[ad_pod ]Sky Sports pundit Matt Le Tissier criticised Wolverhampton Wanderers heavily pre-match for making five changes for their Premier League clash against Cardiff City, but he has since backtracked and apologised on Twitter.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the west Midlands outfit were hosting the struggling Bluebirds – who are one of the teams battling Le Tissier’s former club Southampton in the top-flight relegation battle – but they rested a number of key players at the weekend and faced criticism from the 50-year-old on Soccer Saturday.

The decision was presumably made by manager Nuno Santo with the FA Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United on March 16 in mind, as Rui Patricio, Ruben Neves and Matt Doherty were among those missing from the XI.

Wolves of course ran out 2-0 winners in the end and when questioned by a fan on social media, Le Tissier responded with an apology having suggested last season’s Championship champions were risking bringing the game into disrepute.

Was he right to criticise?

Yes and no.

Can Wolves lift the FA Cup for the first time since 1960? The fans in the video below certainly think so…

Firstly, he is a pundit and therefore he is entitled to give his view on a situation as that is what he is paid to do, and this was potentially a big one if the Molineux-based outfit had made those changes and then slipped up.

Then again, Santo is allowed to make any team selection that he wants to make and if he wants to prioritise fitness for an important FA Cup clash, then there is no shame in that.

If Le Tissier didn’t have that Southampton connection, you have to wonder whether he would have had such a strong opinion on the matter, although you do have to say fair play to him for addressing the situation.

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Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has delivered his verdict on the ups-and-downs of midfield teammate Naby Keita prior to his side’s Champions League first leg last 16 tie against Bayern Munich at Anfield on Tuesday night, as per liverpoolfc.com.

What’s the word, then?

Well, the Reds skipper was asked about the Guinea international ahead of the massive clash against the Bundesliga giants, with the 24-year-old struggling at times and clearly taking time to settle into the English game after making the move from Germany last summer.

Speaking via liverpoolfc.com, Henderson said: “I think everyone can see how good Naby is as a footballer, but as I know myself coming to Liverpool, it’s such a huge club – and especially changing to the Premier League – is tough.

“It takes time to adapt. I think he’s done really well in certain games he’s played and I can see him getting used to the way we’re playing and the manager has helped him improve, and I can definitely see the potential you can see coming out of him.

“At the same time it takes time to feel right at home, but in the last couple of games you can see the quality that he gives the team and how good he is.”

After struggling to make the starting XI earlier in the campaign and playing just 54 minutes of Champions League action so far this term, Keita has now started the Merseyside outfit’s previous four matches and is in contention to be selected against Niko Kovac’s men.

Can Keita be a star?

We have seen time and time again that it can take certain players longer than others to settle into English football because it is so different to other leagues, and Keita is no different.

While the attributes and traits he showed for previous club RB Leipzig suggested he was ideally suited to make an instant impact in the Premier League, it can still take time to adapt and get used to the style of play your new manager wants from you.

The 24-year-old may have got off to a slow start at Anfield, but his performances in recent weeks suggest that the best is still definitely yet to come from the African.

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Tottenham Hotspur fans on Twitter have been laughing off their club’s latest transfer link, connecting them with Fiorentina and Italy winger Federico Chiesa.

According to The Sun, Spurs are considering a bid of £70million for the exciting wide man who’s scored 21 goals in 102 appearances for his current club and has over ten Italy caps in his locker, with some fans believing that chairman Daniel Levy will not splash out so much money on just one player.

The North Londoners may be looking for a new winger in the summer transfer window to bolster their hopes of claiming a maiden Premier League title next season.

However, some supporters believe that other positions, such as right-back and centre-back, need to be strengthened first, although there’s a chance that Levy will fail to dip into his pockets once more, as with the last two transfer windows.

Now just three points ahead of Manchester United in fifth, Mauricio Pochettino’s men are in danger of missing out on the top four and their best chance of securing Champions League football next season, something Chiesa is understood to be craving, may be winning this campaign’s competition, having reached the last eight.

Check out some of the best reactions to the rumours from supporters on Twitter below…

يحاول نادي يوفنتوس التوقيع مع فيديريكو كييزا من فيورنتينا لكن السيدة العجوز يحتاج أولاً إلى بيع دوجلاس كوستا.

وتفيد تقارير صحفية أن كوستا يرفض الرحيل عن يوفنتوس في الوقت الحالي وهو ما يعرقل حسم صفقة كييزا.

تم عرض البرازيلي على مانشستر يونايتد وولفرهامبتون لكن الشياطين الحمر فشلوا في مطابقة السعر المطلوب ليوفنتوس البالغ 30 مليون يورو، في حين أن الانتقال إلى ولفرهامبتون ليس في خطط دوجلاس كوستا.

يحتاج بطل الدوري الإيطالي إلى بيع لاعب واحد على الأقل لإفساح المجال في قائمة فرق دوري أبطال أوروبا التي يجب اكتمالها بحلول 6 أكتوبر.

اتفق يوفنتوس وفيورنتينا بالفعل على تفاصيل الصفقة، على أن ينضم كييزا لليوفي على سبيل الإعارة مقابل حوالي 10-12 مليون يورو مع الالتزام بالشراء مقابل 50 مليون يورو أخرى.

اقرأ أيضًا.. نابولي يُعلن إصابة نجمه بـ فيروس كورونا قبل صدام يوفنتوس

وسيتم دفع المبلغ على أربعة أقساط سنوية، كما وافق كييزا بالفعل على الانضمام إلى يوفنتوس واللعب تحت قيادة بيرلو.

يحاول يوفنتوس أيضًا بيع لاعبين آخرين من بينهم ماتيا دي تشيليو وسامي خضيرة، ويتفاوض لاعب خط الوسط الألماني على إنهاء عقده مع يوفنتوس.

وعرض النادي البالغ 2.5 مليون يورو لإلغاء عقد اللاعب لا يكفي لنجم ريال مدريد السابق الذي يطالب بأجر 6 ملايين يورو بالكامل عن عامه الأخير من العقد.

وبالنسبة لدي تشيليو، كان هناك اهتمام من قبل الأندية الإسبانية ولكن لا توجد عروض محددة للاعب ميلان السابق.

The problems are seemingly mounting for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. After a dream start, the last two defeats to Arsenal and Wolves, who knocked them out of the FA Cup, have stung his team’s booming confidence and there’s a low feeling amongst the squad, with the Sun claim Solskjaer accused his United players to reverting to their ways under Jose Mourinho. 

Ah, the Manchester United of old.

Solskjaer will now need to rebuild his side’s confidence, but more importantly, get his own head in the right place. While the international break is perfect to rethink his approach for the remaining games, the Norwegian’s been struck with even more bad news throughout this week. Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw, Nemanja Matic and Romelu Lukaku all pulled out of their respective international teams citing injuries and the dark clouds to have gathered over Old Trafford in recent weeks don’t look to be going away.

As if injuries hadn’t hampered his momentum enough already! As some crucial games, including a UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona, approaches, he’ll need a fully fit squad in hand to battle on the two remaining fronts. Indeed, constant injuries force him to reshape United’s system every now and then, causing disbalance and confusion which led to the back-to-back defeats.

It’s his disappointing rotation which has been a cause for concern in recent weeks and he cannot afford to improve upon that with more players getting injured. Despite all his positivity, he must be a frustrated man inside to be dealing with all these problems after that dreamy night in Paris.

If the injury troubles don’t end soon, Solskjaer’s wheels could completely fall off come May. He might still be favourite for the job amongst the supporters, but the Norwegian needs to keep his emotions in check and hope his essential men regain fitness to help finish United’s season on a high note.

United fans, are you worried the mounting injuries could hamper Solskjaer’s momentum? Join the discussion by commenting below. 

Transfer recruitment at Liverpool has changed quite a bit recently, hasn’t it? Gone are the days of trying to strengthen for another title push by bringing in the likes of Rickie Lambert, Javier Manquillo Divock Origi and Alberto Moreno, just to name a few.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have been formidable in their recruitment to bolster a title challenge this season, with the acquisitions of Alisson, Fabinho, Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita all proving their worth or showing glimpses of what they are capable of in the future already.

As the transfer situation has altered significantly at Anfield now, with that being said though, let’s take a look are two of the worst Liverpool signings in the past five years…

Lazar Markovic

Markovic was brought to Merseyside for a reported £20m when he was just 20-years-old in 2014.

The Serbian failed to live up to his potential at Liverpool with numerous ineffective performances in his debut season. The multiple loans that followed could not help push him in the direction either.

Markovic is now back in the Premier League at Fulham, but the deal is only a short-term one.

Mario Balotelli

During that summer that Markovic joined Liverpool, alongside a handful of players who just did not fit the bill to challenge for a League title, a gamble was taken on someone who had been inconsistent in the League with Manchester City.

Mario Balotelli was signed for a reported £16m from AC Milan, but, like Markovic and so many others, failed to live up to expectations.

The Italian international netted just four times in 28 games in all competitions, with only one of those goals being scored in the League.

His time at Anfield was one to forget for both parties, but he has now found his feet at Marseille whereby, following a January move, he has five goals in seven games.

Not only have Chelsea themselves been dealt a blow by their transfer ban, but Premier League rivals Everton will also be affected by it.

Indeed, the Toffees currently have Chelsea’s Kurt Zouma on loan and after watching him become a vital cog in their defence, Everton wanted to sign him on a permanent basis next summer (according to Liverpool Echo).

However, now that Chelsea can’t sign players, they’ll have to bring back loaned players to boost their squad. The Blues currently have 42 players on loan, something which may have played a part in FIFA’s decision to sanction them.

Undoubtedly, Zouma is one of the more impressive players out on loan, having made himself a crucial part of Marco Silva side’s defence. The French defender has seemingly won over the manager with his hard-working capability and made 23 appearances for them in the Premier League, keeping four clean sheets.

Having recorded a 57% tackling success, 86 clearances, 31 interceptions and 76 aerial duels won (stats via Premier League), he’s proven to be a rock in defence and bailed them out of trouble multiple times. A mobile, strong defender, he fits into Everton’s style very well and even if Silva is sacked, Zouma could be in the plans of a future manager.

However, with Chelsea themselves needing a quality centre-back, they could look towards Zouma after being unable to sign one anytime soon. The Blues surely won’t think twice before calling him back after his loan spell, meaning Everton have to draw up new plans to find another commendable defender like him next season.

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Tottenham Hotspur are scouting a number of Serie A players as they prepare for the summer transfer window, per Tuttomercatoweb.

Spurs have not signed a player in the last two transfer windows but appear ready to dip into the market at the end of the season.

What’s the word?

Spurs last signed a player in January of 2018, when they secured Lucas Moura from PSG.

But the aforementioned Tuttomercatoweb report claims that they are stepping up preparations for the summer by sending scouts to watch a number of players in action in Italy.

Representatives from the north London outfit watched AC Milan beat Atalanta 3-1, with midfielder Franck Kessie and winger Suso both on their radar.

Per Tuttomercatoweb, Spurs also took in Inter Milan’s match against Sampdoria, looking over Ivan Perisic’s performance for the Nerrazurri.

Sampdoria defender Joachim Andersen was also on their shortlist, but according to Tuttomercatoweb the interest in him depends on Toby Alderweireld’s future.

Early preparations

Spurs are clearly readying for a frenzied summer of transfer activity.

Alderweireld has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave if a bid of £25million is tabled this summer, while Christian Eriksen’s future remains up in the air amid reported interest from Real Madrid.

Spurs are in need of reinforcements, particularly if both players depart, and it makes sense that they would be scouting top leagues, particularly for players with the right profile to play under Mauricio Pochettino.

Andersen is just 22 while Kessie and Suso are 22 and 25 respectively, and all three have the ability to grow under the Argentine’s management.

Perisic, of course, is 30, with that deal surely more of a long shot for the north London club.

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It would be fair to say that Leeds have a very talented Under-23 outfit, with a number of players impressing for the second team this season.

The Under-23s were back in action on Monday evening and beat Newcastle United Under-23s 3-1 to advance to the next round of the Premier League Cup.

Hugo Diaz – a 2017 arrival from Deportivo La Coruna – drew praise from the Leeds supporters for his performance against Bolton Wanderers earlier this month.

And that was once again the case on Monday evening.

As it stands, Diaz is not in the plans of first-team boss Marcelo Bielsa, although he did feature against Preston North End in the Championship earlier this season, but the Championship club’s fans were once again really impressed with what they saw from the Spaniard.

And a number took to social media to comment on Diaz, who operated in defensive midfield against Newcastle’s Under-23 side.

Who are the best away fans in the Championship? Pl>ymaker FC’s Thogden gives his top 10 in the video below…

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the fans can be seen below:

Gerard Deulofeu is currently proving Everton wrong with his recent showings at Watford that have seen the Hornets qualify for the FA Cup semi-final after beating Crystal Palace 2-1 at Vicarage Road on Saturday afternoon.

Watford have been enjoying a great season and are currently eighth in the Premier League, only a point behind the high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers, while Everton, on the other hand, have found it difficult to get any sort of consistency going.

The Spaniard spent two years at the Merseyside club between 2015 and 2017 before making a loan move to Watford in January 2018. The 25-year-old eventually signed a permanent deal at Watford in May that year and he hasn’t looked back, proving a valuable figure in Javi Gracia’s team this season.

The former Barcelona man never looked comfortable at Everton and found it difficult to earn a regular place in the starting lineup.

During that time, the Toffees’ turmoil somewhat started with both Roberto Martinez and Ronald Koeman failing to take the club to a new level, which ultimately led to some players also moving to new clubs. A graduate of the infamous La Masia academy, he clearly never received the full backing at Everton like he is currently receiving at Watford and it has proved to be instrumental to the Hornets success.

Gracia has been brilliant in managing Deulofeu throughout the campaign and has been able to use him in more than one position.

The Spanish international even played as an attacking midfield in the club’s previous league match at Manchester City, despite playing as a centre-forward for most of the season.

His versatility is finally paying off and his true potential appears to be delivering at the moment, while Marco Silva has struggled to get his players adapting to make-shift roles in the team.

If Watford continue to deliver good showings and finish the season on a high then Deulofeu will only get better, while Everton might have make another heavy investment in the summer transfer market to find a similar type of footballer.

Potentially more wasted money when they had such an exciting talent all along.

Everton fans, how disappointed were you to see the Deulofeu experiment fail so badly? Join the discussion by commenting below…