Tim Spiers has given his reaction to the news that Wolves have advanced in the FA Youth Cup thanks to a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion.
The Lowdown: Into the semi-finals
The game was played at Molineux on Saturday afternoon, with youngsters Ollie Tipton, Nathan Fraser and Harvey Griffiths scoring the goals to put the home side through.
They will now face Manchester United in the semi-final stage of the competition, in what could well prove to be a tougher test.
The Latest: Spiers reacts
Taking to Twitter, The Athletic journalist Spiers has given his reaction to the news that Wolves are through to the last four, and even commented on the work that under-18s manager Steve Davis is doing.
He gushed: “Wolves have only won the FA Youth Cup once and Jimmy Greaves was playing for the opposition, which shows you how long ago it was and how big a deal it is to get this far.
“U18s boss Steve Davis doing a great job. Potentially a big league finish with games in hand too. Great stuff.”
The Verdict: Promising
The fact that they have got this far suggests that Davis is bleeding a promising crop of young players at Molineux, which bodes well for the future.
The first team are having a fine season of their own, with Bruno Lage guiding them to eighth in the Premier League table, and they can leapfrog West Ham United into sixth by beating them in east London this afternoon.
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Nonetheless, Lage himself will likely be keeping one eye on the performances of these youngsters, in the hope that he can blend one or two of them into the first team ready for next season.
In other news, Wolves are now keen on signing this in-demand attacker
An exciting Newcastle United transfer claim has been made regarding their plans for the summer window…
What’s the talk?
Journalist Pete O’Rourke has stated that the club will lean into deals similar to the one they attempted to complete with Hugo Ekitike in January.
The Magpies reportedly had a bid of £33m accepted by Reims in the last transfer window to sign the teenage striker, only for the player to reject the move at the last minute.
O’Rourke told GIVEMESPORT: “I think the way Newcastle are looking right now, Eddie Howe and his plans going forward, I think they’ll be looking to try and sign some of the best young talent in Europe, which they tried to do in January with Ekitike at Reims.”
Howe will love it
Toon boss Eddie Howe will surely love this approach for multiple reasons.
Firstly, it could save the club millions in two different ways. Firstly, signing a player at such a young age means that you are not buying them at their peak.
This means that you accept a risk that they may not fulfil their potential to avoid paying millions more for them when they are 25 and playing to the best of their abilities.
Take Jack Grealish as an example. Aston Villa reportedly wanted £30m for the midfielder in 2018 before selling him to Manchester City for a British record £100m in the summer of 2021. In theory, Pep Guardiola would have saved the club £70m by bringing him in earlier and developing him at the Etihad, rather than waiting for him to get to a point where he was deemed good enough.
This highlights one potential benefit to signing players at a young age. Another is that it gives them a longer shelf life at the club. Instead of having four or five years in their peak years to make an impact before being replaced, they could be at the club for eight or more years if they are signed in their teens or early 20’s as they are at an earlier point in their career and have more to offer in the long-term.
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Howe will also love the addition of young players as it will provide him with the chance to coach them on the training pitch.
He may take pleasure from being able to develop them into fulfilling their potential on the pitch at Newcastle and he will have the opportunity to do that if PIF splash the cash on bringing in talented young players in the upcoming windows, which is an exciting prospect heading into the summer for the reasons stated above.
AND in other news, Major boost: Newcastle now handed big injury lift that’ll leave Howe buzzing…
Leeds United are reportedly ‘in position’ to sign versatile Nantes winger Moses Simon this summer but face stiff competition from Newcastle United.
The Lowdown: Simon a key man for Nantes
The Nigerian is enjoying a productive season for the Ligue 1 outfit, registering an impressive seven assists in the league, as well as chipping in with three goals for good measure.
Simon also bagged a goal and assist apiece for Nigeria at the Africa Cup of Nations, averaging an incredible 4.3 dribbles per game in the competition.
While the 26-year-old’s current Nantes deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2024, it could be that he feels a fresh challenge is required this summer as he enters his prime.
[freshpress-quiz id=“383507″]
The Latest: Leeds still eyeing up move
According to French outlet BUT Football [via Sport Witness], Leeds ‘remain in position’ to sign Simon ahead of next season but Newcastle are also showing strong interest.
The Magpies see him as someone who can take the pressure off Allan Saint-Maximin, adding more creativity to Eddie Howe’s side.
[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-leeds-united-news-37/” title=”Latest Leeds United news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]
The Verdict: Tough to compete with Newcastle
Simon could be a superb signing by Leeds – Mauricio Pochettinho admitted his Paris Saint-Germain side couldn’t handle him last month – given his aforementioned end product and the fact that he can thrive on either wing or even in a central role.
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He is predominantly left-sided, too, so if Raphinha stays put this summer, it could give the Whites a genuinely top-quality wide option on both flanks.
This could all depend on whether or not Leeds avoid relegation to the Championship, though, while Newcastle’s newfound wealth arguably puts them in a stronger position, in terms of offering bigger wages.
In other news, a source has dropped a key update regarding one massive Leeds player. Read more here.
Aston Villa have shown that they are not averse to spending significant amounts of money when it comes to bringing new players to the club if they feel that doing so can strengthen their squad and take the club forward.
Nor have Villans been shy when it comes to moving players out of the Midlands if they don’t think they have the quality on the pitch to match the club’s ambitions.
One player who was moved on in recent times is midfielder Henri Lansbury, who originally arrived at Villa Park from Nottingham Forest in January 2017 in a deal worth more than £2.75m.
During his time in the Midlands, the midfielder – who was slammed for his “anonymous” performances at times – made 53 appearances across all competitions, chipping in with two goals and nine assists along the way.
In January 2021, Villa called time on Lansbury’s spell at the club by securing a deal with Bristol City to take him on a free transfer.
The Englishman made just 16 appearances for the Robins in the Championship and failed to impress, earning an underwhelming overall performance rating of 6.39/10 from WhoScored, making him one of the lowest-rated players to have started more than three league games for them.
Presumably as a result of his lacklustre spell in Bristol, the former Villa midfielder then found himself on the move again with another free transfer, this time to Luton Town last summer.
Since then, things haven’t gone too well for the 31-year-old once again, with no goals or assists to his name but with more yellow cards than any other Luton player (eight), also lumped with an underwhelming overall performance rating of 6.53/10.
According to Transfermarkt, the ex-Nottingham Forest man’s current market value stands at just £720k, which is a 73.8% decrease from the £2.75m that Villa paid for him.
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Taking all this into account, it seems that Villa made the right decision in getting rid of Lansbury when they did, as they presumably signed him to help them get out of the Championship – which they did in 2019 – rather than go on to be a prominent player for them in the Premier League.
However, with the way things have gone for him since leaving the Midlands, it’s hard to suggest that he is even suited to playing in the second tier anymore based on what he’s done since his Villa Park exit. NSWE can count themselves lucky to have offloaded him when they did.
In other news – Fewer passes than Martinez: Anonymous Aston Villa star let Gerrard down against Leeds
Speaking to Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur ‘insider’ John Wenham, who regularly breaks news on his Lilywhites Rose social media channels, has made an Oliver Skipp claim amid the lack of specific updates.
The Lowdown: Conte ‘really worried’…
Tottenham’s head coach is seriously concerned about the state of his midfield engine’s fitness and recovery, to put it lightly.
In his last two pre-match press conferences, Conte has been unable to give a specific timeframe on Skipp’s return to action, saying last week that he is ‘really worried’ as a result.
This week, speaking just before Spurs’ trip to Brighton tonight, when asked if he could update on the midfielder’s return, the Italian again explained that he couldn’t answer (football.london).
Conte also claimed Skipp’s situation is unique to him as a top level manager and revealed his disappointment and frustration at the lack of progress.
The Latest: Insider makes claim…
Speaking to FI, Wenham has claimed the starlet’s continued absence is a ‘massive blow’ amid the serious lack of ‘solid updates’ from the club.
“I’m getting a little bit worried about this, to be honest with you,” he explained.
“We aren’t getting any solid updates from the club about this. It’s just that he’s not available.
“We don’t know anything, there is no timescale on his return which is never a good sign.
“It’s a massive blow that he has already missed so much of this season because he has been one of our better players.
“I can only hope he returns as soon as possible because if he’s fit, he starts.
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“Hopefully we hear some news on this soon because, as I say, I’m pretty concerned.”
The Verdict: Conte needs him
According to WhoScored, when Skipp’s been available, he’s stood out as one of Tottenham’s toughest tacklers whilst also averaging the highest percentage of accurate passes per match (90.1%) of any Lilywhites regular in the Premier League.
His form at the start of this campaign even prompted talk of a potential new deal and Conte will be praying he is back on the grass and available for selection as soon as possible.
In other news: Conte now looking to land ‘world class’ £30m man for Spurs, Lineker said he’s a ‘helluva player’…find out more here.
Luke Edwards has now dropped some big Newcastle United injury news on Callum Wilson.
The Lowdown: Stepping up recovery
The St. James’ Park faithful revealed images on Tuesday morning showing that Wilson is ‘stepping up his recovery’ after suffering a calf injury that has kept him out of action since January.
The striker has joined the also injured Kieran Trippier on the the squad’s trip to Dubai, in the hope that his recovery can now be accelerated during the international break.
The Latest: Wilson twist
As per The Daily Telegraph journalist Edwards, Wilson now has an ‘outside chance’ of being involved at home to Wolves on April 8th, a big twist after it was originally expected that he would return more towards the end of the month:
“UPDATE Wilson has an outside chance of being involved against Wolves if his Achilles has no adverse reaction to training.
“But think it’s far more likely kept back for Palace and/or Norwich.”
The Verdict: Big boost
It would certainly be a big boost for the North East club if Wilson were to return as early as against Wolves, given the original timeframe for his recovery.
That would mean that Eddie Howe would have him available for their last eight games of the Premier League season, which could be pivotal in terms of their hopes for survival.
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Amazingly, Wilson still remains their top scorer in all competitions this campaign despite being out injured for the last couple of months, and so the Tyneside outfit will need his goals in order to make sure that they pick up another great run of form after a couple of disappointing results.
In other news, find out which Brazilian hailed by Lionel Messi NUFC are now targeting here!
Transfer insider Dean Jones has made a claim on Manchester United star Bruno Fernandes and reported manager target Erik ten Hag.
The Lowdown: New Fernandes deal; Ten Hag talks
Fernandes looks set to pen a new five-year deal in Manchester, as first reported by Fabrizio Romano.
The transfer guru shared a ‘breakthrough’ in talks last week and added on the weekend that it is a matter of time until the contracts are signed.
The Red Devils star looks set to be a key member of the squad going forward under a new manager, possibly Ten Hag, after the club held ‘positive talks’ with the Ajax boss earlier this month.
The Latest: Jones’ comments
Talking to The Transfer Tavern, Jones had this to say on contract situations, such as Fernandes, and Ten Hag possibly coming in at Old Trafford.
“I think that players with their contract situations like Bruno Fernandes, for example, were led to believe that that Ten Hag was the path that they were going to go down. So I still think that it’s most likely to be Ten Hag.”
The Verdict: Interesting…
It seems as if players such as Fernandes have been getting the feeling that Ten Hag will replace Ralf Rangnick over the summer.
That could have possibly played a part in the attacking midfielder committing his future at the club, and United chiefs now need to tie up a move for the 52-year-old.
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He has been approached by two more clubs following talks with the Red Devils, so the last thing United will want is to miss out on his services and possibly upset several players, including Fernandes.
In other news: ‘Absolutely shocking’ – Source reveals Man Utd star now wants to quit even if Ten Hag arrives
Crystal Palace have now joined the race for a “technically skilled” Champions League player, who could be brought in as an alternative to Sacha Boey.
Palace eyeing new right-back despite Munoz's impressive form
Daniel Munoz has established himself as one of Palace’s most important players over the past three seasons, with the Colombian full-back particularly impressive from an attacking point of view, chipping in with three goals and two assists in the Premier League already this season.
Oliver Glasner has also singled the right-back out for high praise, saying back in April 2024: “Daniel has an outstanding training mentality. Every training session he’s the guy who’s running most, who’s sprinting most.”
However, in light of his impressive showings for the Eagles, Munoz is starting to attract interest from some top clubs, with it recently being revealed that Manchester City have been making moves to secure his signature, while Chelsea have also been credited with an interest.
The South Londoners remain in a strong negotiating position, with the 29-year-old contracted until 2028, but they are now looking at signing a new right-back, who could push for Munoz’s starting spot.
Sacha Boey was named as a potential target earlier this month, and there is a belief a January deal for the Bayern Munich man wouldn’t break the bank, but he is not the only option, with Juventus’ Joao Mario also on the shortlist.
That is according to a report from Corriere dello Sport (via Sport Witness), which states Crystal Palace have now joined the race for Mario’s signature, alongside some unnamed clubs in Spain.
It is deemed very possible the Portuguese full-back leaves the Italian club in the next month, and a deal would be inexpensive, as Juve are demanding a fee in the region of €12m (£10m).
Shades of Zaha: Crystal Palace join race for £22m Champions League forward
Palace are looking to sign a new attacker.
ByDominic Lund
Sport Witness relay a previous report, which makes it clear Boey is the priority target, but the 25-year-old is viewed as a ‘reliable alternative’, despite being unable to make much of an impact in the Serie A this season…
Mario hasn't hit the ground running in Italy
It may be a gamble to sign the three-cap Portugal international, who has made two Champions League appearances this term, given that he hasn’t made a flying start to life in the Serie A, after joining from FC Porto in the summer, predominantly being limited to appearances as a substitute.
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However, manager Luciano Spalletti was full of praise for the former FC Porto man earlier this month, saying: “Joao Mario is technically skilled. He’s a good player, who knows how to make decisions and how to build confidence with the team and on the ball.”
The Juventus ace would also be a versatile option for Glasner, given that he is able to play in a multitude of positions, including full-back, wing-back, and further forward on both wings.
Having averaged 0.26 assists per 90 over the past year, which places him in the 98th percentile, compared to other full-backs, Mario could be a similar type of full-back to Munoz, and it may be worth Palace taking a risk, given the low asking price.
West Ham United are aboard a sinking ship in the Premier League this season, and Nuno Espirito Santo is struggling to get a tune out of this crop of players, whose 3-0 loss at Manchester City kept them in the relegation zone.
It’s not looking good. That’s now back-to-back defeats in the top flight for the Hammers, whose winless run has been extended to six matches.
Falling to Pep Guardiola’s Man City at the Etihad Stadium is hardly a world-ending result, but there’s no question that the manner of the loss, West Ham’s performance, is gravely concerning.
Too many players flattered to deceive.
West Ham's worst players vs Man City
West Ham owner David Sullivan faces overseeing relegation from the Premier League, with Nuno’s crop of players all flattering to deceive.
Against City, there wasn’t much to write home about, though there was something to be said of the cranked-up attack on the hosts’ goal after the interval. As per Sofascore, the entirety of the Irons’ xG total of 0.99 came during the second half.
It was a tough afternoon at the office for homegrown talent Ollie Scarles, with prominent fan voice Martyn Hobbs even asserting that the 20-year-old left-back “is nowhere near Prem standard”.
Scarles is a young and inexperienced player, though, and he was let down by his senior peers, with one in particular doing little to suggest that West Ham shouldn’t have sold him when they had the chance this summer.
West Ham should've sold 4/10 star
There’s no question that Lucas Paqueta is one of the most talented players in West Ham’s modern history, and he’s achieved some high points indeed, but he’s also struggling this season, and isn’t exavctly pulling his weight.
Against Manchester City, he toiled away to little avail without ever playing with the sparkle and drive that we know is within his capacity.
The statistics outlined some success on the Brazilian’s part, but metrics can be deceiving, with this another frustrating display that left much to be desired.
Indeed, the 28-year-old won nine duels and completed two dribbles before being replaced by Tomas Soucek with 78 minutes on the board, but he also ceded possession 14 times, losing the ball every 4.4 touches without crafting much of note. Sofascore data shows that he created two chances.
Paqueta’s Last Two Premier League Seasons
Stats (* per game)
24/25
25/26
Matches (starts)
33 (27)
15 (15)
Goals
4
3
Assists
0
0
Shots (on target)*
1.2 (0.2)
1.3 (0.6)
Accurate passes
33.6 (79%)
35.6 (78%)
Key passes*
1.1
1.3
Big chances created
4
5
Succ. dribbles*
0.6 (50%)
1.0 (38%)
Ball recoveries
4.5
4.4
Tackles + interceptions*
2.5
2.5
Duels (won)*
6.0 (48%)
6.9 (47%)
Errors
6
1
Data via Sofascore
The fact that Paqueta has failed to create an assist since the 2023/24 campaign is telling.
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Claret & Hugh certainly weren’t impressed. The Hammers-focused site were scathing in their criticism of the ‘disinterested’ Brazilian, handing him a 4/10 match rating and remarking that they had had enough of such a talented playmaker continuing to punch below his weight.
How much longer can this continue? Paqueta is quite happy to pull strings when West Ham are firing on all cylinders, but he lacks the tenacity and desire to play a talismanic role when the tide is against him and his team. And the tide has been unkind to United for quite some time now.
Flamengo tried to sign Paqueta this summer after he was cleared of misconduct charges, and Manchester City were said to have revisited their interest earlier in 2025 too.
Now, Paqueta’s stock has diminished, and will diminish further still if West Ham are relegated. Unfortunately, all is not well at the London Stadium.
Shades of Rice: West Ham planning talks to sign £18m "leader"
The up-and-coming young star could be as much of a game-changer for West Ham as Declan Rice once was.
England coach Fabio Capello has revealed his torment of losing captain Rio Ferdinand to injury during the squad's first day of training at their base in South Africa.
The Manchester United defender damaged knee ligaments after an innocuous collision with team-mate Emile Heskey on Friday and he was rushed to a nearby hospital for tests.
After undergoing a scan, the extent of his injury was determined and he will be missing for around six weeks, meaning he will miss the showpiece and Capello has admitted it was big blow for all concerned.
He said:"It was a tackle and then there was big pain. He put his feet in the grass with Heskey and then he moved.
"The other players were upset. They stopped training. All the players who are here with me are important. But he is one of the starting players, the captain, a leader.
"It couldn't have been much worse on my first day. It is obviously bad news and everyone with the squad is very disappointed and sorry for Rio.
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"It was an accidental injury in training, but had nothing to do with the pitch. It is the curse of the captain."Subscribe to Football FanCast News Headlines by Email