feeling, we had good contact and he always told me that if you come, you will play and that’s also what happened,” Wimmer said.

“For me, Mark Hughes was a very good guy but unfortunately he got sacked a little bit before the January transfer window. In the first half of the season, I played like 19 games, so I nearly played everything. Of course, we had a difficult time at Stoke, but we weren’t in the relegation zone or anything.

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“Then when Paul Lambert came to the club after Mark Hughes, everything changed. He was there like two days and after two days in the first game, I wasn’t even listed on the bench. I really thought ‘what happened’ and after the first game, he maybe wants to try something new but then he was in charge for 15 games or something and he won the first game, and after 14 games he won only the last game of the season when everything was already done and we were relegated.

“When you see the games that are going so wrong and you get dropped and every game you lose and then sometimes draw but most of the games we lost and always conceded goals and you still don’t get a chance, for me I couldn’t explain it. I spoke like every week with him but he always said so many reasons just to try and keep me motivated or something. I just thought ‘why don’t I get a chance anymore?’”

Hughes described signing Wimmer in 2017 as a “real coup” for Stoke as the defender was “a hugely talented young player who will undoubtedly add further quality to the group.”

However, almost four years on from arriving in Staffordshire and signing a £70,000-per-week contract, the nine-cap Austria international has only played 19 games for Stoke across all competitions – and 18 of those came under Hughes.

Loan deals to German side Hannover 96 and Belgian outfit Royal Excel Mouscron followed before joining 2. Bundesliga club Karlsruher SC for the final stretch of the current season on deadline day in February, where he has played just four of a possible eight games and started three times so far.

His decline, struggles for minutes at a host of clubs and being passed on by three full-time Stoke managers following Lambert’s resignation in 2018 has seen Wimmer’s TransferMarkt valuation plummet by 88% from its high of £10.8m in October 2017.

Wimmer is now touted at just £900,000 and will continue to steal a living on his lucrative Stoke contract for another year if they again fail to sell him this summer. He will have already cost the Potters £14m in wages over his 200 weeks at the club by June 30, on top of the £18m they must regret paying Tottenham.

Wimmer was one that got away from West Ham in 2017, but certainly proved to be a bullet dodged in the long run. David Gold, David Sullivan and Karren Brady will no doubt be glad that the 28-year-old has been stealing that living at Stoke rather than in claret and blue.

AND in other news, West Ham trail a Premier League rival for a five-goal, seven-assist star once labelled an “exciting prospect”…

Leicester City look set to reignite their interest in Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor this summer.

According to The Sun, ‘Brendan Rodgers looks set to try his luck with a bid’ in the summer window.

Leicester’s previous McGregor interest

The Foxes made enquiries for the central midfielder in 2019 and 2020 and it seems as if they haven’t given up hope in signing the Scotland international at the third time of asking.

McGregor, who is on £20,000-a-week at Parkhead, has started every Premiership fixture for the Hoops this season, taking the armband whenever Scott Brown has been absent.

He has made more than 300 appearances for the club, with his current contract set to expire in 2024.

Transfer Tavern take

Reports back in February suggested that McGregor was in line to become Celtic’s new full-time captain and commit the rest of his career to the Hoops in the process.

That may well still be the case, but it seems as if Rodgers will once again look to take the 27-year-old to the King Power Stadium.

Hopefully McGregor won’t have his head turned to play in the Premier League, as in our view, he could be crucial under likely new manager Eddie Howe.

He will be one of the most experienced members of the squad alongside James Forrest when Brown departs, and should McGregor leave, the middle of midfield may need strengthening considerably.

In other news: Celtic knock back offer for 26 y/o following Friday development, find out who it is here. 

Former Tottenham defender Graham Roberts has told Football FanCast in an exclusive interview that Jose Mourinho must win the Carabao Cup to avoid Daniel Levy wielding the axe.

This comes after The Telegraph reported that the Portuguese coach is fighting for his future in north London following his side’s shock elimination to Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League last month.

Tottenham are also out of the FA Cup and risk missing out on Champions League football next season after taking just one point against Newcastle United and Manchester United, making that League Cup final clash against Manchester City later this month that more important.

And for Roberts, it could be what ends up keeping Mourinho in the dugout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

“I think Jose needs to win the cup,” the Spurs legend told FFC. “If he doesn’t, then he’s had a poor season. He needs to get in the top four. If not the top four, he needs to get into Europe [the Europa League]. And then I think that, you know, the club will make a decision there.

“For me, I’m not a fan of the way we play. I love to see us play good football, but if it wins a trophy playing that way, then it’s fair enough.

“But for me I love… when Poch was manager the way we played, we got to Champions League finals and League Cup and FA Cup semi-finals and things like that, but he never won a trophy. So if Jose wins a trophy then, yeah, I’m sure he will be given another year.”

If Mourinho does end up leaving Tottenham in the summer, one manager the north London club could target as a replacement is Julian Nagelsmann.

According to The Telegraph, the RB Leipzig boss is the top target if Mourinho’s work is deemed unsatisfactory come the end of the season.