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Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Carlton Palmer highlighted a lack of fitness as one of the reasons for why his old side have struggled so much this season.

With Wednesday losing their first two games under new manager Darren Moore, the most recent coming in a 3-0 loss away at Reading, it means they have now seen defeat in all of their last six fixtures heading into their clash against table-toppers Norwich City.

For Moore, there is obviously much to address if the Owls are to avoid relegation at the end of the campaign. And, in the eyes of Palmer, one of those areas is fitness.

Speaking just after Moore’s appointment last week, Palmer exclusively told FFC:

“For me, first and foremost, players have to be fit and they’ve got to have the spirit. So I think Darren’s got to assess that very, very quickly and where their level of fitness is. I mean, I watch them in games when I go back there and their level of fitness, it wasn’t great.”

Proficiency in front of goal will also be a huge concern for Moore. With just 24 goals in 34 league fixtures, Wednesday have the second-worst record when it comes to finding the back of the net in the Championship.

Defensively, their numbers make for much better reading, with the likes of Preston North End, Coventry City and Bristol City having all conceded more, perhaps giving Moore something to be optimistic about.

It now falls down to the former Doncaster Rovers and West Brom manager to strike more of a balance as his side look to beat the drop.

In an exclusive with Football FanCast, former Newcastle United defender Steve Howey has urged Jurgen Klopp to shake things up at Liverpool, specifically in the final third.

Liverpool had previously gone 68 games unbeaten at Anfield but they now find themselves on the end of a six-game losing streak at home in the Premier League, in which they’ve scored just one goal and conceded 10 times.

Mohamed Salah is still the Premier League’s top scorer with 17 goals this season, however, with Diogo Jota back fit Klopp may be forced into giving the Portuguese some starts ahead of one of the traditional front three of Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Salah.

The Reds currently find themselves eighth in the league and seven points away from the top four so, Klopp may look to freshen things up all over the pitch.

Speaking on Liverpool’s struggles at home in recent months and what Klopp could do as he looks to find a way to halt their slide of poor results, Howey spoke exclusively to FFC:

“Obviously, he’s got to freshen it up. They hadn’t been beaten in 68 games and now it’s six [home league] defeats on the bounce.

“So, something needs to change. Of course, they’ve had bad injuries but so have every other team.

“Yes, it’s been to key players but everyone else has had to cope and you’d think Liverpool would be more than capable to cope with those injuries.

“They’ve still got good players who can deputise and come in to do a job.”

Liverpool have Fabinho back from injury now after he started in the 2-0 win over RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening who will be able to do a job at the back if required.

Klopp will be desperate to get both Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez back from their long term injuries if they are to bounce back next season.

John Collins has shied away from backing his former colleague John Kennedy for the Celtic manager’s job full-time, warning that it’s a ‘different ball game’ to his prior roles.

Collins and Kennedy both supported Ronny Deila when he was in charge at Parkhead between 2014 and 2016.

The 37-year-old is now interim manager at the club after Neil Lennon tendered his resignation in late February.

Is Kennedy a long-term candidate?

Whilst he is a stop-gap solution on paper, Kennedy could theoretically force his way into long-term contention with a strong run of results.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, of course, was only placed in temporary charge of Manchester United but was able to convince the club’s hierarchy that he could be a permanent solution after impressing in a caretaker capacity, and he is still at the helm more than two years on.

Collins hailed Kennedy as a ‘terrific coach’ but ultimately doubts his credentials for one of the biggest jobs in Britain.

“He’s got vast experience on the training pitch,” he said on BBC’s Sportsound. “There’s no doubt he’s a terrific coach. But it’s a different ball game stepping up to be manager, I think.”

Transfer Tavern verdict

At this stage, it remains too early to cast a definitive judgement on Kennedy, who has scant experience as a first team boss.

We mustn’t forget that he has only overseen two matches at this point – the first a 1-0 win over fourth-placed Aberdeen and the second a goalless draw away to Dundee United.

If he were to guide his team to victory in Sunday’s Old Firm and go onto win on the Scottish Cup, Celtic would have to at least consider him.

However, you could understand if supporters demanded a more established name instead, and Collins’ reservations seem legitimate.

In other news, this former Celtic boss endorsed Kennedy on Monday.

Rafael Benitez has seemingly confirmed he is not in the running to replace Neil Lennon at Celtic Park.

The 60-year-old left Chinese Super League side Dalian Professional by mutual consent back in January and remains out of work, but it doesn’t look like his next role will be in Glasgow.

Benitez eyeing Premier League return

Reports shortly after his Dalian Professional exit claimed that the Spaniard was set to replace Lennon in the Parkhead dugout, however, a move never materialised.

Lennon resigned from his position at the end of February, with the Hoops now waiting until a director of football is brought in before landing a new first-team boss.

Talking to The Times, cited by the Daily Record, Benitez admitted the right project ‘is not there at the moment’, revealing he wants to return to the Premier League.

“The priority is England. Why? Because obviously I like the Premier League and my family is here.

“I have a lot [of offers] from the UAE, United States, Brazil, China, but I want to stay in Europe. And I want to stay in England.

“If it’s the right one, we can do it tomorrow but the project, the competitive team, is not there at the moment so we have to wait. But I don’t want to stay without working.”

Transfer Tavern take

Several Celtic fans wanted Benitez in prior to Lennon’s resignation, so those supporters will be gutted at his latest comments.

However, to us, we never thought a move to Celtic Park was a realistic one. The Spaniard’s salary was £12m in China, double his Newcastle pay packet.

Lennon was on £2.4m-a-year during his second stint as Hoops boss, so financially, a reported deal looked impossible.

In other news: Celtic keen on 24-year-old ace who has 12 assists this season, find out more here. 

Roy Keane was interviewed by the Celtic board earlier this week and is now the clear frontrunner for the vacant managerial position.

That’s according to an exclusive report from Football Insider, who have been informed by a Hoops source that the former Celtic midfielder is very keen to take the job.

Keane yet to agree Celtic deal

Celtic are thought to be willing to put aside concerns over his 10-year managerial absence and are instead looking at his three recent spells as assistant manager at Ireland, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest, along with his Parkhead connections.

However, the report goes on to add that terms between the two parties are yet to be agreed.

Transfer Tavern take

It seems as if Celtic have stepped up their search for a new manager in recent days, which, to us, is quite a surprise.

Reports had suggested previously that the club would wait until a director of football was in place before landing a new boss.

A deal for Manchester City’s Fergal Harkin was reported as ‘90% done’ last weekend, however, nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

Perhaps a deal for Harkin is now 99% done, with Keane now in the box seat to take over from Neil Lennon.

In other news: Report shares who Keane’s number two could be after Wednesday news, find out more here. 

At the time, Tottenham Hotspur’s decision to sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg for £15m from Southampton and ship Kyle Walker-Peters in the other direction was understandably lauded as a masterstroke.

The N17 youth product had struggled to make much of an impact after breaking into the first team setup, with neither Mauricio Pochettino nor Jose Mourinho called upon him regularly.

After just 24 senior appearances, Daniel Levy managed to offload the right-back for a fee in the region of £12m, meaning the total outlay for the Danish powerhouse was just £3m.

The Hojbjerg side of the deal has paid off, that’s for sure. He has arguably been Mourinho’s player of the season but, in selling Walker-Peters, Spurs may have made a premature and costly blunder.

But for injuries, the 23-year-old would probably be their signing of the year, too. Walker-Peters’ 6.97 average rating is only bettered by two players at St Mary’s Stadium – Spurs-linked defender Jannik Vestergaard (7.09) and England international James Ward-Prowse (7.10), as per WhoScored.

Saints manager Ralph Hassenhuttl has recently acknowledged just how influential the 23-year-old is to their fortunes, telling the Daily Echo: “We miss him when he is not playing. He was an important player in our best time of the season. And yes, we hope when he is coming back that he can lift our game.”

That follows on from his previous praise in which he dubbed the young talent a “role model” who “makes few mistakes.”

Not only has he contributed defensively with his tough-tackling and game-reading ability, but he has also proven to be a threat in the final third – as per WhoScored, Walker-Peters (2.8) is only second to defensive brute Oriol Romeu (3.4) for tackles per game, and similarly, he ranks second (1.7) behind Stuart Armstrong (1.9) for dribbles per match.

There were already signs of talent in north London – Pochettino once said the defender was a player with “amazing quality”.

The right-back spot has been a long-standing issue ever since Walker-Peters’ namesake departed for Manchester City in 2017. Kieran Trippier shortly followed him out the exit door, and Spurs were left with Serge Aurier, who has often been a “liability” for the club.

In the summer, Wolves star Matt Doherty joined the club for £15m but that has been an instant disaster. Mourinho was caught berating him against Liverpool, just a few weeks after picking up a needless red card against Leeds, and now it is thought his future is in jeopardy.

According to ESPN reporter James Olley, the Spurs boss is considering putting the 29-year-old flop up for sale should his form not improve before the end of the season.

When Aurier has usurped his own replacement, you know something’s not right.

Competing in the very same division as the exiled former Spurs graduate, it’s easy to make a direct comparison, and this is where Levy’s mistake starts to surface.

Doherty has struggled defensively, averaging 1.3 tackles and 1.3 fouls per game, and he’s not been able to reproduce his attacking returns, managing a measly 0.3 dribbles per game, via WhoScored.

Therefore, when you consider the contrasting form of both players, the Spurs decision-makers have certainly committed a disastrous mistake here. If they didn’t believe in Walker-Peters, then perhaps a season-long loan in the big time would’ve been sufficient.

Instead, they’ll pay the price for letting the defensive gem leave. Hide your eyes, Levy, he’s now worth €30m (£26m) as per CIES Football Observatory.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Lamela: Spurs eyeing “creative” Ligue 1 sensation…

According to a report by Italian news outlet Calciomercato, Tottenham Hotspur and Daniel Levy are really trying to sign Juventus star Paulo Dybala – coming as there is apparently no longer a problem with his infamous image rights which stopped a move in 2019.

Indeed, Dybala was close to joining Spurs nearly two years ago, but the deal was complicated by an unforeseen issue in the player’s image rights – which were previously sold to a company in Malta owned by his former agent Pierpaolo Triulzi.

Levy really trying for Dybala

Tottenham and Levy would have wanted to use the 27-year-old’s image rights to make back some money off his signing after agreeing a deal (The Times).

As a result, when the issue couldn’t be resolved, a transfer was well and truly off the cards.

However, Calciomercato have dropped a rather exciting claim – with the Italian outlet explaining that Tottenham are now ‘really trying’ to sign Dybala given his past image rights are now no longer an issue.

The Italian outlet describes Levy’s alleged desire to do a deal as a ‘crazy’ idea, but also hinted at hope, going on to say they can ‘sink the blow in a more defined way’.

Transfer Tavern take

Serie A legend Alessandro Del Piero has lauded Dybala as ‘extraordinary’ (talkSPORT), and it’s clear to see he is a very elite player despite his injury issues this season.

Despite missing 20 matches over 2020/2021, the Argentine has still averaged an impressive 2.6 shots, 1.8 key passes and 1.4 completed dribbles per 90 over eight Serie A starts (WhoScored).

The £225,000-per-week star appears to be back on Levy’s wish list after the infamous failed 2019 attempt, but only time will tell whether Spurs can seriously pull off a move this time round.

In other news: Tottenham will make a move for this ‘leader’, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur surely regret not bringing Jesse Lingard to north London this January…

What was the word?

Having been linked to the 28-year-old in the summer, Spurs appeared to reignite their interest at the turn of the year – according to talkSPORT, they were one of the teams queuing up to secure him on loan.

“West Ham, Tottenham, and Sheffield United have all expressed an interest,” said Alex Crook on the ‘White and Jordan’ show.

Lingard would go onto join David Moyes at the London Stadium and now the Lilywhites are paying the price.

Levy regret?

No one could’ve predicted it, but the Manchester United outcast has emerged from the shadows to steer the Irons on course for European qualification.

In Monday’s entertaining win over Wolves, Lingard scored his sixth goal in eight appearances, whilst he has also provided four assists. That’s 1.25 goal contributions per outing this term, via Transfermarkt.

He’s even gotten back into the England squad under Gareth Southgate after an 18-month absence – something Dele Alli will need to take inspiration from. Lingard earned his 27th cap in the win over Poland.

It could have been very different had he joined Spurs, though, as they’re far too reliant on the exploits of Harry Kane, who has directly contributed towards 62.7% of their Premier League goals.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-april-latest-spurs-news-transfer-rumours-and-more” title=”Read this week’s latest Spurs news, April transfer rumours and more!”]

And Heung-min Son’s recent form – just three goals scored since early January – is cause for concern. Not to mention their void in the no.10 role since the departure of Christian Eriksen, and no winger truly standing out from Gareth Bale, Erik Lamela and Steven Bergwijn.

Lingard could’ve played a big part under his former Red Devils boss.

It’s left many Spurs fans feeling a sense of sheer regret, and indeed, many are less than impressed that he’s ripping it up for their local rivals.

“How I wish Spurs had gone in for Lingard,” expressed one supporter on Twitter, whilst another claimed he would do better for them than Giovani Lo Celso or Erik Lamela.

Similarly, a further member of the Hotspur faithful believes Kane would’ve hit 20 assists for the season already if they had Lingard on the counter-attack. Other shouts included getting him in to replace Dele Alli in the summer, and that he was also better than Bruno Fernandes.

Well, Levy ought to be as gutted as these fans as if Lingard was able to hit a similar feat for Spurs, then their attacking fortunes would be vastly different.

Lingard’s form has been so good that Gary Neville has even suggested that United may want him back in the summer to Sky Sports, also adding: “He does an incredible amount of running. It’s what he does. He’s good out of possession and good in possession.”

Whilst club and international teammate Declan Rice believes he’s “one of the best players in the league right now in terms of form.”

Spurs should definitely rue not signing Lingard now.

AND in other news, Spurs target £36m “goal threat” is everything Tanguy Ndombele should be…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who made 561 appearances for Wolves, has revealed that signing Matt Doherty on loan could be an option that his former club looks to explore this summer, with Football Insider reporting their considering bringing him back to Molineux.

Doherty only left Wolves for Tottenham Hotspur last summer but it hasn’t worked out for the full-back under Jose Mourinho, having made just 15 Premier League appearances this campaign.

Wolves signed Nelson Semedo from Barcelona to replace Doherty last summer, however, the £37 million signing has failed to emulate Doherty’s attacking output having contributed just one assist in the Premier League.

Speaking on how a loan deal could be an option for Wolves, but how a permanent signing appears to be off the cards, Bull told FFC:

“Bringing him back on loan could be a possibility for Wolves. I could see them doing that.

“I just can’t see Wolves selling him and then wanting to bring him back again a year later, but you never know – he could come back on loan and we might see him in pre-season.”

The £65,000-per-week defender has found it difficult to nail down a regular position in Spurs’ side with Mourinho often rotating between Japhet Tanganga, Serge Aurier and Doherty.

Wolves themselves have struggled for consistency this season with Nuno often having to change between a back three and a back four because of injuries throughout the season.

Leeds United are not believed to be interested in signing Wolves winger Adama Traore this summer, despite reports suggesting otherwise.

Marcelo Bielsa will likely be aiming to make key additions to strengthen his squad over the summer transfer window and show that Leeds’ first season back in the Premier League has been no fluke, with another strong campaign required in 2021/22.

[freshpress-quiz id=“351040″]

Leeds’ interest in Traore ‘dismissed’

One player who has been linked with a move to Elland Road is Traore, with the £31.5m-valued forward potentially leaving Wolves at the end of the season.

According to Football Insider, however, sources at Leeds have ‘dismissed’ those claims, with Bielsa not viewing him as an option moving forward.

Transfer Tavern take

When he is in full flow, Traore is a hugely exciting player to watch, as illustrated by some electric performances last season. However, given the money Leeds would have to spend on him, it would be a big risk.

The Spaniard ultimately flatters to deceive in the final third too often, scoring just one goal and registering two assists in 31 league appearances this season.

That level of inconsistency is unlikely to appeal to Bielsa, with wide men such as Raphinha and Jack Harrison delivering more regularly with 12 goal involvements apiece in the league. Therefore, Leeds are probably right to back away from a move for Traore.

In other news, Leeds are thought to be interested in signing an international full-back this summer – find out who it is here.