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With only one incoming signing secured for Wolves in the January transfer window so far which saw Japanese midfielder Hayao Kawabe join the Midlands club, it seems as though the Old Gold could be set to welcome a new face to their ranks.

What’s the news?

According to journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano in a recent Twitter post, Wolves have agreed a deal to sign Estoril attacker Chiquinho on a permanent basis for a fee of €3.5m (£2.9m).

He said: “Agreement completed between Wolverhampton and Estoril for Portuguese striker Chiquinho. Permanent deal for €3.5m plus €1.5m bonuses confirmed. Wolves Deal subject to medical – Chiquinho will be in England today in order to complete his move.”

Lage will be buzzing

Having made a total of 84 appearances for Estoril at senior and youth level, the 21-year-old winger has managed to rack up a total of 20 goals and ten assists along the way, highlighting the attacking capabilities he has at a fairly young age.

Chiquinho’s performances in the Portuguese league with Estoril this season have earned him an overall rating of 6.77/10 from WhoScored, which would place him as the sixth-highest rated outfield Wolves player in the Premier League at the moment.

With the likes of Francisco Trincao and Hwang Hee-chan only currently on loan deals at the Midlands club and the constant speculation surrounding Adama Traore’s future as a Wolves player, signing Chiquinho could be a great piece of transfer business from the club.

He is a young prospect that has the potential to grow and develop his game in the Premier League, which would surely please manager Bruno Lage if the previously mentioned current attacking options end up leaving.

Given the significant number of Portuguese players in Wolves’ squad at the moment, as well as Lage and his coaching staff, this will presumably help Chiquinho settle into his surroundings at the Midlands club swiftly.

Moving forward, it’ll be interesting to see what sort of game time Chiquinho will be given at Molineux before the end of the season and before any potential transfer business takes place next summer which could then have a direct impact on the minutes he’d receive heading into next term.

Either way, it’s still an exciting deal for Wolves to make for such a young prodigy that could potentially be the next Pedro Neto at Molineux; a young winger that has the capacity to score and assist goals on a regular basis.

If he can make anywhere near a similar contribution in the Midlands, Lage would be delighted.

In other news: £33k-p/w Wolves gem, who created two big chances, stars in victory over Southampton

A big update has emerged on Rangers and Gio van Bronckhorst’s transfer plans at Ibrox for the remainder of the January window…

What’s the talk?

A transfer has claimed that the Gers are working hard to source a new signing in attack before the end of the month.

Pete O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: “They’re actively looking for options on the right flank, and it just seems they’ve been linked with a lot of players right now. So, it’ll all depend on who Van Bronckhorst sees as the best fit for his side going forward.”

Excitement

This news will surely leave Rangers fans feeling excited for several reasons.

Firstly, it shows that the club are still putting the work in behind the scenes and actively looking to add to their squad despite already making two signings in the form of James Sands and John Souttar.

Ross Wilson is seemingly keen to give van Bronckhorst as many tools as possible to ensure that they are able to secure a second Premiership title in a row. The Gers are also still in the Europa League and could be eyeing further progression in that competition as they prepare to face Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund next month in the first knockout round.

Therefore, supporters will be buzzing to read that they are not resting on their laurels and willing to go with what they have for the rest of the campaign. Continual improvement appears to be the way they want to go about it and it will be interesting to see if they have any more targets beyond a right winger for the current window.

The position in which Rangers want to make a signing will also get fans excited as it means that they can look forward to an attacking player coming in.

Bringing in a right-winger suggests that they want someone who can come in to score and create goals from out wide, which would surely get fans off their seats in excitement as they watch a new wing wizard causing havoc down the flanks.

Of course, there is no guarantee that they will be able to sign an effective forward who is able to deliver in the final third but, for now, fans can be buzzing with the prospect of a new attacker coming in to bolster the squad before the deadline next week.

AND in other news, Rangers could finally axe “really poor” lightweight by landing £2.8m-rated playmaker…

With Everton once again on the search for a new permanent manager after Rafa Benitez was given his marching orders followed by Duncan Ferguson being handed the role of caretaker boss for the time being, it’s a busy time for the hierarchy at the Merseyside club.

In terms of who could come in to try and get Everton back on track after managing to win just five of the 19 Premier League games that Benitez had taken charge of, it seems as though Farhad Moshiri has already made an approach to one particular candidate that will be very familiar to a lot of Everton fans.

What’s the latest?

According to a recent report from Spanish media outlet Marca (via Sport Witness), Everton have offered Roberto Martinez the chance to combine his role with the Belgian national team with another spell in charge of the Toffees.

After being appointed as Everton manager back in June 2013, the Spaniard took charge of 143 games across all competitions, winning 62, drawing 37 and losing 44 of them.

Marca’s claims are backed up by Fabrizio Romano who reports that Martinez is still very much their dream manager, even if a deal is unlikely.

A big risk?

In the weeks and months leading up to his eventual sacking in May 2016, Everton fans were not shy in making their voices heard when it came to expressing their dismay for Martinez and the job he was doing at Goodison Park.

With this in mind, it would certainly be a big risk for Martinez, who has been described as being an “absolute gentleman” by the 48-year-old’s former opposition scout Shadab Iftikhar, to come back to Everton and convince the fans, who were also not shy in their protests against Benitez even before he was officially appointed at the club, that he is the right man to turn the Toffee’s fortunes around this time.

Regarding his apparent offer to balance his potential position at Everton with his current role with Belgium, it would be hard to imagine how that would work out, especially with the World Cup in Qatar coming later this year, making an appointment at Goodison a rather big risk.

As a result, it may be better for Everton and Moshiri to look at different options for the manager role rather than go for Martinez again. After all, the fans are unlikely to want to see him take the reins again while a duel-role, especially when managing in the Premier League, would be tricky.

It’s safe to say that his thoughts wouldn’t entirely be on Everton, having to spend time thinking about Belgium too.

In other news: Moshiri may repeat Silva disaster as EFC eye boss who “wasn’t ready” for a “big club”

Tottenham Hotspur are lining up a stunning deadline day swoop for Yannick Carrasco…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Foot Mercato journalist Santi Aouna, who claims that Spurs are in discussions with his agent Pini Zahavi after submitting an enquiry to LaLiga outfit Atletico Madrid.

It’s believed that Spurs are prepared to pay his release clause of €60m before tonight’s 11pm transfer deadline, a move that would surpass the club-record fee paid for Tanguy Ndombele, who appears to be close to leaving the club on loan today, too.

Saudi-backed top-flight rivals Newcastle United are also said to be keen.

Antonio Conte’s dream deadline day signing

This would be something of Conte’s dream signing on deadline day. He’s nearing the addition of two Juventus players in Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski, who would add much-needed depth and quality to his midfield and attack.

But Carrasco’s versatility to play in multiple roles makes him a very intriguing option indeed. It’s believed that the Italian wanted a new right wing-back as he has a lack of faith in summer signing Emerson Royal and former Wolves man Matt Doherty.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-thfc-spurs-transfer-rumours-gossip-conte-paratici-levy-updates” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

Over in Spain, the Belgian international has been deployed in this very role, albeit on the other side, by Diego Simeone and he’s also capable of featuring in a natural left-wing position and through the middle.

As per WhoScored, the 28-year-old utility man rates out as Atleti’s top-rated performer, averaging a rating of 7.10.

He leads the way for assists (five) and has also averaged 2.8 dribbles and 1.7 key passes per game, making him a very attack-minded wide man – something that is doubtful with Emerson, who has struggled to deliver in the final third since joining from Barcelona.

Valued at £36m by Transfermarkt, sporting director Fabio Paratici may be about to overpay for the 54-time Belgian international but he’s someone that would undoubtedly make Spurs a stronger outfit as they look to push on for a top-four finish.

It’s an exciting signing that fans should be hugely encouraged about. Conte would love him, that’s for sure.

AND in other news, Sky Sports drop big Spurs transfer claim ahead of 11pm deadline…

An exciting Sunderland timeline has been set, regarding the attempts to bring in a replacement for Lee Johnson.

What’s the talk?

Black Cats journalist Phil Smith has revealed how he expects the club’s managerial situation to play out throughout the rest of the week.

He told The Roar Podcast, via This Is Futbol: “My understanding of the situation was my expectation was that Mike Dodds and Michael Proctor would support the first-team coaching staff that were in place still, which of course is Phil Jevons and David Priest – the first-team coach and the goalkeeping coach.

“So my expectation was that as a pair, they would help out with training this week. And so I would expect them to be involved if it gets to the case where there isn’t a new manager in place by Saturday.

“But I have to say, I would be surprised and quite disappointed if there wasn’t a head coach in on Saturday.”

Excitement

This news will surely leave Sunderland fans feeling excited as Smith’s comments suggest that he is expecting a new man to be in the dugout by the weekend.

Johnson has been sacked and the Black Cats are currently without a permanent manager in place, which could impact their promotion push unless they act quickly. Leaving the situation up in the air for too long could cause confusion inside and outside of the club, which could then lead to results turning on the pitch as the players do not know who their manager is going to be.

Sunderland are currently third in the League One table and are well within reach of the automatic promotion places and this means that every single game between now and the end of the campaign is crucial. They need points and they need them quickly, which is why this short deadline for the club’s appointment will excite supporters who want to see results as soon as possible.

The Stadium of Light could be buzzing with excitement ahead of kick-off against Doncaster on Saturday if they are introduced to a new head coach for the first time. It could be a fun afternoon for the Black Cats faithful if they are able to return to winning ways with Johnson’s replacement in the dugout, rather than having an interim in charge and the supporters remaining unsure about where the club is heading.

It is now down to Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and Kristjaan Speakman to ensure that they are able to get a deal over the line for their number one target in the next two to three days.

AND in other news,  Forget Defoe: Speakman endured deadline day SAFC howler over £3.6k-p/w “leader”…

Rangers may already have replaced Connor Goldson by lining up the signing of John Souttar, Pete O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport. 

The lowdown

Last month, the Scottish defender finalised a pre-contract agreement with the Gers, and he is set to join the Premiership champions when his deal at Hearts expires in the summer (via BBC Sport).

Valued at £900,000 by Transfermarkt, the 25-year-old has amassed 178 Premiership appearances and won four caps for Scotland.

Like Souttar, Goldson is also out of contract at the end of the 2021/22 campaign. In a recent article for The Athletic, Rangers correspondent Jordan Campbell wrote that the 29-year-old is expected to leave as a free agent in the summer.

The latest

O’Rourke feels that Souttar may be able to step in and instantly fill in the void left by Goldson’s prospective exit from Rangers.

The journalist told GiveMeSport: “With John Souttar coming in from Hearts, he maybe could be a ready-made replacement for Goldson at centre-back.”

The verdict

How similar are the two players from a stylistic point of view?

According to WhoScored, they both excel at passing, but whereas Goldson likes to play it short, Souttar prefers to attempt long balls. If Giovanni van Bronckhorst asks the latter to build more slowly from the back, the 25-year-old may then need to adapt his game.

Encouragingly, both players are equally as dominant in aerial duels, winning 71% apiece (Goldson/Souttar via SofaScore).

While you may wonder why Rangers did not cash in on the £7.2m-rated Goldson while they had the chance, they appear to have found an experienced and immediate successor without needing to splash out on a transfer fee themselves.

In other news, Jordan Campbell hints that more business is needed after this player ‘struggled’ on Sunday

Everton will be hoping to capitalise on their fantastic performance in the Premier League last weekend, by taking all three points from Southampton when they travel to the south coast this afternoon.

Frank Lampard has a number of players to choose from in the midfield and forward roles, despite suffering a variety of injuries to players since he arrived at the club.

The side have suffered a setback with Demarai Gray still out of the squad recovering from a hip injury, but were also handed a boost this week with the return of left back Vitaliy Mykolenko, who is now available for selection for the clash at St Mary’s.

With that being said, this is how we expect Lampard to set up his Everton side against Southampton today…

We expect the Toffees manager to make two changes to his starting side against the Saints, despite winning comfortably against Leeds United at Goodison Park last weekend.

Our first change is Vitaliy Mykolenko replacing Jonjoe Kenny in the left back position, Lampard will be wanting his best players in every position, and the Ukrainian 22-year-old who was hailed “quality” by his former coach Myron Markevych, is much more of a natural left sided defender than Kenny, who is predominantly a right back.

Our second change is one that may be unexpected, but we think that Lampard will be wanting to give Dele Alli a chance to make his mark on the team, with the player failing to make a start so far since he signed on Deadline Day.

Consequently the Everton manager could axe Alex Iwobi from the side to allow Alli to chalk up a starting appearance.

We predict that the ex-Chelsea boss will go with a 4-3-3 formation after playing a 4-4-2 in their most recent victory, pushing Richarlison to the left wing and moving Anthony Gordon over to the right wing, in a plot to counter Southampton’s usual set up and hopefully pull off an attacking masterclass by scoring early and dominating the game with an experienced midfield.

Everton could pull even further away from a relegation battle this afternoon if they can collect all three points from the game, despite only winning one game away from home this season.

Lampard’s side could climb as high as 14th in the Premier League table if results go their way and they can secure their second consecutive league win.

In other news: Frank Lampard reveals late setback ahead of Southampton

With Ange Postecoglou’s Celtic side having been unceremoniously dumped out of Europe by Bodo/Glimt last week – an outcome that was partly due to the 56-year-old Bhoys boss fielding a weakened side in the second leg of the tie – the Greek-Australian manager would undoubtedly have been hoping for a dominant performance and result in Sunday’s Premiership fixture against Hibernian in response.

However, after requiring a late Giorgos Giakoumakis winner against bottom of the table Dundee FC last weekend, the Hoops once again struggled to refind the form that saw them comfortably dismantle Rangers at the beginning of the month against Hibs, with the fixture at Easter Road ending 0-0.

Indeed, rather than looking refreshed after being handed a rest against Bodo/Glimt, the vast majority of Celtic’s starters turned in tired performances against Shaun Maloney’s outfit, with Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and Tom Rogic all having afternoons to forget in Edinburgh.

Although, it will undoubtedly be the latter of this trio most disappointed with his display on Sunday, as the Australia international once again failed to offer his side anything in the middle of the park.

Postecoglou must axe Rogic

Despite having arguably been one of Postecoglou’s most impressive performers in the first half of the season, Rogic has seen his form rather dramatically fall off in recent weeks – averaging a well below-par SofaScore match rating of just 6.47 over his three appearances prior to the Hibs clash.

And, after once again being handed a start ahead of Matt O’Riley in one of the two more advanced roles in Celtic’s three-man midfield, Rogic failed to prove he was deserving of his starting berth in the Bhoys XI over his 58 minutes on the pitch on Sunday.

Indeed, the £1.35m-rated midfielder enjoyed just 28 touches of the ball – the second-lowest of any of Celtic’s starting outfielders – completed a mere 10 of his 15 attempted passes, failed to find his man with his two attempted long balls and his one attempted cross, lost five of his nine duels and gave away possession on 11 separate occasions – meaning he lost the ball with every 2.5 touches he had.

These returns saw the £21.5k-per-week Aussie earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.5, while The Celtic Way awarded the midfielder a five in their own player ratings, as well as stating of the 29-year-old’s display:

“The Aussie has looked out of sorts recently and was relatively quiet in the opening 45 and he also copped a booking more out of frustration than anything else with a mistimed challenge. He was given just 12 minutes of the second half before he made way for O’Riley.”

As such, considering just how poor the player who David Turnbull claimed is “up there with the best” has been in recent weeks, Postecoglou simply must axe Rogic from his starting XI against St. Mirren this Wednesday, as a repeat performance of his Bodo/Glimt and Hibs displays could well cost the Bhoys dearly in what is an extremely tight Premiership title race.

In other news: Huge blow: Ange drops fresh 5-word injury update, Celtic fans will be devastated

Former BBC commentator Noel Whelan has claimed that Lucas Moura’s return from injury will be a huge boost for Tottenham and Antonio Conte.

The Lowdown: Moura’s return

The Brazilian has been out of action for Tottenham’s last two games after suffering a dead leg. This excluded him from the Lilywhites’ embarrassing 1-0 loss to Middlesbrough, which saw them knocked out of the FA Cup.

As quoted by football.london, Conte revealed that the winger was available for selection for last night’s hammering of Everton.

However, since his arrival at the club, Moura has been replaced by former Juventus man Dejan Kulusevski, who has scored twice and has produced three assists in six Premier League games.

The Latest: Whelan’s claim…

Despite this, Whelan, a regular on BBC Radio Leeds before taking up a role with Leeds United, was buzzing after hearing news of Moura’s return, claiming he can “win a game all by himself”.

Speaking with Football Insider, he claimed:

“I really admire Lucas Moura, I think he’s a brilliant player.

“He’s one of these players who can change a game, and on his day he is just as important as Son and Kane.

“He can win a game all by himself, and to have that option back in a squad which has really struggled for form and wins is massive.

“At this stage of the season, when you’re on this last leg – you need all these types of players available.

“To have him back will be such a welcome return for Conte because he’s experienced, he’s wise. It’s critical and he can be the difference.”

The Verdict: Not so sure…

Whilst Whelan seemingly appears to be buzzing with Moura’s availability, his return to the side should not make too big of difference to Conte. This is due to Kulusevski’s explosive start at the club, which has seen him earn an 8.5 and a 7.8 SofaScore rating for his last two league games respectively.

Whilst Moura has featured on 23 occasions for Spurs this season, he has only made one extra assist on top of Kulusevski’s tally, having scored the same number of goals.

Therefore, the Brazilian’s return may not appear as exciting for Conte as it did for Whelan.

In other news: Tottenham Hotspur: Conte admits ‘problem’ at N17 even after Everton win

Celtic underwent a massive overhaul during the previous summer transfer window by bringing in several players, as well as moving many out of the Parkhead club.

After then seeing some more players move around in January, Ange Postecoglou has been able to take his side six points clear at the top of the SPFL table with just a handful of games left to play.

With the next summer window on the horizon, it’ll be interesting to see how the Hoops follow up their previous transfer windows this time around.

One deal that should be at the top of the club’s priority list is to turn Jota’s loan deal into a permanent one.

Having signed from Portuguese club Benfica on a temporary basis until the end of the campaign, the winger has been a solid addition to Postecoglou’s squad.

With 36 appearances under his belt across all competitions, the attacker has scored 11 goals and provided 12 assists along the way.

To highlight how much of an attacking threat he has been on the pitch for the Hoops, Jota currently has the highest number of crosses made (203) in the SPFL than any of his teammates.

He also has the second-highest number of shots on target (25) behind Liel Abada (37).

In addition to his consistent attacking prowess, his overall performances have been rather eye-catching as he is currently listed as the highest-rated player in the Celtic squad with a rating of 7.59/10 from WhoScored.

Praised for his “outstanding” performances for the Bhoys by Postecoglou, it’s safe to say that the 56-year-old is a big fan of the winger and would be delighted to see him remain at the club beyond his current loan deal.

The Hoops reportedly have an optional purchase fee of £6.5m to keep Jota at the club, which was labelled as being a “mouth-watering prospect” for the Hoops by Noel Whelan.

With all of this in mind, it seems as though the 23-year-old has already done enough to warrant the club splashing out that money and keeping him where he is.

Moving forward, if the Bhoys can secure the league title in the coming weeks and then manage to secure Jota on a permanent deal, this would surely have plenty of Hoops fans bouncing.

In other news: Ange can raise the roof at Parkhead as Celtic plot “huge” move for “immense” £10m gem