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Transfer insider Fabrizio Romano has delivered an update regarding Wolves’ long-standing pursuit of Sporting CP midfielder Joao Palhinha.

The Lowdown: Fulham join the race

With the future of Ruben Neves still very much up in the air, Bruno Lage will be on the lookout for reinforcements to strengthen his midfield ahead of the start of the new season, and Wolves fans are likely fed up of hearing Palhinha’s name at this point, such as been the extent of the links.

The 26-year-old is someone whose name has been circulating around Molineux for quite some time now, strongly linked with a move to the Premier League and even some reports in his homeland claiming a deal is agreed ‘in principle’.

However, newly-promoted Fulham appear to have joined the race for the maestro late on, and following a fresh update, it seems as though Wolves will now have to battle it out with the Cottagers, who have now made their official move.

The Latest: Romano drops Palhinha update

Taking to Twitter, Romano revealed that Fulham have now come to an agreement with Sporting over the transfer of Palhinha, but the final decision will be made by the player ‘soon’. He wrote:

“Fulham have reached an agreement with Sporting for João Palhinha, fee around €18m plus add ons. It’s up to the player now, also tempted by Wolves proposal.

“Palhinha will make a decision soon.”

The Verdict: Another one?

After missing out on Marquinhos, who has now joined Arsenal, Lage will be keen to not let a second deal in Palhinha slip away, and it would be a disaster if Wolves were to miss out on two targets so early in the window.

The £22.5m-rated ace, who was once hailed an “artist” and “sensational player” by sports journalist Josh Bunting, averaged an 87.8% pass completion rate and made three tackles per Liga Portugal game last season, via WhoScored, highlighting his composure and ability to control a game from the middle of the park.

These attributes are exactly what the Midlands outfit need in a player if they want to have a real shot at making a push for a European spot without Neves’ services, but they will just have to hope that Palhinha decides to commit his future to them rather than their new top-flight rivals.

In other news… a Wolves first-team starlet is reportedly close to agreeing a new contract at the Molineux.

Journalist David Lynch has now shared a big Southampton transfer update involving Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino as the Saints eye new signings.

The Lowdown: Busy summer for Semmens?

Saints transfer chief Martin Semmens may well be set for a busy summer before manager Ralph Hasenhuttl begins Southampton pre-season for the 2022/2023 Premier League season.

The arrival of a new goalkeeper has already been heavily tipped through the press as Southampton reportedly close in on Manchester City starlet Gavin Bazanu.

A new forward could also come to St. Mary’s with news emerging on Reds attacker Minamino.

The Latest: Lynch shares big Minamino update…

According to Liverpool reporter Lynch, the Japan international is ‘closing in’ on an Anfield departure as Southampton meet with the player’s agent.

The price is apparently £17 million as Hasenhuttl’s side become contenders for his signature.

He explained:

“Takumi Minamino closing in on an #LFC departure with his agent having flown to Europe to field interest from Leeds, Southampton, Wolves, Fulham and Monaco. Situation likely to be resolved quickly – Liverpool hoping to secure £17m.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

The 40-cap star has been called a ‘coach’s dream’ by manager Jurgen Klopp, even despite his lack of opportunities on Merseyside.

He already knows Southampton having spent time under Hasenhuttl on a brief loan spell in 2020/2021, and despite arguably failing to impress at that time, it appears Minamino is ready to grab the bull by the horns.

Over his four Carabao Cup starts for the Reds last season, he bagged four goals whilst attempting a brilliant 3.2 shots at goal per 90 (WhoScored) – backing how he could be a consistent threat when given the opportunity.

For £17m, it’s a move Semmens and co may well consider.

In other news: Southampton now frontrunners for ‘fabulous’ signing who’d suit Ralph ‘down to the ground’! Find out more here.

According to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor, Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte is finished with left-back Sergio Reguilon after the arrival of Ivan Perisic.

The Lowdown: Reguilon out of favour

The 25-year-old swapped the Bernabeu for the Premier League when he joined the Lilywhites on a five-year deal from Spanish giants Real Madrid in 2020, where he has made a total of 67 senior appearances during his two years at the club to date.

The appointment of Conte as Spurs manager in November of last year doesn’t appear to have helped the Spaniard, who has fallen down the pecking order under the Italian since his entrance at N17.

Following the recent announcement confirming the signing of Inter Milan’s Perisic, The Times have claimed that this has now moved the full-back even closer to the exit door than originally thought, with the report stating that the £25.2m-rated star could return to Real as a result of their buyback clause.

The Latest: Reguil-gone

Taylor says the Croatian’s arrival in the capital will have a huge impact on the future of Reguilon. He told GiveMeSport: “I think Sergio Reguilon will be moved on now.

“Sessegnon is still very much a part of Conte’s plans and it’ll just be a balancing act between them two for the Premier League and Champions League.”

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The Verdict: Perisic a better option

Ever since Conte replaced former manager Nuno Espirito Santo in the Tottenham dugout, the six-cap Spain international has only made 20 outings under the Italian and hasn’t been a hugely regular feature of his starting XI.

As per FBRef, Perisic has a much better defensive record than Reguilon, and considering the World Cup finalist also managed 15 goal involvements in Serie A this season, you could comfortably say he’s better on both sides of the ball.

Despite still having three years remaining on his current contract in north London, Reguilon’s time at Spurs looks like it could well be coming to an end, but whether he’s sent back to Madrid or gets another move remains to be seen.

In other news… Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that there has been a ‘deal agreed’ for Spurs’ next signing.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United’s interest in Ismaila Sarr heading into the summer transfer window…

What’s the talk?

Transfer insider Dean Jones has claimed that the Magpies are eyeing a potential swoop for the Watford attacker, with Crystal Palace also considering a deal for the relegated winger.

He told GIVEMESPORT: “They (Palace) just won’t want to get into a price battle with Newcastle, who have got some interest in him.

“It’s not major interest right now, but they’re definitely looking at the situation, as they see him as a game-changer and somebody that’s probably a step-up from Saint-Maximin.”

Supporters will be delighted

The supporters will surely be delighted by this claim as Sarr has the potential to be an excellent, exciting, addition to the team next season.

He has managed ten goals and six assists in two Premier League campaigns since making the move to England from France in the summer of 2019.

In between those two seasons, he caught the eye playing in the Championship as he scored 13 goals and provided four assists in their promotion success. This shows that he has the ability to score goals on a regular basis, with glimpses of that also coming through in the top-flight.

At the age of 24, he still has plenty of time left on his hands to develop as a winger. He is far from the finished article and having two full seasons of Premier League football will be useful experience for him moving forward, as he now knows what it takes to compete at this level.

The Senegal international was relegated in both of those campaigns and this means that he was playing in a team that was not good enough to stay in the division both times. Now, imagine what he could do if he was playing for Newcastle in a team that is looking to finish in the top half of the table instead of just avoiding the bottom three.

Sarr is a player the club invest in for the future as well as the here and now. Eddie Howe can work with him on the training pitch to help him fulfil his potential and become a crucial player for the Magpies in the years to come.

Fans will surely be keen to see young, exciting, players developing alongside the club and that is why they will be delighted with the interest in signing the Hornets attacker.

AND in other news, “Newcastle asked..”: Reporter delivers big transfer claim that’ll leave Howe excited…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Kalidou Koulibaly to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Spanish publication Sport, who claim that, with one year remaining on his current deal at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, the Napoli centre-back has informed Aurelio De Laurentiis of his desire to secure a move away from the Serie A side this summer.

The report goes on to state that, as a result of this development, Tottenham have made contact with LIAN Sports Group, the defender’s agency firm, in order to begin talks concerning a transfer, with Juventus and Chelsea also said to be keen on beginning negotiations with the Senegal international.

Finally, Sport claim that, while Barcelona are also one of the clubs in the running for Koulibaly’s signature, due to the LaLiga side’s perilous financial situation at present, the Catalans look unlikely to be able to afford the centre-back’s €35m (£30m) asking price and his expected salary demands.

Dream Bastoni alternative

While it has been reported that Antonio Conte’s priority transfer target in the coming months is the signing of a left-footed centre-back, with doubts starting to emerge as to whether Alessandro Bastoni would be willing to leave Inter Milan for north London this summer, the argument that Koulibaly would be a dream alternative for the 23-year-old is an easy one to make.

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Indeed, despite Koulibaly being 71% right-footed, the £40.5m-rated talent typically operates on the left of Napoli’s centre-back pairing, with his Serie A heatmap from the 2021/22 campaign demonstrating that the defender spends the vast majority of his time on the left-hand side of the pitch.

Furthermore, while Bastoni is undoubtedly a talent whose ceiling is considerably higher than that of Koulibaly’s, the 30-year-old is a player who is very much in his peak performance years at present, something that would suggest the Senegalese sensation is a ready-made fit to come in and immediately improve Conte’s current options at the back.

In terms of his ability, the £183k-per-week defender is certainly in and amongst the best in the game, with FBref ranking Koulibaly in the top 13% of centre-backs in Europe’s big five leagues for tackles per 90, as well as the top 24% for passes attempted, the top 13% for progressive passes, the top 2% for dribbles completed and the top 22% for shot-creating actions over the last 365 days – with FBref even listing Bastoni as one of his most comparable players.

As such, considering the fact that Koulibaly would cost roughly £24m less than the Italian, is a ball-playing defender who prefers to operate on the left and is in the prime years of his career, the Napoli defender who Siavoush Fallahi dubbed “unreal” would indeed appear to be a dream alternative to the Inter starlet this summer.

AND in other news: “Am told…”: Kilpatrick reveals big Spurs transfer twist, supporters will be fuming

Ex-BBC pundit Noel Whelan has suggested that he is ‘expecting’ Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah to leave the club this summer to raise transfer funds after new contract talks have been revealed.

The Lowdown: Salah set for contract talks

The 29-year-old’s contract at Anfield is set to expire next summer alongside attacking partner Sadio Mane, but a Liverpool source told Football Insider just last weekend that the Egyptian is set for talks with the club about the possibility of signing a new deal which could be worth over £80m in total.

The same website previously confirmed that the Reds also plan to offer Mane a new deal, however, the Senegalese star is now said to be wanted by Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich, so that’s another one of Jurgen Klopp’s star men whose future is up in the air.

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The Latest: Whelan expecting Salah to leave

Whelan, reacting to those leaked talks, admitted that if FSG were to cash in on a big sale during the upcoming transfer window, this could potentially make way for a new, young arrival on Merseyside.

He told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury: “They’re going to have to capitalise on somebody, in my opinion.

“That big potential transfer fee could do a lot of good. It could be Mane, or it could be Salah.

“One of the two, I believe, will be leaving this summer. For me personally, I’m expecting it to be Salah.

“Mane is looking more and more like the one who will be sticking around, but we’ll have to wait and see.

“When you’re bringing in these young players and they’re performing as well as Luis Diaz is – it does almost put the writing on the wall.

“One of them might well have to go in order to get that capital and rejuvenate that team.”

The Verdict: New deal a huge boost for Klopp

If the £225k-per-week talisman were to put pen to paper on a new contract with the Reds, this would come as a huge boost for the German boss, considering he’s been one of his most influential players on the pitch this season.

Salah has a staggering record in the Premier League, having already scored 30 goals and registered 16 assists across all competitions this term, as per Transfermarkt, as well as the fact that he is currently leading the race for the top-flight Golden Boot.

Not getting any younger, committing his future to Liverpool would likely take the 82-cap international to the end of his playing career, and with a good few of his prime years left ahead of him, there’s still plenty of time to get his hands on more silverware before the day comes that he hangs his boots up for good.

In other news… the Reds are believed to be in pole position in the pursuit for one of their summer transfer targets.

Sheffield United fell victim to Nottingham Forest’s excellent attacking threat as the Blades lost 2-1 in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final at Bramall Lane.

Boasting the fifth-best home record in the division, Paul Heckingbottom and his team will be bitterly disappointed that they couldn’t claim a result ahead of the second leg at the City Ground.

Goals either side of half-time from Jack Colback and Brennan Johnson gave Forest breathing space and Steve Cooper’s men could easily have had more goals having recorded 17 shots across the afternoon, eight of which were on target.

However, Sander Berge converted from close range following a corner in added time to halve the deficit and give the South Yorkshire side hope ahead of their trip to the East Midlands on Tuesday.

It was a thoroughly disappointing afternoon for the Blades, with wing-back Ben Osborn struggling against his former club.

Osborn had a shocker v Forest

The 27-year-old cruelly slipped in the penalty area to allow Philip Zinckernagel to have a shot from close range, with Colback burying the follow-up after a parry from United goalkeeper Wes Foderingham.

Moreover, there was limited defensive contribution from the Blades wing-back, who provided just one clearance, two interceptions and one tackle whilst winning only one of four attempted duels, making for a 75% failure rate.

Osborn also lost possession 12 times but his passing was generally impressive with an 84% success rate, whilst he also provided two key passes.

There had been debate prior to the match as to whether or not Heckingbottom would keep the 27-year-old in the starting line-up with George Baldock back fit. However, the Blades boss stuck with the side which beat Fulham 4-0 last weekend to secure a play-off spot, with Osborn playing on the opposite flank of his preferred left-hand side.

A decision must now be made by the 44-year-old as to whether or not he chooses to start Baldock on Tuesday in Osborn’s place, with the former making a return to action off the bench this afternoon.

Nonetheless, it was an afternoon to forget for Osborn, who sadly had a shocker against his former employers.

AND in other news: Forget Johnson: “Excellent” Forest ace who won 100% duels was Cooper’s hero vs SUFC

Steven Gerrard could be a ‘big factor’ in Joe Gomez possibly joining Aston Villa from Liverpool this summer, according to Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Gomez links

NSWE have already made a start on their summer spending ahead of Gerrard’s first full season in charge by securing a permanent deal for Philippe Coutinho.

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Barcelona revealed that they have reached a €20m (£16.9m) agreement with Villa to make the Brazilian’s loan spell permanent in the Midlands, and it looks as if defensive reinforcements are next on NSWE’s radar.

Moving on from the little magician, recent reports have now suggested that Gomez is wanted at Villa Park in a defensive overhaul, with the 24-year-old making just ten starts this season.

The Latest: O’Rourke’s comments

O’Rourke, talking to The Transfer Tavern, said the Gerrard factor could play a ‘big’ role in Villa’s chances of signing Gomez, however, he added that the defender is still ‘highly regarded at Anfield’.

“I’m sure it would be a big factor if Villa did go for Joe Gomez to work under Steven Gerrard.

“Villa have been keeping tabs on Gomez for a while now for the last couple of transfer windows but Liverpool have always opted to keep him.

“I’m not too sure Jurgen Klopp will be willing to lose Gomez either who obviously has come back after that serious injury he had last season.

“He’ll find it hard to get first-team chances but I know he’s still highly regarded at Anfield so Klopp will be in no rush to send him out the exit door. I think Liverpool ideally would like to keep him at Anfield.”

The Verdict: Tricky

It looks as if a move for Gomez won’t be as straightforward as the one for Coutinho, with O’Rourke believing the Reds may not be in a rush to part ways with the defender.

Gomez will be entering the final two years of his Anfield contract in the summer, so he may have to try and force an exit in search of regular game time in the Midlands.

However, with Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa possibly moving on over the coming months, Villa will need to bring in more defenders than just Gomez, meaning it could be an extremely busy summer in regards to defensive incomings and outgoings.

In other news: NSWE now close to agreeing deal for another midfielder alongside Coutinho.  

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ enthralling draw against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Saturday was important for a number of reasons.

Whilst the point attained was integral to meeting their ambition of making the European places in the Premier League, the way in which they ended their three game losing streak – that saw them fail to score a single goal in that period – was important in terms of their form going into next season.

As we’ve seen in the Premier League quite recently, momentum is extremely important, as Leicester City fans will tell you after witnessing their side transition a strong end to the season into a strong start to the next, eventually leading them to Premier League glory.

So Lage will want his side to continue in that vein against Manchester City and put up the same amount of fight that they showed against Tuchel’s Chelsea, who did not know what hit them when Wolves’ secret weapon Chiquinho entered the pitch.

By deploying the starlet, he could well cause problems for Pep and Co. with Chiquinho’s “explosiveness”, something noted by his former manager, Vasco Botelho da Costa.

On the chalkboard

In what was a 20-minute cameo at Stamford Bridge, he completely changed the game on its head. When he came on, his side were losing 2-0 and when the game ended, it finished 2-2.

His impact was nothing short of mesmeric and having set up both goals, he has surely earned his chance for regular minutes in Lage’s side.

The 22-year-old’s game against the Blues was reminiscent of Adama Traore’s play style. His direct approach was integral to the Old Gold’s comeback, with his 3/3 successful dribbles evidence of this.

His effort level defensively was also impressive, having won 4/5 ground duels at a success rate of 80%.

In his six Premier League appearances for Wolves, the Sporting CP youth graduate, who has been dubbed a “ridiculous talent” by Tim Spiers, now has three assists after Saturday’s game.

His performance was noted by scorer of the last-minute equaliser Conor Coady, who gave the starlet all the plaudits: “I went into the box, hoping Chiquinho would get it. I thought he was outstanding when he came on.”

As a result, there must be no other choice but for the Wolves boss to unleash his pocket rocket on City this week. What do they have to lose in doing so?

In other news: Lage can unearth Wolves’ new Jota in “magic” £2m-rated talent who has “explosiveness”

Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell believes that Manchester City will allow Gabriel Jesus to leave the club this summer, despite his recent impressive displays.

The Lowdown: Contact with Arsenal

The Brazilian, who first joined the Premier League giants in a £27m move from Palmeiras in 2016, has one year remaining on his current contract and has been in scintillating form of late, most recently getting his name on the scoresheet in the Citizens’ comfortable 4-0 victory against Leeds United.

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Despite this, The Athletic claimed just last month that Arsenal’s technical director, Edu, has been in talks with the 25-year-old’s representatives over a potential move to the Emirates at the end of the season, and the former Gunners striker has backed the club to sanction Jesus’ exit.

The Latest: Back-up option

When asked for his thoughts on the future of the 54-time international, Campbell told Football Insider: “Listen, Man City know the player and they know the value of who they’ve got.

“If they get Erling Haaland in though, he will be a starter. He will not be coming to mess around. He will be starting every game. That would then restrict the game time of Jesus.

“Jesus has been a good servant to Man City and he is proving that right now. But I think they will do the honourable thing and let him go. He will start somewhere else. At Arsenal he would start.

“There is no way he is going to sign a new deal if Haaland comes in because he won’t be starting. I think they will let Jesus go this summer to recoup some money.”

The Verdict: Game time needed

Jesus has been a brilliant servant for the Manchester outfit, making an outstanding 141 goal contributions in just 232 appearances during his time at the club, but as Campbell said, he wouldn’t get a look in if the Dortmund striker did end up putting pen to paper at the Etihad.

The Norwegian has been prolific in the final third in the Bundesliga this term, scoring 21 goals and registering eight assists in 22 outings, as per Transfermarkt.

The £45m-rated Jesus, who has been described as a “superstar” player by BT Sport pundit Steve McManaman, will need to look elsewhere at the end of the campaign if he desires the game time he deserves moving forward, and with the future of Alexandre Lacazette unknown, a surprising move to north London could well be on the cards for Jesus in the coming months.

In other news… a journalist has dropped a big claim on one of Man City’s summer targets.