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Many Wolves fans have been left buzzing as a transfer update emerged on Kurt Zouma.

According to Telefoot journalist Julien Maynard, the Midlands club, as well as Tottenham, Everton and AS Roma, are interested in signing the defender, who is expected to leave Chelsea in the summer transfer window.

However, the 26-year-old has reportedly declined a move to Molineux, meaning that they would have to push extra hard to secure his signature.

The France international was a key player in Chelsea’s 2020/21 Premier League season, winning 4.5 of his duels per match, while also averaging 3.8 clearances and 1.2 interceptions per game, keeping nine clean sheets in the process (Sofascore).

A recent Champions League winner, he would certainly be a big coup for Bruno Lage’s team if they could persuade him to join – they conceded 52 Premier League goals last term, just one fewer than relegated Fulham, indicating that their defence could do with strengthening.

Wolves fans on Zouma transfer update

These Wolves supporters buzzed as the transfer update on Zouma was shared on Twitter:

“I’d love this, are the sources good?”

Credit: @haydenbd_

“He’s exactly what we need”

Credit: @eve_elizabethxx

“Would be the signing of the summer. Bigger than Trincao!”

Credit: @dmarsden1988

“I’d defo take him… proper centre-back and very good in the air which is what we need in both boxes someone who is going to attack the ball and win it”

Credit: @samwwfc__

“Yes please”

Credit: @Cookmtt1976

“Be happy if it happened”

Credit: @Frankgi34843182

In other news, find out what recent news has had these Wolves fans talking

Levante winger Jorge de Frutos is a very raw player, La Liga expert Euan McTear has warned amid Premier League interest.

The Spaniard has admirers in England, with the Sunday Mirror (via The Boot Room) reporting earlier this year that Southampton have been in touch with his agent over a transfer.

De Frutos had a bright 2020/21 campaign, scoring four goals and providing nine assists for Levante in La Liga.

It makes him an attractive proposition for Southampton or any team looking to bolster their wide options this summer. However, despite being 24, McTear has warned De Frutos is still quite raw due to his football upbringing.

“His story is interesting,” the Spanish football expert told FFC. “He didn’t play organised football until he was 16. He grew up on like a farm.

“He’s a very raw player because he’s not come up with that polished sort of way that so many players do, especially in Spain now. Almost every club has the same kind of youth coaching, philosophy, methodology, whatever you call it.

“He didn’t do that, so he’s very raw. That’s good, sometimes bad.”

Even so, bringing in someone like De Frutos looks like a good idea for Southampton. The Saints’ current crop of wingers, the likes of Nathan Redmond and Moussa Djenepo, have not been the most productive players in attack.

In fact, the latter failed to register a single assist in the Premier League last season, so there is definitely room for improvement in that area of the pitch.

Glasgow Rangers fans are livid at what FC Porto are reportedly prepared to offer for their star striker Alfredo Morelos.

Morelos, who is currently away on international duty with Colombia at the Copa America, has been a fantastic signing for the Gers, scoring 94 goals in 182 games since 2017 (Transfermarkt). However, it seems he could be on the move away from Ibrox this summer, with Cagliari having a bid of €8m (£6.9m) turned down for the 24-year-old according to journalist Bruno Andrade.

Andrade also provided an update on Porto’s interest in the forward – according to Maisfutebol (via Glasgow Live), Morelos’ agent Michael Gorman has travelled to Portugal to discuss a potential transfer. As per Andrade, Porto believe they can sign him for a fee of around €12m (£10.3m).

The news was shared on Twitter by Andrade himself, and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Morelos news below

“Rangers rejected an offer of 16m last summer, and that was when Morelos was off boil. He ended second half of season in red hot form. €12m is an insult”

Credit: @simon1872

“€12m Considering we turned down €6m more than that less than a year ago. And I think he’s turned into an all round better player this season. He’s easily £25m now plus a sell on. Anything less shouldn’t even be looked at”

Credit: @Ranger55pares

“12 millions euros. They just after his right boot? Embarrassing.”

Credit: @BMCRangersRants

“You’re valuation is about half of the reality. So, so far off.”

Credit: @AmatoTheArcher

“€12m. Do some research.”

Credit: @WestEndBluenose

“12 MILLION AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHA he got offers like that his first season”

Credit: @George_1872

In other news, Rangers fans rage at this Euro 2020 news.

Manchester United have been linked with a move for Atalanta defender Christian Romero as the summer transfer window approaches.

What’s the story?

According to Italian outlet Eco Di Bergamo (via Sport Witness), the Old Trafford outfit have already made a “super offer” worth €45 million (£38.5m) for the 23-year-old.

The aforementioned fee would make Romero Atalanta’s record sale, and the local paper claim it would be impossible for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side to turn down the offer.

Imagine him and Maguire

Centre-back has been a problem position for the Red Devils for a number of years now, with several expensive flops failing to have the desired effect upon the United backline.

While club captain Harry Maguire has slowly won over the majority of the club’s supporters, putting in consistently impressive displays for many months now, the England internationals string of partners have left a lot to be desired.

Victor Lindelof has shown glimpses of star quality, but those performances have been undermined by lapses in concentration, and his limited physical attributes are a constant source of problems for the 20-time English champions.

The likes of Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Phil Jones have also done little to convince Solskjaer, or the fans, that they’re capable of being Maguire’s long-term partner at the heart of defence – either through a lack of form, injury issues, or both – and therefore a new centre-back is believed to be high up on United’s wish list this summer.

Romero could be the answer to the club’s defensive woes after impressing throughout the 2020/21 campaign. The Argentine beast made 31 league appearances, achieving a 7.14 WhoScored rating as Atalanta finished third in Serie A.

He combines the traditional, tough-tackling duties of a centre-back with the role’s modern responsibilities to perfection, often launching into tackles before picking himself up and playing a composed pass.

Although this style leads to frequent bookings – he picked up 15 in all competitions last season – it’s something which can be worked on, and the positives to Romero’s game certainly outweigh the negatives.

The South American’s pace, ability with the ball at his feet and love for a challenge would make him the perfect partner for Maguire and should see him adapt to the demands of the Premier League with ease.

It’s a move that Ed Woodward must sanction over the coming months if United want to challenge for major honours again and could prove to be the final piece in the jigsaw for Solskjaer’s side.

In other news…Man Utd must swoop for £18m-rated beast this summer, he has “outstanding quality” 

Everton have decided to offer 20-year-old starlet Ellis Simms fresh contract terms, as reported by the Liverpool Echo.

The Lowdown: Everton gear up for 2021/22

As the Toffees look to get their ducks in a row ahead of the 2021/22 season, you could be forgiven for thinking that player imports were the only concern of the Goodison Park hierarchy.

Everton have been linked with the likes of Matheus Nunes from Sporting Lisbon in recent weeks [ToffeeWeb].

However, preserving their key crop of young talent has also seemingly become a priority for the Merseyside giants this summer, in particular, Simms, who may become a younger alternative for the now-departed Joshua King [Guardian].

The Latest: Simms has been offered a new deal at Goodison Park

The Oldham-born forward has been given the chance to sign an extension at the club, as his current contract is due to expire in the summer of 2022, meaning he would be free to sign a pre-contract agreement with a foreign club next January [Liverpool Echo].

Despite this, the Finch Farm product has previously discussed a move away from Merseyside, saying in a previous interview: “Who knows what the future will bring?” [Liverpool Echo].

The Verdict: Simms should receive first-team openings next season

Undoubtedly, Everton fans will be hoping that those at the club do all they cato keep hold of their premium talent. Enjoying a sparkling 2020/21 on loan at Blackpool; he helped the Seasiders to promotion from League One, scoring 10 goals from 23 appearances [Transfermarkt].

Once labelled ‘outstanding’ by Everton Under-18’s coach Keith Southern, he is someone with a bright future in the game and it would be a blow to lose his services [Liverpool Echo].

Nevertheless, the inkling that he has been guaranteed some sort of future at the Blues through having a new deal on the table is a positive for the Everton faithful.

Should he elect to stay at Goodison Park, the Toffees should look to pre-season as an opportunity to bed him into a senior environment as he’s shown whilst out on loan that he’s deserving of a chance to make a name for himself at Goodison.

In other news, Lawrie Sanchez has commented on Everton coach Duncan Ferguson.

Leicester City are set to compete with Arsenal for the signature Ryan Bertrand over the summer after he leaves Southampton on a free transfer.

What’s the story?

According to The Telegraph, Brendan Rodgers is set to offer the 31-year-old left-back a contract over the summer as he searches for Christian Fuchs’ replacement.

Bertrand announced that he is set to end his six-year stay on the south coast over the coming months, and several Premier League clubs are expected to do battle for his services.

One particularly strong performance against Manchester United last summer led to the defender being hailed as “superb” by The Athletic correspondent Dan Sheldon, who was speaking on the Total Saints Podcast [via This Is Futbol]. Meanwhile, his averages of 2.1 tackles, one interception and 1.3 clearances per game hint at a player with an unfailing defensive work rate.

Rodgers masterstroke

With 35-year-old full-back Fuchs expected to leave the King Power Stadium after the conclusion of the current campaign and James Justin facing a lengthy spell on the sidelines through injury, bringing in some experienced competition for Luke Thomas has become a priority for Leicester.

The Foxes are also reportedly interested in signing Lille midfielder Boubakary Soumare and Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard as Rodgers looks to add strength in depth to his relatively thin ranks ahead of the 2021/22 campaign, and those are transfers which could take up a sizeable chunk of the club’s budget.

Therefore, acquiring Bertrand on a free transfer to solve a temporary issue may prove to be a masterstroke from their Northern Irish manager.

Leicester have had incredible success over the last few seasons by being very clever in the transfer market, signing relatively unknown talents such as N’Golo Kante and Riyad Mahrez for low fees before selling them on for a healthy profit.

Their policy has allowed the 2016 Premier League champions to punch well above their weight, and this could prove to be the latest clever acquisition, but for slightly different reasons.

Bringing in Bertrand while the highly-rated Justin recovers will allow Rodgers to focus his side’s modest resources on more important areas of the pitch, meaning that a push for the Champions League qualifications could once again be the cards for next season.

Signing a £9m-rated player (Transfermarkt) with more than 250 Premier League games under the belt for free should be a smart piece of business, and when it means Leicester can strengthen in other positions as well, it can be considered a significant coup if it comes off.

In other news… Leicester could land Rodgers his next Vardy with £40m swoop for “incredible” colossus – opinion

Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley will not get rid of Steve Bruce, says Peterborough United director of football Barry Fry.

At one point, it did look like Bruce’s job was in real danger, with The Telegraph reporting at the start of April that relegation to the Championship would have possibly forced Ashley’s hand.

In the end, though, Bruce was obviously able to keep Newcastle up after picking up some brilliant results in the final stretch of the campaign.

And now, unless the Tyneside club are taken over, Fry cannot see Bruce going anywhere. Speaking about what the future could hold for Newcastle, the former manager told FFC:

“I think if Mike Ashley’s in charge, he’ll leave Steve in charge, no doubt about that whatsoever.

“If somebody else comes in and buys the club off him, then they’ve got their own ideas, and normally if a consortium takes over a club, they’ve got their own manager, their own management team all set up before they take over.”

Newcastle’s future as a football club has been up in the air, or more so, since the attempted takeover by a Saudi Arabian-backed consortium, which includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund PIF, PCP Capital Partners and Reuben Brothers. What happens next is now anyone’s guess.

Where do you begin to trace the root of Celtic’s diabolical season?

The Hoops have been plagued with issues throughout 2020/21 and when you dig deep enough, you’ll realise that there are problems far greater than Scott Brown’s dwindling performances or Odsonne Edouard’s questionable mindset.

It stems far deeper than Jonjoe Kenny’s inability to concentrate or Diego Laxalt’s hopeless defending. It also runs further back than last summer’s shambolic recruitment.

Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti have been a huge waste of money, setting the club back a sum of £9.5m. The former has barely played after being usurped in the pecking order by Scott Bain while Ajeti has only six goals to his name.

Coincidentally, that significant financial investment nearly equates to the amount of money Celtic received for Brendan Rodgers.

Back in February 2019, Leicester City managed to prise the Northern Irishman away from Paradise in a deal that goes down as one of the most expensive manager transfers of all time.

The Foxes paid a compensation fee of around £10m two years ago but that money has rather evaporated.

Rodgers engineered a tremendous amount of success in Glasgow, winning seven trophies in total but they failed to replace him sufficiently when he headed south of the border.

That decision was taken by the much-maligned Peter Lawwell. The CEO is set to retire at the end of the season and be replaced by Dominic McKay but it’s his lack of ambition back in 2019 that is the root cause of Celtic’s current downfall.

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With that in mind,  you can hardly blame the numerous protests that have occurred outside Parkhead this season.

Speaking on ACSOM after Celtic were drubbed 4-1 by Rangers last Sunday, presenter Paul John Dykes said: “So we make around £10m when he [Rodgers] goes to Leicester and what do we do with it? We bring in Neil Lennon. Now, that is on Peter Lawwell and that performance today if you really want to track it back is on Lawwell.”

Dykes continued: “The suggestion that Peter Lawwell will still be at the club in some capacity going forward, Celtic fans should be frightened about that. He is the reason we have fallen so disparagingly short this season.”

It’s particularly hard to disagree with that assessment. Lawwell had £10m to spend on a top-quality manager but instead looked towards the past.

Lennon returned for a second bite of the cherry and despite winning the treble last term, everything has disastrously fallen apart in 2020/21.

His management left a lot to be desired and the fact he was still using Rodgers’ training methods at Lennoxtown says it all.

£10m is a lot of money for a club like Celtic but it was thrown down the drain with their shoddy recruitment in the transfer window summing things up.

That £9.5m last summer would have been better sitting in the bank, especially after the way Lawwell refused to spend it on an able replacement over two years ago now.

With Celtic in such a dominant period in their history, attracting a manager shouldn’t have been a particularly arduous task.

At the time, they were linked with Slaven Bilic, David Moyes, Steve Clarke and Roberto Martinez. Any of those coaches will have been more inspirational than someone who had already taken on the job once.

As the hierarchy are proving now, it’s difficult to find a new head coach when the future of the football club is so unclear.

Their search has gone on for ten weeks and is still devoid of a solution. All of this is on Lawwell; he has a lot to answer for. The fans should be particularly enraged right now.

AND in other news, Forget Howe: Desmond can transform Celtic by hiring “brave” 48 y/o who wowed Guardiola…

Leeds United are reportedly showing genuine interest in signing  Brest winger Romain Faivre, but other big clubs are also interested.

The Lowdown: Past interest in Faivre

Marcelo Bielsa is expected to make additions to his squad in the summer transfer window in order to ensure that they keep improving next season.

The Whites have been linked with a move for Faivre in recent months, with the 22-year-old scoring six goals and registering five assists in Ligue 1 this season.

The Latest: Leeds in the race for winger

According to Le Parisien [via Sport Witness], Leeds are showing ‘concrete interest’ in signing Faivre at the end of the season, but they aren’t alone in that respect.

Both Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund are also in the mix, along with AC Milan, Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.

It is claimed that Leeds will have to pay between €15m and €20m (£12.95m-£17.26m) to acquire the Frenchman’s signature.

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The Verdict: Worth a punt?

Faivre might not the most high-profile name with whom Leeds have been linked, but his statistics suggest that he could thrive in this Whites team.

On top of his aforementioned 11 goal contributions in the league, he also averages 2.6 dribbles per game, highlighting his direct nature. That’s comfortably more than any Leeds player in the Premier League in 2020/21, with Raphinha (1.9) leading the way, going to show what an exciting acquisition he could be.

Indeed, the Brazilian was a left-field £17m signing from Ligue 1 outfit Rennes and has gone on to excel in Yorkshire, so the Whites could strike a similarly successful note with another raid on the French top flight if they sign Faivre.

In other news, one pundit has tipped a Leeds attacker to leave the club at the end of the season. Find out who it is here.

West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee claimed earlier this week that the London Stadium natives were in talks with Joao Mario’s agent over a potential return to the Premier League, which could see David Sullivan acquire superb midfield depth for David Moyes.

The Irons are expected to strengthen their engine room in the upcoming off-season, to add numbers to a unit currently featuring just Tomas Soucek, Declan Rice and veteran captain Mark Noble.

Mario may emerge as an option for the east Londoners as he will enter the final year of his Inter Milan contract this summer, and is currently on loan with Liga NOS giants Sporting CP.

The Leoes are keen to retain Mario beyond his temporary spell, with reports by O Jogo last month stating that discussions were already underway after Inter Milan let it be known that the 28-year-old is available for a fee of €10m (£8.5m).

There is confidence at the Estadio Jose Alvalade that Mario will stay at the club, and it is believed that he is likewise keen to secure a permanent move following the performances of Ruben Amorim’s side this season.

But Irons insider ExWHUemployee has claimed that Mario’s agent has been in touch with the London Stadium natives to sound out any interest in a return to the Premier League, following a loan spell for the latter half of the 2017/18 season.

A return is expected to hinge on whether or not Moyes feels Mario can still perform in the English top-flight, yet word of a potential reunion has excited some supporters.

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Moyes was at the West Ham helm when Mario moved to England in the final days of the 2018 winter market, and was left impressed by the 46-cap Portugal international’s performances over the following months.

“I think Joao Mario has done well since he came in,” Moyes said that April. “He brings a little bit of flair, he’s good on the ball, and a bit of natural talent. What goes unnoticed is that he’s actually a really hard-working boy as well.”

Mario only scored twice and offered one assist over his 14 appearances in claret and blue, but his importance on the pitch helped the Hammers to stave off the threat of relegation after arriving with the club just four points clear of the bottom three.

A return to Inter Milan only saw him start 12 of 20 Serie A outings before a move to Russian side Lokomotiv Moscow and later Sporting CP for the current term, where the midfielder has been a mainstay missing just two Liga NOS fixtures and starting 19 of 22 appearances.

His creativity has again been lacking for the Leoes with two goals and one assist to date, but the hard-working £88,000-per-week maestro has offered a box-to-box presence that could offer Moyes superb depth if signed this summer.

Mario has offered Sporting a higher average volume of shots from central and holding midfield positions per 90 minutes (0.9) this season than West Ham have seen from Rice (0.8) in the Premier League, and records 1.4 tackles to the Englishman and Soucek’s 1.9, per WhoScored.

He further carries possession up the field more successful with 2.1 dribbles per 90 to Rice (0.9), Noble (0.8) and Soucek (0.4), and provides more key passes (1.3) than each of the Irons trio (0.7 Rice, 0.5 Soucek, 0 Noble).

Mario may not prove to be a ground-breaking signing if brought back to the London Stadium, but Sullivan would add experienced depth capable of delivering when needed if he convinces Moyes to accept a summer transfer.

AND in other news, David Moyes could discover his Jesse Lingard replacement in a “gifted” £18m-rated maestro…