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Lots of Wolves fans have been blown away as news emerged involving Carl Ikeme.

As per the club’s official website, the 35-year-old was part of a selection of goalkeepers including Jose Sa and John Ruddy who helped to run a workshop to teach all of the ‘keepers in Wolves’ different age groups about their trade.

Of course, Ikeme is a legendary figure at Molineux, having had his number one shirt number retired from 2018 following his leukaemia diagnosis, until Sa took it this season, .

On the pitch, he made came through the club’s academy.

Given how his football career ended, and considering his status as a fan favourite at Wolves, many supporters were unsurprisingly left blown away by his renewed involvement with the club.

Wolves fans on Ikeme news

These Wolves fans were left blown away by the news as it was shared on Twitter:

“This is a brilliant picture”

Credit: @LouisGutto2000

“Wow, what a amazing photo”

Credit: @NormWolves1877

“Great to see the big man back at Wolves passing on his wealth of experience!!”

Credit: @WWFC09

“Fantastic”

Credit: @cork1973

“Love this..”

Credit: @heighwaykaren

“What a picture, absolute class”

Credit: @BallyJNR

In other news, find out which news involving these loan players has left many Wolves fans buzzing

Southampton clawed their way from 2-0 down to a 2-2 draw against fellow south coast outfit Brighton at the AMEX Stadium in the Premier League this afternoon.

An early Danny Welbeck goal and an own goal from Saints defender Mohamed Salisu in the first half put Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men in a precarious position.

What made it worse was the injury to 19-year-old right-back Tino Livramento, who was stretchered off and could well have damaged his ACL.

However, two goals either side of half time from Saints skipper James Ward-Prowse, the first a free-kick and the second a fierce strike from 20 yards, ensured the visitors came away with a point.

Naturally, the 27-year-old will receive the plaudits for his brace today, however, full-back Kyle Walker-Peters impressed once again in Sussex.

Having started the match at left-back, the versatile Englishman was pushed into his favoured position of right-back after Livramento’s withdrawal, with Romain Perraud taking his place on the left-hand side of the defence.

Previoulsy labelled as “fantastic” by former Spurs teammate Dele Alli, the 25-year-old won 78% of his duels against the Seagulls as well as making two clearances and three interceptions and tackles in a solid display from the full-back.

Moreover, Walker-Peters’ passing was on point, completing 81% whilst also having 59 touches and completing 100% of his dribbles.

Having been staring at a potential seventh defeat in nine matches, the Englishman and his Southampton teammates turned the tide on the south coast and ensured that they came away with some sort of result.

Hasenhuttl’s side have certainly been a frustrating watch for supporters of late, with the Saints flying in early March with a top-half finish well in their reach whilst also making the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Now, the Austrian’s team sit 13th in the Premier League table with some sides below having two games in hand.

With safety confirmed, it seems as though Southampton have lost focus, something that happened last season which saw Hasenhuttl come under fire.

The same could’ve certainly happened post-match today had the Saints lost, especially after Thursday evening’s dismal display in the 2-0 defeat to Burnley.

However, Walker-Peters’ efforts, as well as the crucial goals from Ward-Prowse, saved the day for Hasenhuttl and co.

AND in other news: Forget Broja: Ralph must unleash 17-y/o Saints prodigy who “leads the line very well”

Everton are prioritising the signing of a new centre-back in the January transfer window next month, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Centre-back issues

The Blues are in a hugely disappointing run of form and it hasn’t been helped by a number of injuries in the centre of defence.

Yerry Mina is the most high-profile current absentee in that area of the pitch, but while Michael Keane has made 17 Premier League starts this season, Mason Holgate (five) is next up in terms of starts, with Ben Godfrey (14) often playing at full-back.

It highlights the need for a new centre-back to come in next month, and it appears as though that could happen.

The Latest: Journalist makes transfer claim

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, O’Rourke claimed that Rafael Benitez is eyeing up a central defender in January to help revive Everton’s fortunes.

He outlined: “I know Everton and Newcastle are both in the market for centre-halves in January. That’s the key position that they want to fill in the January transfer window.”

The Verdict: Makes perfect sense

While the thought of relegation for Everton still seems unfathomable, they must make sure their current situation doesn’t get a whole lot worse.

They look weak at centre-back, conceding 29 goals in 17 league games in 2021/22, so the need for reinforcements is plain to see.

Bringing in an experienced head who can fill in alongside Keane, or in a back three, could help to plug the leak at the back and steer Everton away from the drop zone.

In other news, some Everton fans fuming after a revelation emerged. Read more here.

With three players added to their senior squad earlier in the current January transfer window, Aston Villa still have enough time to strengthen their side even further before the window closes.

One player that has been mentioned with a move to Villa in the past that journalist Ashley Preece revealed is “admired” by the Midlands club is Manchester United’s £10m valued attacking-midfielder Jesse Lingard.

Using Villa’s transfer swoop for Lucas Digne this month as an example, he was going through a rough patch at his previous club Everton after it was reported that he had a behind-the-scenes falling out with Rafa Benitez that arguably pushed the full-back out of the door which then led to what Christian Purslow described as an “opportunistic” move from Villa to sign the Frenchman.

Taking that into account, a move for Lingard could also be seen as an opportunistic deal that Villa could look to pounce on before the end of the month given his current situation at United with his deal set to run out at the end of the season after assurances over his playing time in this campaign have failed to come to fruition.

This term has made just nine appearances with no starts in the Premier League after a very successful loan spell with West Ham United last term where he scored nine goals and provided five assists in 16 league appearances.

This highlights just how far down the pecking order he is at the Manchester club and why a move away to a club where he’d be more likely to get regular game time would be tempting for the England international, especially if he can discover the same sort of form.

From United’s point of view, potentially selling Lingard, who has been described as a “phenomenal” player in the past by Kevin Phillips, on a permanent transfer for a suitable fee could be more enticing for the club than letting him leave as a free agent in the summer if he doesn’t renew his contract.

This could then pave the way for Villa to continue their January spending with Johan Lange adding a player with a lot of Premier League experience such as Lingard to their squad and replicate a similar sort of deal that they made for Digne.

In other news: John Percy drops eye-opening Aston Villa transfer update that will thrill fans – opinion

Former Scotland manager Alex McLeish believes that Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou will make numerous outcasts train with the academy sides, as per Football Insider.

The Lowdown: Derby demolition

The Hoops returned to the top of the Premiership on Wednesday night for the first time since August with a dominant win in the Old Firm derby.

Celtic scored three times in the first half, two of which came from January arrival Reo Hatate, ending a seven-game winless run against Rangers.

Three players who didn’t feature at Celtic Park were Albian Ajeti, Vasilis Barkas and Boli Bolingoli, with the trio failing to seal moves away from the club in last month’s transfer window.

The Latest: McLeish’s comments

McLeish, who contributes as a pundit for BBC Radio 5 Live, was talking to Football Insider about the trio in a story released the morning after the derby win.

He expects all three to be demoted to Celtic’s academy sides due to the size of Postecoglou’s squad, saying:

“This is where, when you’ve got a massive squad, you have to separate a lot of the players, and I’m looking at the likes of Ajeti, Barkas and Bolingoli.

“They will probably be, and I can only imagine because we did this back in my day at Rangers, under the supervision of other coaches.

“Maybe one of the younger coaches learning his trade as well with the professionals who are not in the plans. He’ll join them in with the young players and stuff.

“You know players of that ilk would want to go and play senior level (football). They don’t really relish playing with the young ones.

“To be fair, most of them will give the young ones the respect while they’re training with them.

“There’s no way you can train a squad with eight or nine you don’t consider as first or second choice.”

The Verdict: Still time…

Even though the transfer window is now shut in Scotland, that doesn’t mean Ajeti, Barkas and Bolingoli are stuck with the Hoops until the summer.

That’s because multiple countries across the world can still complete their winter business in February, including Turkey, with the window closing in five days.

Both Barkas and Bolingoli have been linked with moves to Turkey over the past 12 months, so perhaps that could be a possibility over the coming days rather than McLeish’s prediction of them being banished to training with Celtic’s reserves.

In other news – 20 duels won, 13 successful tackles, 77 completed passes: These were Celtic’s 3 best players v Rangers 

The comeback win against Schalke in the UEFA Champions League, as well as winning the Carabao Cup, weren’t the only thing for Manchester City to celebrate about last week.

The defending champions also extended crucial defender Aymeric Laporte’s contract until 2025, retaining his services for a better part of the next decade.

Laporte had only signed for City just over a year ago, but has quickly adapted to the Premier League’s environment and helped keep them defensively dominant. He’s helped them keep 12 clean-sheets in 27 appearances, while only conceding 19 goals.

An intelligent defender, he’s also made 69 clearances, 30 interceptions and 144 ball-recoveries to prove himself as Pep Guardiola’s asset in defence. Not only has he been sharp defensively, but the fact that he’s made the highest passes in the league(2,313) and averages 85 passes per game (stats via Premier League) proves how well he’s taken to Pep’s system.

The French defender is slowly immersing himself into a role Vincent Kompany’s made his own and pinning him for such a long contract shows City’s ambitions to mould Laporte into their next defensive leader. They’ve also made sure to remain a defensive force for a long time, with John Stones and Laporte at the heart of their backline.

City have also proven why their project isn’t only focusing on current success, but continued success for the long-term. Having brought together a young, vibrant squad which will only get better as players hit their peak, Pep Guardiola’s men are destined to stay at the top of the Premier League for a long time.

Sky Sports have relayed news live on TV regarding Manchester United midfielder Nemanja Matic and his decision to leave the club at the end of the season.

The Lowdown: Matic’s Old Trafford career

Matic made the move to United back in 2017 from Chelsea in a deal worth over £40m. Since then, the holding midfielder has gone on to make more than 180 appearances for the Red Devils, with 27 of those coming this season.

His current contract still has over 12 months left to run, however, Matic has now announced that he will leave the club over the coming months.

The Latest: Sky Sports relay on-air news

United shared the news on their official website, with Sky Sports News sharing the update live on TV.

They labelled it as ‘significant if you support Man Utd’, describing the midfielder as ‘the first out of the door’ at Old Trafford.

The Verdict: First of many?

Erik ten Hag looks set to come in to replace Ralf Rangnick in the summer and may well have plenty of key decisions to make on a number of players.

United have five players who will be out of contract at the end of June, including Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard, while Cristiano Ronaldo’s future is also in doubt.

Matic’s departure could prove to be the first of many in a major Old Trafford shake-up under Ten Hag, and a new defensive midfielder could now be a priority heading into the summer.

In other news: ‘Expected’ – Fabrizio Romano drops first blow for Ten Hag at Man Utd with appointment ‘imminent’. 

Sunderland were held to a 1-1 draw in a frustrating clash away at Shrewsbury Town in League One on Tuesday night.

The Black Cats sit sixth in the table and five points off league-leaders Rotherham, albeit they have one game in hand on the Millers.

Lee Johnson’s side went into half-time against Shrewsbury with a 1-0 lead and the hosts down to 10 men, following Luke O’Nien’s opener and David Davis’ dismissal. However, a second-half equaliser from Daniel Udoh ensured that the points were shared.

Forget Pritchard

Alex Pritchard caught the eye in the number 10 role as he provided the assist for O’Nien’s opener. It was his second assist in 14 league matches this season and he created three chances in total throughout the match. However, another player stole the show for Sunderland in the midfield – Dan Neil.

The 19-year-old from South Shields put in a sublime performance in the middle of the park and ran the game for the Black Cats. Whilst Pritchard managed an assist and showed off his creativity in the hole behind the striker, Neil managed to outshine him with his display.

On the ball, he was excellent. Per SofaScore, the wiz had a whopping 91 touches of the ball and completed 96% of his passes as he created four chances for his teammates – one more than Pritchard. He also completed an impressive 11 of his 13 attempted long passes, showing off his passing range along with his ability to set up his teammates.

His control of the match was highlighted in his possession statistics. He completed a high percentage of his attempted passes and enjoyed a huge number of touches, with his chance creation and long pass attempts also showing that he was not playing simple, easy, passes to boost his numbers.

Defensively, he was also solid. Per SofaScore, he won six of his 11 individual duels and made three tackles during the game, whilst only being dribbled past once. He also made one clearance and committed one foul in the 90 minutes, proving that he can perform well at both ends of the pitch – defending his own goal and driving forward to make an impact in the final third.

Therefore, his complete performance ensured that he ran the game for Johnson and is why he was the real star of the show over Pritchard. Hopefully, the youngster will continue to produce displays of this standard throughout the rest of the season and will be able to lift the club further up the table.

AND in other news, Sunderland must unleash “dynamic” 21 y/o beast in 2022, he could save Kld thousands… 

Newcastle United have made an enquiry for Aston Villa left-back Matt Targett.

That’s according to 90min, and their update has had a number of Villa fans talking on social media.

Targett has been a regular for Steven Gerrard in recent months, missing just two games under the Villa boss. The 26-year-old signed a new Villa Park contract last year through to 2025 but could now be second choice following Lucas Digne’s arrival.

Targett dropped to the bench against Manchester United last weekend for Digne to make his debut after his move from Everton, and it seems as if Newcastle are keen on the Englishman as a result.

90min revealed on Wednesday that the Magpies have approached Villa over a possible move for Targett, who could now be available to leave the Midlands.

Villa fans react

Both The AVFC Faithful and Total Villa shared the news regarding Targett on Twitter. This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply, with one wanting Allan Saint-Maximin in any deal.

“I’ll drive him up to Scotland myself”

Credit: @BenevolentBarry

“Saint-Max swap deal”

Credit: @charliepowellm1

“No way does Targett get sold. You don’t solve a problem then unsolve it immediately. Summer may be a different matter”

Credit: @TheHolte1874

“Crazy to sell him as we can’t just have Ash. Matt is great backup and would hope he wants to fight for his place rather than go elsewhere!”

Credit: @k1eranw

“No. Targett is ahead of Young on the pecking order for LB by a long shot. It would be silly for him to be sold.”

Credit: @AvfcUncut

“We want a squad now. So he has to stay unless he wants to go.”

Credit: @ch1992_ch

In other news: ‘Give them what they want’ – Many Villa fans flock to transfer update on potential ‘superstar’. 

A fresh claim has emerged about injured Tottenham Hotspur star Cristian Romero this week…

What’s the latest?

The 23-year-old centre-back suffered a hamstring injury playing for Argentina in a World Cup qualifier against Brazil during last month’s international break.

Spurs boss Antonio Conte described the problem as “very serious” and would not put a date on his return, though the Italian did rule him out for the remainder of the year.

“It will take time before we see him again. Surely next year, we have to check his injury week by week, but the injury is serious,” he said (via Sky Sports).

“Now he is trying to recover, but he needs a long time to recover. It is a pity because he is an important player for us, the injury is very serious. I don’t know, January, February. But for 2021, he has finished. We have to wait and recover well.”

But in a fresh development, Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge provided some encouragement that it isn’t as ‘serious’ as expected. He told GIVEMESPORT:

“I kind of thought the worst when Conte said we will know more in seven to 10 days, but I’m told it’s not a tear, it’s a serious strain. So, is that January? He did say January or February.”

A glimmer of hope?

Having Romero out until February would certainly be a devastating blow to Spurs and their chances of breaking into the top four – something they have a huge chance to do in the coming weeks as they sit just two points behind West Ham, with one game in hand, too.

Indeed, just as Conte claimed, the Argentina international is a crucial player for the club and you could argue that he is very much their best central defender.

[snack-amp-story url = “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/tottenham-hotspur-latest-team-injury-team-news-updates-transfers-gossip-rumours-antonio-conte-thfc” title=”Read the latest Spurs news, transfer updates and much, much more!”]

On the back of a player of the year campaign at Serie A outfit Atalanta, Romero had continued his fine form across to north London, where he is currently averaging 2.3 tackles (third-best), 1.7 interceptions (second-best) and 2.4 aerials won (third-best) in the squad, per WhoScored.

“This guy is an animal, I swear. He’s perfect for the Premier League,” claimed his teammate, Pierluigi Gollini, back in September. “He’s played for many years with three at the back and especially when you play with a very aggressive style and play man for man, it’s a completely different to thing to in a four.”

His absence has seen the 52-year-old head coach tryout both Davinson Sanchez and Japhet Tanganga, as well as a very brief spell for Joe Rodon outside of the Premier League.

Sanchez along with Eric Dier were part of Spurs’ defensive error-prone backline last season under Jose Mourinho, so pairing them up again could be a recipe for disaster, especially with the change to a back three, rather than four.

But the fact that Bridge believes Romero’s injury isn’t as bad as what the club are saying, with the defender suffering a strain, rather than a more severe tear, is surely a glimmer of hope. Consequently, that should leave many around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a little more optimistic and ultimately, quite excited heading into 2022.

AND in other news, Paratici can seal Conte’s dream Spurs signing in 6 ft 1 beast he dubbed “outstanding”…