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Joao Moutinho is one of those players that makes everything in football appear elegant and easy, however, Wolves legend Steve Bull believes that the 34-year old is now past his best.

The Portuguese international is set to take part in this summer’s Euros but much like fellow countrymen Rui Patricio and Ruben Neves, their futures at Molineux appear unclear with the 34-year-old appearing to be edging towards the exit door.

Moutinho appears to still be capable of performing at the top level in European football and links have emerged recently suggesting that he could be moving back to Portugal with Porto, which would give him a better chance of winning silverware and playing in the Champions League as well as being back home.

It would probably be the best way for him to end what has been a great career if he went back to Porto, and Bull believes that could be best as his career with Wolves is now done, something he spoke exclusively to Football FanCast about:

“I think he’s done now, I think Joao’s had his time here now and he’s done absolutely brilliantly for the club and there’s a lot of speculation and rumours that he’s going back to Porto.”

The £100,000-a-week Moutinho was an ever-present and trusted member of Nuno Espirito’s squad during his tenure at Molineux, however Bruno Lage likes his central midfielders to press high up the pitch which may signal the end for Moutinho’s Wolves career.

It was an astute piece of business by Wolves and Jorge Mendes back in 2018 when they brought Moutinho away from Monaco for just £5 million, and he paid that back almost instantly with the quality and experience he brought to the team.

Tuesday evening sees Nottingham Forest take on Championship leaders Fulham.

Fulham’s future was sealed last week when a 3-0 win against Preston North End confirmed that they would be playing Premier League football next season.

The Cottagers need six points to wrap up the title, though, Forest’s own ambition of promotion may forbid them of all three points.

On the chalkboard

Steve Cooper would have been ecstatic with the return of the club’s second-highest goal-scorer this season when he made his return in early April against Blackpool.

The Nottingham boss has eased Lewis Grabban back into action since then, with the Jamaican international making his first start in almost two months in the 1-0 defeat against Luton Town.

Grabban made a 15-minute cameo in Forest’s last game against Peterborough and was forced off in the 89th minute with an injury blow, with both Cooper and the 34-year-old Grabban hoping it is not serious.

Zero-to-hero

The timing of Sam Surridge’s resurgence to the starting XI has coincided brilliantly for Cooper.

The 23-year-old, who has been described as “clinical” by a reporter, has bagged five goals from just 11 shots for the Reds in all competitions.

His minutes per goal metric is very similar to Grabban’s 173 MPG, evidencing his decisiveness and suitability as an adequate replacement for the 34-year-old with a stat of 170 MPG.

Surridge has gone from a bit-part player to a starter over the last two games, with goals against West Brom and Peterborough in back-to-back starts allowing him to show Cooper exactly what he is about.

With three penalties awarded this season for the £12.6k-per-week earner’s efforts in the opposition’s box, he brings more unpredictability to Forest.

Grabban’s latest setback only strengthens Surridge’s case as a starter for however long the Jamaica international is out for.

He will be hoping to get another return in Tuesday’s game against Fulham and put a delay on their title celebrations in the hopes of boosting Nottingham Forest’s promotion ambitions.

In other news: Huge blow: Forest now suffer gutting injury setback, Cooper will be fuming…

Celtic have been handed a boost in their pursuit of Wigan Athletic forward Kyle Joseph.

The Lowdown: Hoops’ Joseph talks

Celtic were first linked with a move for Joseph back in January, with reports in March revealing the Hoops have since offered the 19-year-old a pre-contract.

However, Joseph, who is out of contract in a matter of months, is yet to pen pre-Parkhead terms like Sheffield Wednesday’s Liam Shaw has and his future remains up in the air.

Joseph’s talks with Celtic are yet to lead to an agreement, but it seems as if the Scotland Under-19 international could be the latest Latics starlet to leave the club.

The Latest: Joseph set to leave Wigan

According to The Telegraph, Joseph is ‘expected to leave when his contract ends’ – seven words that could be of huge significance in Celtic’s pursuit of the forward.

He’s netted five League One goals this season in 17 appearances, and should a move to Celtic materialise, the Hoops would have to pay around £300,000 in compensation.

Celtic are thought to be aiming to sign the top young talent ahead of the summer window despite the absence of a full-time manager, and it seems as if Joseph could follow Shaw to Scotland.

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The Verdict: A long-term Griffiths replacement?

In our opinion, Joseph could be a long-term replacement for current Hoops forward Leigh Griffiths.

Griffiths, 30, could end up being released by Celtic. The striker is waiting to hear from the Hoops regarding a potential 12-month extension, however, the deadline for the clause to be activated seems to have been and gone.

Should Griffiths end up leaving Parkhead, that could then allow Joseph to replace him in Glasgow, which in the long run, could prove to be a shrewd piece of business considering he wouldn’t cost them an official transfer fee.

In other news: Premier League club pull out of race to sign Kris Ajer, find out more here. 

West Ham United should go all out to win the race to sign Lille defender Sven Botman, according to Get French Football News’ Adam White.

Botman was thrown into the limelight after playing a key role as Lille beat Paris Saint-Germain to last season’s Ligue One title.

The central defender made 47 appearances last term and is on the wishlist of numerous clubs thanks to his impressive form.

West Ham – along with Premier League rivals Crystal Palace, Newcastle United and Norwich City – are keen to sign Botman before the transfer window slams shut. Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur and Italian side Atalanta are also showing an interest.

Hammers boss David Moyes is eager to add strength in depth after guiding the east Londoners into the Europa League thanks to registering a club-record Premier League points tally last season.

West Ham have been turned down by Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma and French football expert White feels the Hammers should turn their attentions towards sealing Botman’s arrival at the London Stadium.

He told The Transfer Tavern: “Botman has so much potential and he is very much suited to the Premier League.

“Given the price tags that a lot of Ligue One players fetch, he could become a real bargain. If he settles in well and progresses as he should, he could be worth double or triple what they sign him for in a year or two.”

Sheffield United appear to have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Harvey Elliott to Bramall Lane this summer.

What’s been said?

In a recent interview with Liverpool’s official website, Jurgen Klopp very much appeared to give a definitive answer on whether he would be sanctioning the temporary departure of the 18-year-old once again this summer, with the Reds manager stating his belief that the youngster is like a new signing for his side after impressing in pre-season.

Earlier reports claimed that Slavisa Jokanovic had enquired about the possibility of taking his former Fulham starlet on loan for Sheffield United’s 2021/22 Championship campaign.

However, that would now seem to be out of the question, with Klopp stating: “We have obviously a new midfielder in our squad with Harvey Elliott. We have players who can make a big step to fulfil their potential, they are in a good way.”

“He can play [in midfield] and then a little bit later when he went up front, Mo [Salah] went in the centre and Harvey played then the right-wing. He smashed the ball on the crossbar in that moment. He can play different positions, there’s absolutely no doubt about it.”

“But in pre-season we wanted to see him just in a deeper role because, for a young player, you have to learn a lot of things when you are a bit more outside and you get the ball from time to time. We wanted to have him more involved.

“I think he made a big step in this pre-season. If Harvey stays fit then the football world can be really excited about that. I liked his performance [against Athletic Bilbao], I liked his performance and attitude during pre-season. So, good for us, good for him.”

Jokanovic will be gutted

As Klopp states, considering the sheer amount of talent Elliott seems to possess, in addition to Jokanovic currently having no natural wingers in his Sheffield United squad, the 52-year-old is sure to be gutted that it seems like the youngster will not be making a temporary switch to Bramall Lane this summer.

Indeed, over his 41 Championship appearances while on loan at Blackburn Rovers last season, the £13.5m-rated man scored seven goals, registered 11 assists and created 14 big chances for his teammates, taking one shot and making 1.7 key passes per game.

These returns saw the man who Elliott Bennett dubbed an “unreal” player earn an average SofaScore match rating of 7.10, ranking him as Tony Mowbray’s third-best player in the league.

As such, should Elliott have secured a summer move to a Sheffield United side boasting numerous players who featured in the last two Premier League seasons, the potential numbers that the £7.5k-per-week Liverpool starlet could have returned for the Blades would seem mouthwatering.

However, with it very much seeming as if Klopp is planning on keeping the England under-19 international at Anfield this season, Jokanovic will now have to turn his attention elsewhere regarding attacking reinforcements in the transfer market.

In other news: Sheff Utd transfer development emerges on “class” £4.5m-rated ace, fans will be gutted

Southampton are being linked with Barcelona left-back Junior Firpo ahead of the summer transfer window and he could be a superb addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side should he make the move to St Mary’s.

What’s the word?

According to ESPN, Southampton have asked about Firpo’s situation at Barcelona as they see him as a potential successor for Ryan Bertrand at St Mary’s, although they will have to see off interest from several Serie A clubs if they are going to sign him this summer.

Barcelona are preparing for a summer rebuild and since the 24-year-old has been unable to oust Jordi Alba at the Nou Camp during his time at the club, he is a likely candidate to be sold.

Would he be a good signing?

Firpo was regarded as one of the best young defenders in La Liga during his time with Real Betis, with his excellent performances in the 2017/18 and 2018/19 seasons convincing Barcelona to pay €18m (£16.3m) to sign him in the summer of 2019.

Unfortunately for the Spanish defender, his time with the Catalan club has not really worked out, as he has made just 41 appearances in the two years since, contributing two goals and three assists.

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This season saw the Dominican Republic born defender make just three starts in La Liga and one in the Champions League, so it is no surprise that Ronald Koeman is keen to cash in on him this summer, and Southampton could be the ones to take advantage.

Barcelona legend Eric Abidal was full of praise for Firpo back in 2020, saying:

“He’s a player with a lot of potential. He could be one of the best left-backs in the world. I always tell him that he must work hard and be aware of the (style of) play. He’s going to get better, for sure.”

This is high praise from one of the best left-backs from the past 20 years, so if Firpo can live up to his potential at St Mary’s, he would surely prove to be a very good signing indeed.

Therefore, Martin Semmens should definitely look to sign him for Southampton this summer, as Hasenhuttl desperately needs a left-back to replace Bertrand this summer, and Firpo could be the ideal man for the job.

And, in other news… Semmens can repeat Armstrong masterclass with bargain swoop for “top player”

According to a report by The Daily Mail, Tottenham Hotspur managing director Fabio Paratici is quite an admirer of Sassuolo defender Mert Muldur, with the Italian hatching a summer transfer plan.

The Lowdown: Paratici job…

The 48-year-old has garnered a reputation for facilitating eye-grabbing transfer deals, which includes signing Cristiano Ronaldo for former club Juventus (The Daily Mail).

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy hailed Paratici as a ‘tough negotiator’ upon his official appointment by the club and it’s safe to say that his arrival has prompted many links to Serie A players.

Manuel Locatelli, Lorenzo Insigne and Leonardo Bonucci are just some names from the Italian top flight who have been linked with Spurs, with another now emerging.

The Latest: Paratici ready to pursue Muldur

As per The Daily Mail, Paratici is now personally ‘ready to pursue’ Turkey international Muldur. It is claimed that the Spurs chief is an admirer of the 22-year-old as he attracts interest from numerous Premier League clubs.

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Indeed, Tottenham are among the clubs ‘plotting a move’ for the right-back alongside London rivals West Ham United.

Spurs have been linked with signing a new full-back, with Serge Aurier seeming likely to leave this summer.

The Verdict: Good move?

A relatively unknown quantity, Muldur got his chance on the big stage for Turkey at Euro 2020, where he managed two appearances under national team manager Şenol Güneş.

At club level, he started 18 Serie A games for Sassuolo last season whilst making the joint-third most tackles per match out of the entire squad (WhoScored).

The 1.88m (6 foot 2) powerhouse is valued at around £8.1m by Transfermarkt and much could depend on how much his club demand this summer.

A fee around this valuation could be fruitful, but if Sassuolo play hardball, we believe Paratici certainly shouldn’t waste time and must instead move on to targets.

In other news: Spurs frontrunners to sign ‘absolutely sensational’ player with Nuno set for final call, find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur slumped to an embarrassing 1-0 loss at the hands of Vitesse in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday evening.

There were some very poor performances on the pitch for Nuno Espirito Santo’s team, and The Transfer Tavern have used statistical experts Sofascore to analyse the worst-three performing players (who played at least 45 minutes) based on statistics:

Ben Davies

Admittedly tied with Steven Bergwijn, Ben Davies was given the joint-third lowest rating out of any of his teammates by Sofascore, a mere 6.3.

Captain for the day, the Wales international lost out on eight of his duels, and failed to record a single successful dribble, tackle or accurate cross from left-back.

He also lost possession of the ball on no fewer than on 14 separate occasions, the joint-fourth most out of any of his teammates.

Dane Scarlett

Young Scarlett did not take his chance to impress, as Sofascore gave him a measly six overall rating.

The striker lost out on a whopping 19 duels, more than double the next closest player, perhaps suggesting he is struggling to adapt physically to senior first-team football.

He did not manage to have a shot or successful dribble, while losing possession 16 times, the second-most out of any Spurs player.

Dele Alli

Oh how far Alli has fallen. The once England regular was given an alarming 5.8 rating by Sofascore, which does not even tell half of the story.

Alli list eight of his duels, and had no shots on target, successful dribbles or key passes, while he too was also guilty of giving the ball away on far too many occasions, 14 in total.

In other news, find out which Lilywhite has suffered another injury setback here…

Manchester United take on Atalanta in the Champions League on Tuesday night in what could be a crucial game for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s future at the club.

The Red Devils bounced back from their humiliating 5-0 thrashing at the hands of fierce rivals Liverpool with a convincing victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday.

Solskjaer surprised many by changing his entire setup for the pivotal fixture in north London, but he guided his charges to a well-deserved and comfortable three points.

One player who struggled against Spurs, losing a whopping 15 defensive duels , was Fred. And the midfielder has often been on the receiving end of criticism from certain sections of the media and fanbase alike throughout his time at Old Trafford. For instance, he was even described as “dreadful” by Roy Keane earlier this year.

Many perceive his lack of goals and assists and inability to play as a holding midfielder without someone alongside him as signs that he’s below the standard expected of a United player.

However, the Brazil international has a different set of skills that are vital for Solskjaer’s team to thrive and have success, he’s just arguably being played slightly out of position – like a lot of United’s midfield and forward options.

As per WhoScored, Fred has recorded an average of 2.4 tackles per league game this term and 2.8 defensive dribbles, meaning he’s outperforming all his teammates for both metrics, as well as making 0.8 interceptions. Those are certainly game-changing numbers.

But the South American is also proving relatively effective when in possession, averaging 56.6 passes per top-flight fixture – the second-highest tally amongst his club colleagues – with a respectable total of 0.8 key passes as well.

Solskjaer has previously praised the 28-year-old’s efforts in the engine room, claiming Fred is a “top performer” following an eye-catching display at Anfield back in 2020.

“I’m very pleased with Fred. He’s a top, top performer,” said the Norwegian tactician. “All the supporters can see now why we believe in him. He covers every blade of grass on the pitch and wins challenges. Of course, he is more confident on the ball.”

And former United academy graduate Ben Thornley was also quick the praise the £19.8m-rated gem, saying: “I thought that, in Fred, we probably had the outstanding player on the park.

“He worked brilliantly defensively, and offensively he was the instigator of a lot that we did well.”

Therefore, Solskjaer must be controversial and keep faith with Fred as he takes his team to Bergamo with an intriguing midweek clash; he could have a huge impact upon proceedings and buy his manager some more time to turn things around in the red half of Manchester.

And, in other news…Murtough must revive Man Utd move for “magnificent” £63m-rated gem, he’s like Carrick 

Arsenal are no longer leading the race to sign Ruben Neves this summer…

What’s the word?

That’s according to talkSPORT, who claimed that Premier League rivals Manchester United are now the front-runners to seal the Portuguese midfielder’s signature before next month’s transfer deadline.

They tweeted: “BREAKING: Man Utd move ahead of Arsenal in the race to sign Ruben Neves. Wolves are willing to sell the Portugal international for a fee of £35m.”

Early last month, The Times first linked the Gunners with interest in the Wolves star, claiming that the North London giants had begun work on a deal to bring him to the Emirates Stadium.

It’s thought that Neves is one of several high-profile names available for transfer at Molineux this summer.

Time to act

Arsenal chief Edu Gaspar must now act if he’s to land Mikel Arteta a perfect replacement for the departing Granit Xhaka.

The long-serving Switzerland international is widely expected to join Jose Mourinho at Serie A outfit AS Roma in the very near future, with Sky Sports Italia journalist Angelo Mangiante claiming that he will link up with the squad at their Portugal pre-season base next week.

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Xhaka, aside from his controversies, has been a very solid box-to-box option for the Gunners in recent seasons, often contributing with goals from midfield. Indeed, he’s found the net 13 times and provided 20 assists across 220 appearances, via Transfermarkt.

Neves has long been the orchestrator in the Midlands as he’s missed only five top-flight games in the three seasons Wolves have been back in the big time.

Across those campaigns, he has not slipped below an average of 1.6 shots, 1.6 tackles or 1.5 interceptions per game, via WhoScored, whilst there aren’t many who have scored more often from outside the penalty box than him, either.

It’s no wonder he’s been likened to the playing style of ex-Liverpool legend Xabi Alonso and described as a “deep-lying orchestrator” as well as a “pure talent.”

The 6-foot beast, who is valued at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, would allow Arteta to finally sanction an exit for Xhaka and he could do so knowing that they had an experienced and long-term replacement in the 24-year-old 22-time Portuguese international.

AND in other news, Edu could finally sign Arsenal’s new Alexis Sanchez in £34m-rated “phenomenal talent”…