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In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Bull, who scored 306 goals for Wolverhampton Wanderers, struggled to understand why VAR did not intervene to award what he believed to be two definite penalties against Liverpool on Monday.

Bull was sure that the first appeal when Alisson barged through Adama Traore after falling to catch the ball should have been a penalty for Wolves as they ended up losing 1-0 to the Reds.

The former Wolves striker questioned why the referee was not called over to the pitchside monitor to look at the incident, which could have been a game-changing moment.

Wolves’ all-time top scorer believes the VAR officials are more bothered about minuscule decisions, thus turning a blind eye to the extremely obvious which would not require a long time to make a decision on.

Speaking on his confusion that neither the on-pitch referee nor the VAR officials thought it was a foul on Traore and their obsession with tiny details, Bull told FFC exclusively:

“We had two blatant penalties which weren’t given but the first one involving the goalkeeper definitely should have been.

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“VAR wasn’t used to review either of those decisions and I thought ‘why not?’

“They’re more bothered about trying to catch a little handball in the box rather than a blatant foul.”

VAR has come in for some serious criticism this season and it does not appear to be stopping with more contentious issues every day.

Nuno Espirito Santo was vocal last week about VAR and how it’s good that clubs are being able to voice their concerns and opinions.

David Moyes should urge West Ham United to revive their interest in winter target Matias Vecino after Inter Milan reportedly placed the midfielder on the transfer list.

What’s the word?

According to Calciomercato, the Nerazzurri are striving to raise close to €30m (£25.5m) this summer by offloading some of Antonio Conte’s fringe options.

Among those expected to be made available for transfers are Arturo Vidal, Radja Nainggolan and Vecino, after each fell out of favour at the San Siro this season.

West Ham had explored a deal to sign Vecino in the recent winter window, with reports in Italy claiming that the Irons and Aston Villa each lodged offers for the Uruguayan.

A deal obviously failed to materialise, as Vecino – who last Sunday made his first appearance in eight months due to a knee injury sustained following the resumption of the 2019/20 campaign – remained in Milan.

He now faces an uncertain future that could once again spark interest at the London Stadium, while Aston Villa would not be expected to repursue the 29-year-old after signing Morgan Sanson from Olympique de Marseille for £16m in January.

Inter are touted to value Vecino at between €8-10m (£7-8.5m) as he will only have one year remaining on his contract come June, which would further save the Nerazzurri £80,000-per-week.

The San Siro natives are likely to push Cagliari Calcio to purchase Nainggolan as the Belgian is currently on loan at the Sardegna Arena, while Vidal is considered an ‘expensive reserve’ on a £174k-p/w deal but only starting 14 of his 23 Serie A outings this term.

Should West Ham sign Vecino?

With West Ham on the cusp of qualifying for a European competition, be it the Champions or Europa League, Moyes will need to bolster his squad in the off-season and pay particular attention to his midfield options.

Mark Noble may have recently agreed to sign a one-year contract extension to remain in east London for the 2021/22 season, but the veteran is currently Moyes’ only option to cover Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek in a natural position.

Vecino would be expected to provide a great level of cover in the Irons engine room and push Rice and Soucek to stay at the top of their games, with the 41-cap Uruguay international boasting 97 games for Inter Milan since his arrival in 2017.

He may also hit the market this summer as a Serie A winner with the Nerazzurri currently nine points clear at the top of the Italian top-flight table, and he can still play a key role in Conte’s title push following his long-awaited return from injury.

The former ACF Fiorentina enforcer is considered to be Inter’s wild card, as Vecino arrives when he is needed most to provide an important influence on games, while Conte is likely to have to manage the workloads of Nicolo Barela and Marcelo Brozovic.

Vecino showed last season that he can also offer an impact not too dissimilar to Rice, which sparked rumours that Chelsea were willing to pay £23m to sign him, before his knee surgery.

Over 20 Serie A appearances in the 2019/20 term, Vecino averaged 1.6 successful tackles, 1.3 clearances and 0.8 interceptions a game, along with providing 0.8 key passes and 1.1 shots for two assists and two goals, per SofaScore.

Rice is currently providing West Ham two successful tackles, 1.1 clearances and 1.9 interceptions a game over his 28 outings in the Premier League this season, along with 0.8 key passes and 0.8 shots for one assist and one goal to date.

The England international will only be expected to match, if not up, those numbers going forward, but Vecino would provide solid cover if Moyes revives West Ham’s interest at around £14.5m less than Chelsea were touted to pay last summer.

AND in other news, David Moyes has made a £25m forward his top target to fill Seb Haller’s void at West Ham…

Former Newcastle United midfielder Steve Howey has exclusively told Football FanCast that he wouldn’t be surprised to see Manchester City sign Danny Ings this summer.

Pep Guardiola is going to need a replacement for Sergio Aguero after the Argentine striker recently revealed that he’ll be leaving the Etihad at the end of the campaign.

The City manager has opted for the likes of Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden in a false nine role at times this season, with Gabriel Jesus his only other senior recognised frontman.

Guardiola recently went on record and by saying that signing an Aguero replacement is going to be “impossible” – although City have already been strongly linked with Erling Haaland and Harry Kane.

But with those two likely to cost in the region of £100m, Southampton’s Ings, who might be available at a cut-price, with his contract running out next summer, has also been touted as a potential addition to Guardiola’s side.

Ings has endured an injury-hit campaign, scoring just 10 Premier League goals, but Howey believes that he would be a good addition for City.

He told Football FanCast:

“I’ve always liked Danny Ings. I remember Newcastle were interested in Danny Ings and the fee was £10m then £12m then £15m and I know he’s had his injury problems, but he’s a goalscorer. Last season he had a fabulous season.

“That wouldn’t surprise me, he’s a good footballer, he’d have good link-up play. But Pep sometimes doesn’t really play with an out and out number nine. Look where Jesus was the other week against Manchester United, tackling on the edge of his box badly, but he was there.

“Sometimes they’re strange ones, but they seem to work out. If it’s paper talk it’s paper talk, but if Guardiola has looked at it then he feels like he can do something.”

Celtic will have plenty on their mind during the course of the summer, not least potentially replacing their manager.

Though, with a possible 12-man exodus on the cards, finding replacements for the playing squad will also be of utmost importance.

What’s the word?

Celtic have reportedly agreed a deal to bring in Liam Shaw on a pre-contract but now the Hoops are thinking of landing another English Football League talent.

According to Football Insider, the Bhoys are interested in bringing young Wigan forward Kyle Joseph to Parkhead.

Celtic made an approach to sign the striker back in January with the 19-year-old’s contract expiring in the summer. Thus, they’re attempting to land him on a free transfer once the window opens.

The Hoops have made it an ambition to bring in a line of promising young talent for the new manager to work with.

Forget Harper

This addition would be rather timely for Celtic. They’re set to lose Cameron Harper in a few months time once his own contract expires.

The youth product hasn’t made many first-team appearances and could already be on his way out. New York Red Bulls have supposedly made an approach for the attacker so the chances of Harper renewing at Parkhead seem slim.

Add Joseph’s arrival into the picture and any hopes of the American staying surely become even slender.

That being said, they shouldn’t be worried. After all, Joseph has proven himself to be a canny operator already at senior level. The teenager has been linked with a move to Tottenham so has plenty of eyes watching his performances.

Composed in front of goal, Joseph isn’t just capable of finding the net – scoring five times this term – but he’s also very adept at winning aerial duels. He’s won 2.1 per game this season, a tally that could rise if you take into account some of the football that’s played in the SPFL.

Despite playing in just his first year of senior football, he’s already netted a hat-trick, bagging three goals in Wigan’s win over Burton in late December. It was the moment he truly burst onto the scene and caught the eye of Celtic’s talent scouts.

It was also a moment that caretaker manager Leam Richardson revealed Joseph was “on top of the world” afterwards.

With a move to Celtic potentially on the cards, it would cap off a remarkable year for the youngster. Unlike Harper, he’s already doing well at first-team level. This could be an upgrade for any new manager that walks through the door. As such, the recruitment team should seal a deal.

AND in other news, 39% win rate: Celtic must consider “superb” manager who “knows the game inside out”…

When it comes to the January transfer window, it’s a period of the year that will give Victor Orta and Leeds nightmares.

Many a sleepless night has been followed by a hefty bang of Orta’s fist on the table. That’s because his success in the mid-season market has been far from triumphant.

Cast your minds back to January 2019 and you will recall the dumfounding saga revolving around Dan James. The Welshman was set to sign from Swansea and had even penned his contract at Elland Road.

Pictures had been taken of him holding up a Leeds shirt but in the final minutes of the window, Swansea failed to pick up the phone to ratify a deal. The transfer collapsed and then James went and signed for Manchester United the following summer.

Jean-Kevin Augustin then provided further evidence behind why Orta hasn’t quite got to grips with the January window. On paper, this was a superb piece of business. Leeds had brought a player with Bundesliga and Ligue 1 pedigree to the Championship.

However, Marcelo Bielsa wasn’t a fan of his work ethic and after various fitness issues he left the club having played just 48 league minutes.

As a result, the Whites failed to pay their obligation to buy after a rather horrendous error in the transfer market.

Unfortunately, if reports are to be believed this month, Leeds could be on the verge of another blunder. Earlier in January, it was revealed that the Whites were interested in signing Celtic winger Ryan Christie.

The Scot is a tremendous player technically and has contributed to 15 strikes this term – four goals and 11 assists. Based on that, he’d be a solid capture. However, the fact of the matter is that he’s in shambolic form.

Celtic have won just seven of their last 22 outings and Christie’s poor performances are a large part of that. In his last 16 games, the Scotland international has scored just once and he saved arguably his worst performance of the season for Celtic’s 2-2 draw with Livingston last weekend.

He surrendered possession on 17 occasions and completed just one cross. On top of that, Christie failed to complete a single dribble. With that in mind, he’d surely struggle to get in the side on Leeds’ right flank over Raphinha – a mazy dribbler with plenty of creative flair.

Christie has received plenty of flack for his performances in recent weeks too. Celtic pundit Colin Watt said last month: “The reason Christie annoys me so much is he’s just so inconsistent. There’s times where he’s shooting from 25-30 yards when there’s a better pass on.”

Indeed, the wide man has scored just three goals from 60 attempts at goal in the SPFL this term. That’s a woeful conversation rate of 5% – the worst in the Celtic side.

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The last thing Leeds right now with three straight defeats is another inconsistent player. He’s also annoying fans considerably.

One supporter described it as the worst performance they’d ever seen in a Celtic jersey after the draw with Livi last week. Another sarcastically pleaded that a snowman could have done a better job.

Of course, it’s important to take the stats in more than fan opinion, but it doesn’t bode well for a potential move.

Like with Augustin a year ago, this could be yet another huge mistake from Orta in the transfer market. Unless Christie starts showing more consistency, this is a player Leeds need to forget about.

AND in other news, Leeds could find their new Roofe by signing £27k-p/w beast with a “love of scoring”…

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire has shed light on Tottenham Hotspur majority owner Joe Lewis’ feelings about Daniel Levy’s performance as Spurs chairman and the north London club’s financial performance.

Maguire addressed this topic while speaking to Football Insider, who asked him whether or not the Spurs chairman ‘deserves his wage.’

Tottenham Hotspur’s financial performance

Maguire responded to that question by saying of Levy, that “he has been responsible” for Spurs producing “phenomenal numbers” in terms of their wages-to-turnover ratio over the past four years and guiding the club to a position where they are “likely to be the biggest earners in the Premier League in terms of matchday revenue” when fans can return to grounds, thanks to their new stadium.

Maguire’s Lewis claim

As a result of that, Maguire answered this question on whether Levy ‘deserves his wage’ with a resounding yes, with the finance expert going on to state that the Lilywhites owner is actually “very happy” with paying Levy as much as he does.

Transfer Tavern take

If the view of Levy behind the scenes at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is as Maguire has suggested, with the chairman being credited with “turning Spurs into a big club,” then perhaps it’s not a massive surprise that Lewis is allegedly happy with the chairman’s wages, as it seems like he’s playing a pivotal role in getting Tottenham to deliver impressive performances from a financial standpoint.

With Spurs about to become “the biggest earners in the Premier League in terms of matchday revenue” when fans return to stadiums following the pandemic, seemingly thanks in no small part to the work that Levy spearheaded with their new stadium, perhaps Tottenham could be set to produce even more impressive financial performances in the future and that could be an exciting prospect for fans of the north London club and those behind the scenes, including owner Lewis.

So, it may not be a big surprise, with all of that to look forward to, that Lewis isn’t stressing about Levy’s big wages.

In other news, Alli has dropped a public hint on his frustration towards Levy and Jose Mourinho. 

Liverpool head into their UEFA Champions League last-16 second-leg against RB Leipzig in a bit of a crisis.

Since the turn of the year, the Reds have lost seven matches, with the recent 1-0 defeat against Fulham at Anfield being a low point in the tenure of Jurgen Klopp.

A whole host of the German’s charges at Anfield are woefully out of form yet one man still fails to be handed an opportunity: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

The upcoming European clash could be the perfect opportunity to reintroduce him into the starting line-up in place of Thiago Alcantara.

So far this season, the former Arsenal man has made just ten appearances in all competitions with just three of those being starts.

The early months of his campaign were blighted by injury, only returning to contention in mid-December. However, since then, he has only featured for a total of 201 minutes in the Premier League.

With Liverpool in such a commanding position heading into the second leg, the game could be a wonderful opportunity to hand Oxlade-Chamberlain a much sought-after place in the starting XI.

Some would argue that it makes no sense for the Englishman to replace summer signing Thiago in the lineup due to his much inferior output.

In one respect, they would be correct. According to WhoScored, the Spaniard is superior to Oxlade-Chamberlain in shots, key passes and dribbles per game.

Despite that,  however, it is actually the Englishman who has had a more telling contribution on the pitch with an assist. Whilst that is still not sparkling, the £120k p/w midfielder has achieved that in far less game time as Thiago continues his struggles to adapt to the demands of life at Anfield.

Even Klopp has pointed out an aspect that Liverpool are desperately missing and one that Oxlade-Chamberlain could bring: “energy”.

The reigning Premier League champions look flat and uninspiring at the current time. They need a spark from somewhere and that could potentially be with the recall of Oxlade-Chamberlain.

AND in more news, should Jurgen Klopp walk from Anfield in the near future, FSG have to target former midfielder Steven Gerrard as the German’s replacement…

Netherlands manager Frank de Boer has revealed when he expects Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk to return to action.

Van Dijk to return?

The 29-year-old was ruled out of action for a significant amount of time after rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament during his side’s 2-2 draw against Everton in October, following a high challenge from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.

Van Dijk was named as the best defender in the world by AC Milan legend Franco Baresi, adding the Dutchman has provided “quality, character and strength” to the Anfield ranks since his £75m move from Southampton in 2018. (cited by Goal).

As a result, Liverpool have sorely missed his leadership at the back, having dropped a significant amount of points during the 2020/21 campaign, with six draws to their name from their first 16 games.

Speaking to De Telegraaf (via Sport Witness), De Boer believes that Van Dijk will be back in time for Holland’s Euro 2020 opener, which is June 13.

“He is busy with so much energy,” he said. “If you see what he’s doing…in my time you were only allowed to kick in the swimming pool [at this point in his recovery].

“If Virgil doesn’t get a kickback and things go a little faster than expected, he should be able to make it to the European Championship opening match on June 13 against Ukraine.

“He is very important for our team, on and off the field.”

Transfer Tavern Verdict

If this is the expected return date, then Liverpool will likely not have Van Dijk back in their team until the start of the 2021/22 campaign, which will be a huge blow to them.

That being said, the supporters and club have been fully aware of the extent of his injury, which could prompt manager Jurgen Klopp and sporting director Michael Edwards to bring in a fresh defensive face this month, with Lille centre-back Sven Botman heavily linked with an Anfield move.

Time will tell how the Reds will continue to cope without Van Dijk’s presence, but the mere fact that a date has been set will at least give supporters something to look forward to.

In other news, James Pearce may have shown his hand regarding Liverpool transfer news on Instagram.

Celtic’s strange and struggling season continues after they were handed a 4-1 defeat by Sparta Prague on Thursday evening. A defensive disaster proved to be their demise as the Czechs made easy work of breezing past Neil Lennon’s men.

The Hoops have only won half of their last ten games and have now slipped way out of favour in the Europa League. They are currently rock bottom of their group with just the one point on the board. In similar fashion, they have fallen behind rivals Rangers in the Premiership, with Steven Gerrard’s side now ahead by nine points.

Celtic have two games in-hand but will need to beat both Motherwell and Hibernian on the road next in order to close the gap. Otherwise, they risk handing this season’s title over the the Gers.

One man Lennon must put more faith in though is Leigh Griffiths, who was one of the only standout players against Prague.

Leigh Griffiths is the man Celtic need

The Scotsman recently delivered huge fighting talk that will have definitely pricked up the manager’s ears. Griffiths is keen to continue his goalscoring form and break into the club’s top 20 all-time scorers. The consolation goal he grabbed against Prague shows that his words weren’t empty and he is eager to go down as a club icon.

Star striker Odsonne Edouard recently returned from his spell on the sidelines, but has struggled to find his groove. The Frenchman hasn’t scored since rejoining the Hoops and could now be at risk of being dropped as Lennon desperately tries new, perhaps radical team formations.

Griffiths has scored three goals in his last six appearances, with all of them coming during substitute appearances. His performance in Europe on Thursday saw him complete 100% of his passes and notch a 100% shot to conversion rate (via Sofascore).

The £1.8million-rated striker’s impact is hard to ignore and his passion for reaching new highs with his club is something the fans will find comfort in during these strange times.

Celtic are on a seriously slippery slope and could continue to struggle unless Lennon puts his trust in players like Griffiths and claws the team out of this ever-growing hole.

In other news, Southampton must act fast or risk losing Mohamed Elyounoussi permanently…

When Manchester City sold Kasper Schmeichel to Notts County in 2009, few would have predicted that the goalkeeper would have gone on to become one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League in recent seasons.

The Danish international was sold to the Magpies for around £1.5 million in 2009, in what was a record signing for the club, however, the club terminated his contract the following year, despite earning promotion from League Two, as it quickly became clear that they could not afford his £15,000 a week deal.

He would then join Leeds in the summer of 2010, before completing a move to Leicester City a year later, where he has been ever since.

The shot-stopper, who is the son of former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter, has gone on to make 393 appearances for the Foxes and was a mainstay when Claudio Ranieri led the club to a seemingly impossible Premier League title win in 2016.

Whilst it is impossible to know whether he could’ve achieved the same success with Manchester City, there have never been questions over the goalkeeper’s talent and the fact that he has now made 60 appearances for his country demonstrates his ability.

The 34-year-old was heavily praised by manager Brendan Rodgers earlier this year after he saved a penalty in a goalless draw against Brighton, saying:

“Kasper has made a great save from the penalty, he’s invaluable.

“He’s a world-class goalkeeper. There is absolutely no doubt that he is one of the top goalkeepers in this league.

“Just his presence in the goal and his leadership. He studies penalty takers and puts in the work and he’s so agile.

“He’s been absolutely brilliant in the two games back. He made two important saves at Watford and another important save tonight.”

Therefore, whilst City arguably have a world-class goalkeeper of their own in Ederson, perhaps they could’ve saved the £35 million they spent on the Brazilian had they kept faith in Schmeichel back in 2009 rather than selling him to Notts County.

And, in other news… Txiki disaster: Man City made a big transfer mistake with “inquisitive” ace who’s started the season on fire