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Former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has told The Transfer Tavern in an exclusive interview that he is surprised by former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s decision to join Crystal Palace.

The 47-year-old was available following his shock Molineux exit last month and had been linked with a host of clubs.

According to The Telegraph, Nuno had been interviewed by Everton after Carlo Ancelotti’s departure to Real Madrid, while Palace spoke to Frank Lampard and monitored the likes of Sean Dyche and Steve Cooper.

In the end, though, the south London outfit have seemingly opted for Nuno in a move that has surprised Palmer.

“I wouldn’t have thought he would leave Wolves to take the Crystal Palace job,” the ex-Leeds United player said. “That’s just in my opinion because it’s the same of the same for me.

“Palace, they might have a good season and finish just below halfway or whatever, but they’re not going to burst into that top five or top six. So, to me, Wolves and Crystal Palace are much of a muchness. So I’m surprised.”

Wolves and Palace finished in 13th and 14th respectively, so the above is a very fair point.

The latter, though, could need a massive rebuild job this summer, as the futures of so many players remain in doubt. Perhaps that is a challenge and task, creating a brand new team, Nuno is relishing.

Liverpool bolstered their chances of finishing in the Premier League top four on Saturday with a straight-forward 2-0 victory against Southampton.

Sadio Mane opened the scoring midway through the first half as he converted Mo Salah’s cross before Thiago Alcantara sealed victory with his first Liverpool goal late on.

The win moved the Reds up to sixth following Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat earlier in the day and nowthey sit just six points behind fourth-placed Leicester City with a game in hand.

It goes without saying then that victory was crucial and key to that success was scorer of the opening goal, Mane.

The Senegalese winger was a threat to the Saints all evening long, racking up two shots according to WhoScored, one of them finding the net via a great diving header from Salah’s ball in.

It was just his ninth Premier League goal of the season but his second in his last three matches having also scored in the 1-1 draw against Leeds United in mid-April.

Mane’s contributions did not end there though.

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The forward, who earns approximately £100k per week at Anfield, contributed three key passes for his teammates. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold could better that figure in the Liverpool side with five of his own.

It was on the ball where he was particularly effective too. The 29-year-old managed to complete four dribbles throughout the game, the most in the entire Reds’ team and also won two fouls which again was a number bettered by none of his teammates.

His excellent evening’s work was eventually brought to an end in the closing stages as he was replaced by Curtis Jones.

Previously hailed by a “warrior” by Liverpool legend Graeme Souness, Mane will surely be keen to continue his excellent form going forwards especially with the Reds set to take on Manchester United on Thursday in the Premier League.

The forward has had a quiet season by his own high standards, but if he can perfrom to the same level as he did on Saturday night in Liverpool’s next four fixtures, the Reds will have a decent chance at salvaging a top four finish.

AND in more news, read about the four injuries that could devastate the Reds’ Champions League push…

Celtic are reportedly interested in signing Dundee United’s Benjamin Siegrist, with the goalkeeper now addressing the links regarding a move to Parkhead.

The Lowdown: Celtic were keen back in December

It’s not the first time Siegrist has been linked with a move to Celtic Park. Back in December, the Hoops reportedly added the 29-year-old to their list of January targets.

As we know, a deal never materialised, but it seems as if Celtic are still keen on signing the Switzerland Under-21 international, who kept 12 clean sheets last season.

Former Dundee United manager Micky Mellon described Siegrist as ‘brilliant’, and it seems as if his displays haven’t gone unnoticed.

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The Latest: Siegrist addresses Celtic interest

According to Swiss newspaper Blick, cited by Sports Witness, both Celtic and Ipswich Town are still interested in signing Siegrist.

He has just over a year remaining on his deal at Tannadice and was quizzed specifically on Celtic’s interest.

Siegrist was asked about Celtic possibly offering £400,000 to £1m for his services, to which he said:

“If there is interest, I’ll take a close look.”

The Verdict: Who should Celtic move on?

Siegrist’s telling five-word admission ‘I’ll take a close look’, appears to be a come and get me plea to the Hoops.

Should the Hoops firm up their reported interest, then you’d expect one of Vasilis Barkas, Scott Bain or Conor Hazard would have to move on.

Having four first-team ‘keepers at Parkhead could be one too many, so it would be interesting to see what Celtic would do.

They spent big money on Barkas last summer and agreed on a new contract with youngster Hazard back in March. On that basis, Bain could be the man sacrificed for Siegrist.

The 29-year-old made 15 appearances last season but was missing from the squad for the last two games of the campaign.

It looks set to be a busy summer for the Hoops, and their interest in Siegrist could be one to keep a close eye on.

In other news: Olivier Ntcham contract speculation refuted, find out more here. 

Tottenham Hotspur have suffered early setbacks in their bid to find the best replacement for the recently sacked Jose Mourinho.

Daniel Levy has missed out on two of his mooted top managerial targets in Julian Nagelsmann, who has rejected the north London outfit to become Bayern Munich’s next head coach, and Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers, who has downplayed swapping the Champions League-bound Foxes for struggling Spurs.

Ajax manager Erik ten Hag is now expected to quickly rise up the shortlist, according to the Telegraph, whilst names such as Gareth Southgate and Ralf Rangnick feature.

The 51-year-old Dutchman is said to be affordable for Spurs as he will soon enter the final year of his contract at the Eredivisie champions.

We know that Levy is also targeting an attack-minded and progressive coach that can fit in with the club’s culture after reports suggested that Mourinho had ‘sucked the life’ out of the squad prior to his departure.

Ten Hag has brought success to Ajax – recording a 73% win percentage since taking over in 2017 – through his flexible 4-3-3 system, which has been inspired by the likes of Pep Guardiola and Johan Cruyff.

“He ticks a lot of boxes for Tottenham. He’s very good at developing young players and he has Ajax playing with real style,” claimed Alasdair Gold in a recent Q&A on football.london.

So Levy won’t have to worry in terms of excitement on the pitch there and indeed, the former Bayern Munich ‘B’ head coach could fix another one of Spurs’ mounting problems.

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As further revealed by Gold, there have been concerns over the fitness levels of the current squad despite a lot of these players still remaining in N17 from the Mauricio Pochettino era, where they were among the fittest in the Premier League.

‘Numerous mistakes have been made on the pitch during this campaign due to tiredness both physically and subsequently mentally,’ wrote the reliable journalist in a recent column.

Ajax were unofficially crowned champions on the same weekend Spurs looked legless in their Carabao Cup final defeat to Manchester City, and Ten Hag has credited their success to the squad’s impressive fitness levels.

“Everyone hopes that Ajax is at the end of his rope, but we are far from being there. It appears every time that we can switch in the second half and the opponents are destroyed”, the 51-year-old revealed to reporters (via Teller Report). “We brought that [fitness change] in and it certainly plays a role in this title. But I think that we have played very well in many phases this season.”

In another interview, sourced by football.london, he echoed these thoughts: “The team is good. We are very fit, very eager and very fresh. We can certainly perform at our best, we know that.”

On the above evidence, Ten Hag seems like an ideal candidate and a more than worthy new front-runner for the vacant Spurs job. In appointing him, Levy could solve more issues than one.

AND in other news, Alli and Bergwin? How Spurs could line-up under managerial target Erik ten Hag…

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League defender Michael Ball believes Chris Wilder would be a good fit for West Brom if Sam Allardyce ends up departing the club.

Allardyce has been unable to turn around West Brom’s fortunes and his future at the Hawthorns remains unclear.

As for Wilder, the 53-year-old is available for work following his exit from Sheffield United back in March.

It means he could be one name West Brom possibly consider should they decide to part ways with Allardyce at the end of the season, and Ball thinks the Midlands club could do much worse than the former Blades boss.

He told TT in an exclusive interview:

“It seems to be the right fit. He’s got that right experience of bringing teams together, improving them, knows how to win promotions.

“The Championship, you’ve got to be more on the front foot, and Chris Wilder has that in abundance and experience in how to do that. So, yeah, it seems a good fit.”

As Ball mentioned, Wilder has a track record of winning promotion, though the same can be said about Allardyce.

Bearing that in mind, whether it is Wilder or Allardyce, West Brom would be in good hands next season and should be well placed to bounce back after a largely disappointing 2020/21 campaign.

Tottenham Hotspur gem Japhet Tanganga endured a nightmare as England U21s crashed out of the Euros on Wednesday night.

Aidy Boothroyd’s young Three Lions side defeated Croatia 2-1 but went out on goal difference having needed to win by a two-goal advantage and hope that Portugal were victorious against Switzerland.

Domagoj Bradaric fired home a heartbreaking 90th-minute consolation goal to dump Tanganga and co out at the group stage.

And the 22-year-old Spurs prospect had a torrid night.

Tanganga was comfortably England’s poorest player as per SofaScore ratings, as he was graded a 6.3 – not only the lowest of any English defender but the worst of all the Three Lions’ starters.

The 6-foot defender was frequently involved throughout the match, tying for the most touches (67) of the ball alongside centre-back partner Ben Wilmot but he struggled to do much with such influence.

His 69% passing accuracy from 55 attempts was the second-lowest of any England starter, whilst he also lost possession 19 times, meaning he handed the ball back to the game-chasing Croatians once every 3.5 touches.

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Tanganga struggled to adapt to their passing play, failing to win a single ground duel, on top of being dribbled past on one occasion and committing one foul, via SofaScore.

90min were equally scathing in their verdict of his performance on Wednesday, after giving him a 5/10 for his troubles, they claimed: “Looked a bit stiff and found himself scurrying back on a couple of occasions after being beaten all too easily.”

According to Spurs boss Jose Mourinho, Tanganga’s future in the game lies at full-back rather than the middle, so it was certainly a strange decision from Boothroyd to move him, having featured on the right last time out.

Speaking in November, the Portuguese told reporters, via football.london: “Tanganga for me is a full-back. A multi-functional defensive player but [firstly] a full-back.”

Indeed, the 22-year-old’s last start for the north London giants saw him start, excel and keep a clean sheet on the right-hand side of defence.

Tanganga undoubtedly has huge potential and is likely to play a big part in Spurs’ future over the coming seasons but on this week’s disastrous evidence, it certainly seems like Mourinho knows what he’s doing with the versatile defender.

AND in other news, Fabrizio Romano delivers promising update on Spurs “monster”, Mourinho will be buzzing…

Plenty of Aston Villa fans have hit out at the club’s official Twitter post regarding Jack Grealish.

Villa shared Dean Smith’s comments ahead of Saturday’s trip to Liverpool, with the manager confirming Grealish has now suffered a ‘setback that will probably put him back a couple of weeks’.

The 25-year-old has missed the club’s last seven games with a shin injury, and it seems as if he’ll be missing at least a few more following this latest update.

Villa have struggled without the attacking midfielder, picking up eight points from a possible 21 without their talisman.

Grealish also missed out representing the Three Lions during the recent international break, and this latest setback may impact his chances of going to this summer’s European Championships.

Villa fans react

Villa shared Smith’s comments on Grealish on Friday morning and it didn’t take long for hundreds of supporters to have their say.

These fans weren’t impressed, with one labelling the update as ‘ridiculous’.

“Something fishy going on here”

Credit: @seantk83

“logging off.”

Credit: @catrinedwards18

“This is just getting ridiculous now”

Credit: @JamieBenFord2

“Why won’t the club tell us what the injury is then? Which will then stop the rumours circulating.”

Credit: @gazswain

“I’m not even surprised anymore. He won’t play again this season& won’t go to the euros”

Credit: @tom_avfc1

“So disappointing. I was so excited to see Jack play loose now that we’re guaranteed safety and I really think he would’ve exploded leading up to the Euro’s. I just hope his long term health is okay and he can still get to the Euro’s.”

Credit: @VikingsAndVilla

In other news: Many AVFC fans buzz at John Percy update regarding £65k p/w star, find out more here. 

Liverpool could be set to have a bidding war on their hands this summer for striker Divock Origi – a battle that The Reds will be the victors from.

It is reported by El Gol Digital that Real Sociedad are interested in acquiring the services of the striker as a replacement for Alexander Isak.

However, the Spaniards face competition for the Belgian’s signature with Aston Villa, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Newcastle United all thought to be admirers of a player who the Reds are reported to be happy to let go.

As it stands, Origi is rated at £14.4m and has over three years left to run on his current contract.

The more clubs that show an interest in the 25-year-old though, the more Michael Edwards can develop a bidding war around the player, with the club then consequently able to drive his price up even more.

Should they do that, then the Reds would be in line to claim a considerable profit on a player that they signed for approximately £10m from Lille in 2014.

It would be quite a benefit then to see that fee bolster the club’s transfer budget, and they would only lose a player that has served a bit-part role at Anfield since his arrival.

In all, Origi has made 157 appearances for Liverpool, when considering he has been at the club for five full seasons, that averages just 31 appearances per season with just under an average of 13 of those being starts.

His goal record is also not the most inspiring having netted just 35 in all competitions for the Reds.

Considering that, it will surely benefit Jurgen Klopp to sell and the more interest that Edwards can generate, the more Liverpool will be able to rake in.

The battle then for his signature will leave only one winner: The Reds.

AND in more news, read why Liverpool should reinvest some of the Origi fee into a Championship-bound star…

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Gary Mabbutt believes that Oliver Skipp will be fighting for his place in Spurs’ first-team next season in an exclusive interview with Football FanCast.

The central midfielder has gone on loan to Norwich City this season, with the club attempting to win promotion to the Premier League.

Skipp has played in every single Championship game and the club are currently top of the league, having taken 83 points from 38 games.

They are 14 points clear of third-placed Swansea City and are eight clear of second-placed Watford.

Skipp is also currently away with the England U21 team at the European Championships and Mabbutt believes that he can come back and make a real impression at Spurs next season.

He has played 23 times for the senior side in total, making his debut back in the 2018/19 season under Mauricio Pochettino, and played seven times in the Premier League last term.

Mabbutt told FFC: “Going away on loan to Norwich has been a great move for Oliver. When you have the competition, there are times as a club when you have to look at it and say ‘this player is nearly there, he’s not quite there’.

“Going away on a season-long loan to Norwich when you know they’re going to be fighting at the top of the table, and are an excellent team who should get back in the Premier League, that is a fantastic move for him.

“It has been both from the club’s perspective and from his own, so I’m delighted that he’s doing so well. It has shown that he is a player, I would think, that will be back involved in the Spurs first-team for next season.”

Glasgow Rangers legend Brian Laudrup believes Ryan Kent could be the difference for the Gers in their Europa League clash with Slavia Prague.

Laudrup backs Kent

The Ibrox outfit progressed to the round of 16 after beating Royal Antwerp 9-5 on aggregate and will now face the Czech champions.

Writing in his Daily Mail column (via HITC), Laudrup has backed the £7.2m-valued former Liverpool man (Transfermarkt) to be the difference for Steven Gerrard and co. He explained:

“I covered Slavia’s win over Leicester City for Danish television last week. There’s actually quite a lot of interest in them over here because a young Danish international player, Alexander Bah, has moved out to Prague.

“They have a good unit that will press high and run hard. Defensively, they are sound. Leicester barely managed to create a couple of chances against them as they were denied the space to use their counter-attacking prowess.

“But I think Rangers have different qualities – players who can take people on and create. Look at how Ryan Kent played against Antwerp, for one example.

“I still see Gerrard’s team as slight favourites. Maybe 60-40. That’s all.”

More consistency

Kent was in top form against Antwerp – he scored twice across the two matches and provided an assist despite not starting either game (Transfermarkt). However, he has proven to be inconsistent across the campaign – he was on fire earlier on in the term, scoring five times in the first nine matches, but it has taken him 32 games since to double that tally.

The 24-year-old’s ability is clear for all to see, but given that the Gers parted with £7.5m to capture his services in 2019 (Sky Sports), many will no doubt be expecting more. Gerrard and co will be hoping he is at his best in the next round of the Europa League as the 54-time Scottish champions aim to reach to the quarter-finals.

In other news, many Rangers fans slammed this journalist’s latest article.