Signing Veloso on a free transfer could be a smart move by Wolves

Wolves strengthened their midfielder this summer with the additions of Joao Moutinho and Leander Dendoncker to add to the brilliant Ruben Neves, who they already had at their disposal.

However, it appears manager Nuno Espirito Santo is not completely satisfied with his options in the middle of the park.

The Breakdown

According to TEAMtalk, Wolves are set to go head-to-head with Premier League rivals Everton for the signature of free agent Miguel Veloso.

£2.25m-rated (via Transfermarkt) Veloso left Serie A outfit Genoa earlier this month and looks to have attracted interest from his compatriots Nuno and Marco Silva, although the Portuguese international would not be able to play under either manager until January.

Nevertheless, Veloso could still be a clever acquisition for Wolves. With the likes of Neves, Moutinho and Dendoncker, Veloso is unlikely to get plenty of game time at Molineux.

However, when used, the 32-year-old would bring much experience to Nuno’s side and be a more combative presence in the middle of the park.

Neves, by no means, is any less robust in midfield but, alongside Moutinho, the 21-year-old’s game is more about spraying passes and dictating matches in comparison to Veloso, who spent much of his international career with Portugal shielding the team’s back four.

Veloso, though, is still a technical player with a very mean long-shot and a decent range of passing.

Along with Dendoncker, Veloso could provide Nuno with an option in midfield who could make Wolves more defensively solid when coming up against some of the better teams in the Premier League.

Leeds fans react to Stoke deal for Woods

Loads of Leeds fans have been reacting to the transfer of Ryan Woods, as the Brentford ace is set to join Stoke City on a loan with a view to a permanent deal.

According to Sky Sports, Stoke have agreed a deal with Brentford to sign Woods.

As the transfer window is only open to loans, the deal is technically a one-year loan, but with a view to buy for £7m at the end of the season.

Woods is one of several young stars to join Brentford as a youngster, progress into one of their best players, and then move on for a profit, and Leeds fans are annoyed it’s not them on the other end of it.

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The 24 year-old was linked with a switch to Elland Road earlier in the summer, and does seem the perfect fit to add depth to Marcelo Bielsa’s midfield.

Stoke have had a miserable start to the season, but they are still viewed as one of the favourites to go up, so signing Woods is certainly a big boost for the Potters.

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Lots of Leeds fans have been reacting to the deal, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Crystal Palace fans gear up for what could be an important showdown against Watford

It is only the third batch of Premier League fixtures, but Sunday’s match between Watford and Crystal Palace could be a crucial one.

Both of these teams are likely to be on par in terms of their objectives for the season.

Therefore, if there is a winner between the two, it could be an indication as to how the pair progress.

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Of course, plenty can happen between now and the end of May, but at this moment in time, Palace are in need of a win more than Watford.

Roy Hodgson’s side won their opening fixture 2-0 against Fulham, but they were beaten by the same scoreline in their recent encounter with Liverpool at Selhurst Park.

The Eagles will face a team that are hunting for their third consecutive league win.

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Javi Gracia’s side have overcome Brighton and Burnley so far, scoring five goals in total and conceding one.

On Twitter, some Palace fans have been posting their pre-match thoughts and predictions.

Aston Villa fans blast Mile Jedinak once again

Mile Jedinak is a vastly experienced footballer, and deserves respect having proved himself in the Premier League and at international level during his career.

The 34-year-old, however, is currently having a very difficult time in central defence.

Jedinak has earned his keep as a central midfielder, but has been pressed into action at centre-back for Villa in the early weeks of the 2018-19 campaign.

The Villa fans have not been pleased with his performances in that area of the field, and he again struggled in Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Sheffield United.

Villa are actually currently on a run of five games without a win in all competitions despite boasting one of the most talented squads in the Championship.

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Head coach Steve Bruce allowed Tommy Elphick to leave Villa Park on loan before the summer window closed, meaning that James Chester is the club’s only senior centre-back.

The Villa supporters are becoming increasingly frustrated with Jedinak’s performances, and have now criticised the 6ft 2in ace’s display against Sheffield United.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

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Celtic could be forced to answer Gabriel Agbonlahor’s plea

Celtic fans will still be buzzing after the Hoops secured victory in the first Old Firm Derby of the season.

It was the first time Brendan Rodgers came up against his former captain, and a positive result was a must after the Hoops were knocked out of the Champions League. Olivier Ntcham’s second-half goal was enough to secure all three points for Celtic and give the Celtic Park faithful a memorable win. Rodgers will hope to build on the success with another strong performance against St. Mirren following the international break.

It was a quiet summer at Celtic Park with Rodgers not strengthening his squad significantly. The only major piece of business at Parkhead was the departure of star forward – Moussa Dembele. The Frenchman departed for Lyon in a deal worth £20m following a trophy-laden spell in the SPFL.

With Odsonne Eduoard and Leigh Griffiths the only recognised forwards in attack, the Hoop should consider signing former Aston Villa forward – Gabriel Agbonlahor. Valued at £900k by Transfermarkt, the Englishman is searching for a club after spending 13 years with the Villains. Agbonlahor featured in a charity game at Celtic Park and admitted it would be his dream to sign for the Scottish champions.

While his best years are behind him, signing Agbonlahor wouldn’t be a bad move at all. The 31-year-old still possesses electrifying pace and could prove to be a useful option in a gruelling season. If his wages demands are reasonable, it could be a smart piece of business.

Signing Agbonlahor for the rest of the season with an option to extend his deal makes perfect sense.

Celtic fans, thoughts?

Man City fans are delighted by Kevin De Bruyne update

Manchester City suffered a huge blow to their title aspirations in August as Kevin De Bruyne was ruled out for approximately 3 months with a serious knee ligament injury, but the club have received a promising update in relation to his recovery.

Indeed, a recent report from City Watch has claimed that De Bruyne returned to training on Friday for the first time since he sustained his knee injury last month. Although it’s still early days in his rehabilitation period, the news has absolutely delighted the supporters on Twitter.

Without the brilliant Belgian lynchpin pulling the strings in midfield it’s fair to say Guardiola’s well oiled machine has not quite been working as effectively as he’d have hoped.

De Bruyne’s absence can go some way to explaining City’s lack of fluidity through the midfield and their failure to match Liverpool’s record of 4 straight wins so far, so the sooner he returns the better.

Liverpool’s compelling start to the new campaign suggests that they possess the necessary tools to go head-to-head with the Citizens for the Premier League title, and whilst De Bruyne remains sidelined they will be looking to capitalise on the situation.

Whilst the update is certainly promising for the club, De Bruyne will remain absent from first-team action for another 2-3 months so it’s too early for the supporters to get carried away by the news.

But that hasn’t stopped them from expressing their sheet delight at De Bruyne’s update…

Pochettino should look to Belgium in January to continue CL push

After a solid start to the season, Tottenham have bookended the international break with losses to Watford and now Liverpool. 

Despite those two losses, Spurs will still be expected to finish the season in the top-half and maybe even finally capture some silverware for a squad that has so far underachieved over the last few years.

Since his arrival, Mauricio Pochettino has constructed a very strong squad without really spending too much in the transfer window. Within that squad, three Belgians make up what is a very strong core: Moussa Dembele, Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. With those three ageing, Pochettino should once again revisit Belgium to find some more talent to add to his squad.

Siebe Schrijvers 

Despite being just 22, Siebe Schrijvers has amassed a pretty healthy career in Belgium so far. Capable of pretty much playing anywhere across the attacks, Schrijvers’ goalscoring record isn’t the best but moving to Spurs could well be the place where the attacker blossoms.

Valued at £3.15 million, the forward could be a great addition to the Tottenham squad due to his ability to not only play in multiple positions, create goals but also score them too.

Signed from Genk over the summer, the under-21 international could be a cut-price deal that could add some great depth to Spurs, although it may not be a popular one.

Thorgan Hazard

A known name to the Chelsea faithful, Thorgan Hazard has quietly established himself as a solid player in the Bundesliga away from his brother’s shadow at Chelsea.

Last season for Borussia Monchengladbach, the Belgium international scored 10 goals to go along with eight assists in 34 games in the Bundesliga. Despite not scoring in the league so far this season, the Belgian has been a key part in the club’s unbeaten start.

Capable of playing as a 10 or on either wing, Hazard would add some great quality to a Spurs side that needs to help Harry Kane. In reality, Erik Lamela isn’t a part of the club’s long-term plans while Dele Alli is going through a patch of poor form.

Valued at £19.8 million, Hazard could be a cheap January pick me up for a side that needs to be pushing to stay in the Champions League.

The one that got away: QPR and Zlatan Ibrahimovic

After a truly miserable start to the season, life is looking a touch rosier for Queens Park Rangers under Steve McClaren. Indeed, the former England boss may have an awfully long way to go before he endears himself to the Loftus Road, though things aren’t quite as bad as they looked when the campaign kicked off. 

So, we’re sorry to kill the good feeling somewhat. Still, QPR are the latest club to feature in our The one that got away series, detailing their missing out on one of Europe’s most decorated ever players.

QPR – Zlatan Ibrahimovic, 1998

While fanbases outside of QPR may often associate the West London outfit with signing big-name players towards the end of their careers, their brief encounter with Zlatan Ibrahimovic is at the complete opposite end of the transfer spectrum.

Indeed, back in 1998, Gerry Francis’ Rs side took the then 16-year-old marksman on trial during his stint at boyhood club Malmo, along with his friend Tony Flygare. Now, the former Manchester United and Barcelona striker’s audition with London rivals Arsenal during a similar time period has been widely reported for years now, though an account in Flygare’s book (serialised in the Daily Mail back in 2014) explained all on the nightmare the towering Swede endured with Gerry Francis.

In the second division at the time, Francis had a strikeforce consisting of Ian Dowie, Kevin Gallen and Steve Slade from which to choose from, so the introduction of an awkward looking Swedish wonderkid would have certainly have been a risk. However, and perhaps indicative of English football at the time, Francis never gave the clearly talented teen a chance to shine.

‘Zlatan was holding on to the ball for too long and the trainer tackled him when he wasn’t expecting it”, Flygare told Sportsmail.

‘For that, Zlatan tackled him back and then told the trainer to “**** off”. He went mad at Zlatan.

‘Being in England was so much different. He just told Zlatan: “for that, you’re going to breathe through your a***”. I’ll never forget it. We didn’t hear from QPR again.’

Obviously, a struggling second-tier side in the 1990s may not have been the best place for a budding talent to grow, though these kind of stories show QPR made some rather terrible decisions on the transfer front long before the Tony Fernandes era.

Nottingham Forest fans can’t agree on the Diogo Goncalves red card decision

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Benfica loanee Diogo Goncalves was sent off on Wednesday as Nottingham Forest beat Stoke 3-2 to progress to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, and many Forest fans took to Twitter after the game to debate whether the decision was a fair one.

Forest started the game brilliantly and Ben Osborn, who was playing at left-back on the night, gave the home side the lead after 19 minutes when the ball bounced off Stoke keeper Adam Federici and off the Forest man’s knee into the net.

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Five minutes before half-time, Daryl Murphy doubled their lead with a convincing finish and again five minutes on the other side of the break, winger Joe Lolley made it 3-0.

With just over 10 minutes to go though, with the scores now at 3-1, Goncalves seemed to go over the top of the ball and catch Tom Edwards, for which he was shown a straight red card.

Despite conceding again though Aitor Karanka’s side held on for the win, but after the game fans couldn’t agree on whether they had been hard done by. Check out some of the best tweets below.

So, Forest fans, do you think a red card was the right decision for the Goncalves tackle? Have your say by voting in the poll below.

Rival fans bash Pochettino’s post-Barcelona comments

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Loads of fans have been reacting to some comments made by Mauricio Pochettino after Tottenham’s defeat to Barcelona, as the boss hailed his players’ performance.

While the 4-2 scoreline suggests it was an enthralling end-to-end game, Tottenham can really consider themselves lucky to have only lost by two against Barcelona on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi was absolutely unplayable, Tottenham made far too many mistakes, and the Barcelona midfield completely ran the game.

Spurs did show plenty of fight though, scoring twice in the second half to cut the deficit before Messi wrapped up the game in the closing stages with his second of the night.

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Pochettino has often been criticised for his lack of trophies, and rival fans are bashing his mentality after the match.

“To concede a goal so early, we destroyed the plan,” he said.

“If we start the game this way, it’s so tough for the players. In the second half. I feel proud for the effort of the players.

“We were handicapped against Barcelona after conceding after one minute. I think our players were heroes to chase the game against a team with Messi, Luis Suarez and Philippe Coutinho.”

While it’s great to see a manager sticking up for his players, the Tottenham boss is taking loads of stick on Twitter for having a losing mentality.

You can find some of the best reactions down below, where even a few Tottenham fans are bashing the comments…

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