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Ayoze Perez could be deemed surplus to requirements after falling out of favour at Leicester City, according to Steve Howey.

Perez joined the Foxes from Premier League rivals Newcastle United in a £30million deal two years ago.

The Spaniard was named in Brendan Rodgers’ starting line-up just 21 times last season and scored three times.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s best form since switching from Manchester City in 2017 resulted in Perez’s minutes on the pitch being restricted and the former Tenerife attacker has been linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium this summer.

Ex-Premier League striker Marcus Bent told This is Futbol that Perez could be on Everton’s radar following the appointment of Rafa Benitez as the Toffees’ new manager.

Perez worked under Benitez during a fruitful spell at St James’ Park and Howey – who, like Perez, featured for Leicester and Newcastle during his playing days – would not be surprised to see him leave the Foxes.

Howey exclusively told The Transfer Tavern: “I think Perez has done okay but he has been in and out of the team.

“Ultimately, Rodgers is always going to pick Vardy and Iheanacho. He also has competition from other signings who have come to the club. He could be surplus to requirements.”

Tottenham Hotspur’s manager hunt is now a ‘two horse race’ between former Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and Brighton’s Graham Potter.

That’s according to sports reporter and commentator Ian Abrahams on Twitter.

The lowdown

Spurs are still working to appoint a new manager more than two months on from the sacking of Jose Mourinho and many sports betting sites have the market as wide open.

Nuno left Wolves at the end of the season after they fell to 13th following consecutive seventh-place finishes. Football London journalist Alasdair Gold reported at the weekend that Spurs’ new managing director of football Fabio Paratici ‘likes’ the 47-year-old.

Potter has led Brighton to 15th and 16th in his two seasons at the Amex Stadium, successfully staving off the threat of relegation. Spurs were interested in the Englishman at the outset but chose to pursue other targets.

The latest

Abrahams tweeted: “Regarding @SpursOfficial next manager, my information today is it’s a two horse race now between Nuno Espirito Santo and Graham Potter”.

It’s unclear which candidate has the edge at this moment in time, but the north London outfit will need to act fairly swiftly with the transfer window already underway.

The verdict

Nuno deserves great credit for his achievements at Wolves, but his success was built upon a counterattacking style which some Spurs fans may struggle to embrace off the back of Mourinho’s tenure.

Potter, by contrast, has developed a Brighton team which is easy on the eye and a clinical goalscorer short of a huge leap up the table. Going off expected goals for and against, the Seagulls should have been competing for Europe last season.

It would no doubt be a huge gamble to appoint the former Swansea boss, but it could also be a very rewarding one. After all, he has been hailed by the hugely decorated Pep Guardiola as ‘the best English manager’.

Considering that Levy is on record as wanting a manager who will execute an attack-minded approach, Potter may seem the more desirable of the two supposedly remaining candidates.

In other news, the reason why Spurs ‘changed course’ in talks with Fonseca has been revealed.

Newcastle United’s recent recruitment has been “absolutely awful”, claims the club’s former central defender Steve Howey.

In the past few summers, the Magpies have brought in the likes of Joelinton, Ryan Fraser and Yoshinori Muto, all of whom have struggled.

Muto spent last season out on loan after struggling to find regular minutes at St. James’ Park, Fraser has found himself in and out of the side and Joelinton has simply not lived up to his £40m price tag.

In the Brazilian’s debut Premier League campaign, he scored just twice in 38 games, though he did manage to double that last term. But all in all, not good enough for Howey.

“One of my biggest criticisms is the recruitment,” the ex-Newcastle player exclusively told TT. “The recruitment has been absolutely awful.

“I don’t know who the head of recruitment is to be quite honest, but obviously they need a big sit down with Steve [Bruce] and the rest of the staff, identify the players and do the checks on them to make sure that the limited money that we’ve got, we spend wisely.”

It is certainly something to think about for Newcastle, whose recent transfer activity has not been a complete disaster.

They have been able to bring in individuals such as Allan Saint-Maximin, the best dribbler in the side last season, per WhoScored, and Joe Willock, the club’s highest goalscorer after Callum Wilson.

On Sunday Bangladesh had pointed to a brighter future with a respectable performance, but on Monday they reinforced their reputation as international minnows, as they were bowled out for a humiliating 76 at the Sinhalese Sports Club

Charlie Austin04-Aug-2002On Sunday Bangladesh had pointed to a brighter future with a respectable performance, but on Monday they reinforced their reputation as international minnows, as they were bowled out for a humiliating 76 at the Sinhalese Sports Club.Sri Lanka needed just three and a half hours to seal the three-match series, as sponsors counted their losses and the television broadcaster searched its archives for sufficient replays to fill the remainder of the day.It was Bangladesh’s lowest total in their 52-match history, surpassing the miserly 87 they had scored against Pakistan at Dhaka in 2000.Perhaps worse, they had to endure the ignominy of extras contributing more runs to their total than their highest scorer: skipper Khaled Mushud, who was last man out for 15.Sri Lanka lost two wickets chasing, including Sanath Jayasuriya, who was caught at short fine leg off a mistimed pull for the second consecutive day, before eventually overhauling their paltry target with 34.3 overs to spare.Mashud, one of the few Bangladeshi batsmen on the tour to place a consistently high price on his wicket, was not best pleased: "They bowled well, but we batted really badly – it was a really disappointing performance."He is optimistic about the future, but want clearer signs of progress: "We have some really young, talented players. Maybe we can’t win all the time but we have to do better than this, improving day by day.Sri Lankan captain Sanath Jayasuriya was delighted. "We can now have a rest – these back-to-back matches are always tiring," he joked. "Our bowling and fielding was much better today. These are the two aspects of our game that we are working on hardest, so that’s pleasing."The tourists had started brightly enough after winning a potentially important toss on a re-used pitch, with both openers crashing a boundary apiece in the early overs.But the innings soon subsided, Chaminda Vaas inducing a wild pull from Mohammad Ashraful (5) and Dilhara Fernando picking up a brace of wickets with his slower ball, a cleverly disguised delivery that slips through his fingers at the last moment (27 for three).Dilhara Fernando won the Man of the Match for his opening burst and Jayasuriya was delighted to have him back after injury: "He hasn’t played a lot of cricket because of the stress fracture but he’s coming good now. His slower ball is one of the best deliveries in world cricket at the moment and he’s a fast improving cricketer."Hasantha Fernando, Sri Lanka’s third seamer in this game as they left out pace bowler Chamila Gamage, struck in his second over, fortuitously trapping Habibul Bashar (10) lbw when the right-hander looked to have been hit outside the line of off-stump (40 for four).Muttiah Muralitharan then joined the fray, grabbing two quick wickets to move past Shane Warne in the all-time ODI wicket-taking list.Tushar Imran (10), yesterday’s hero, bat-padded a catch straight into the hands of Russel Arnold at silly point and, with five close fielders crowded around the bat, former captain Naimur Rahman (0) was dismissed for a duck as he edged Muralitharan’s straighter delivery into the gloves of Sangakkara behind the stumps (51 for six).Hasantha Fernando grabbed his second wicket when one-day specialist Khaled Mahmud (0) drove a simple catch to Marvan Atapattu at cover before leg-spinner Upul Chandana wrapped up the innings with three wickets for just two runs.The final match of the series will be played at Premadasa International Stadium on Wednesday, when Sri Lanka will give opportunities to other members of the 15-man squad.

Incessant and often heavy overnight Manchester rain put paid to any hopes of play on the second day of the Frizzell County Championship match with Lancashire, with umpires Barry Dudleston and Nigel Llong deciding to call a halt to waiting for any

Richard Isaacs09-Aug-2002Incessant and often heavy overnight Manchester rain put paid to any hopes of play on the second day of the Frizzell County Championship match with Lancashire, with umpires Barry Dudleston and Nigel Llong deciding to call a halt to waiting for any improvement at 12.15pm.There was little hope of play as puddles began to appear all over the outfield and groundsman Peter Marron and his staff were losing the battle as they attempted to water-hog the surface water from the covers.Rather than hold out and elongate the frustration, the umpires pulled the plug early and hope for a prompt start tomorrow (Saturday). However, the forecast is not the best, leaving just one day left for Hampshire to get something out of this game.

Porto are reportedly chasing Liverpool midfielder Marko Grujic on a permanent deal, as reported by James Pearce [The Athletic], with the Reds hoping to use the interest to raise funds for their own transfer kitty.

Spending the 2021/21 season on loan at the Lisbon based side, the Dragons are now in pole position to sign Grujic permanently, with Liverpool hoping to receive £15m for his signature.

Within his recent timeframe in Portugal, the Serbian was ever present for the Primeira Liga runners-up, completing 41 fixtures across all competitions, scoring three goals in the process [Transfermarkt].

Unfortunately for the Serbia international, he has never really been given a fair crack of the whip at Liverpool. Acquired from Red Star Belgrade in 2015, he has only made 16 appearances in his five years on the Merseyside giants’ books [Transfermarkt].

Now set to depart, this news has seen loads of Liverpool fans flock to Twitter to protest these latest developments, with many annoyed by Pearce’s suggestion that the sale is to fund incoming deals.

Reds fans react

“I never wanted to see Grujic go, he never even got a chance man, and the fact we only want £15m for him is a joke. Easily a £20m+ player in today’s market.”

Credit: @joelmarksmith”Why can’t we just leave this guy has Fabinho replacement because there is no way we are still going to buy another defensive midfielder”Credit: @Ridwaan_Bello”A whole 15m. Wow thats gonna get us a good player”Credit: @net_spender”Fsg out”Credit: @10lulu3184″we’re relying on selling GRUJIC to fund our transfer budget, horrific”Credit: @isaclfc”Would that even be a big profit made considering we were paying a % of his wages while out on loan?”Credit: @JohnCull13In other news, Liverpool fans react to a Caoimhin Kelleher update.

The start of the first day’s play at Bath Cricket 2002 Festival was delayed until mid afternoon because of the damp conditions

Richard Walsh12-Jun-2002The start of the first day’s play at Bath Cricket 2002 Festival was delayed until mid afternoon because of the damp conditions.Having won the toss and decided to put Hampshire into bat when the players did take the field returning fast bowler Richard Johnson quickly got back into his stride and with the score on 6 sent opener Derek Kenway back to the pavilion after having him caught by Peter Bowler.Will Kendall and Giles White put on 82 before Simon Francis, playing against his old county, accounted for White. Francis struck again 10 runs later when he disposed of Robin Smith for 10 to make the visitors 98 for 3.Kendall and Neil Johnson remained steadfast until the close of play by which time Hampshire had reached 149 for 3 off 48 overs, with Kendall unbeaten on 70.After the close of play Somerset coach Kevin Shine told me: " I feel OK about the day,there has been some good stuff, but perhaps it could have been a little bit better. We bowled short at times, but we didn’t have a lot of luck."The coach continued: "Johnno had an excellent comeback, it was just like he’d never been away, and there have been no repercussions, and once Simon Francis settled down he looked dangerous at times. Tomorrow we will be looking to get some quick wickets early on."

After missing out on European football on the final day of the season, Everton will need to make a statement in the transfer market in order to appease their demanding fans.

With Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, they will surely never have a better opportunity of breaking back into the Champions League, so they will need to be effective in the summer window.

What’s the word?

Everton’s priority this summer is to find a new winger but they would be foolish if they ignored other parts of the squad.

With Dominic Calvert-Lewin attracting the attention of Manchester United, they need to be wise to the idea that he could leave. If he does depart, then Daryl Dike could be an option for the Toffees.

The 20-year-old enjoyed a fabulous campaign on loan at Barnsley but has now headed back to his parent club Orlando City in MLS.

According to TEAMtalk, Everton and Wolves lead an eight-club chase for the young striker, who has attracted the interest of Chelsea, Manchester United and Leeds but also has suitors in the form of Southampton, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Norwich.

Barnsley have an £18m option to buy him this summer but, after failing to earn promotion from the Championship, a move to Oakwell seems less likely.

The next Lukaku

If Ancelotti lures Dike to Goodison Park this summer, he could end up signing Everton’s new Romelu Lukaku.

The Belgian was an imperious force in Merseyside, bullying defenders and scoring goals on a relentless basis. He eventually departed for Manchester United but ended up scoring 87 goals during 166 appearances in the royal blue of Everton.

He was unable to steer them to Champions League football but, with Ancelotti now at the helm, Dike could take the Toffees to new levels.

The United States international has plenty of maturing to do but he is a brute in possession of the ball, a player who – similarly to Lukaku – can strike the ball with immense force and brush opponents to one side.

Speaking about Dike’s qualities, former Barnsley team-mate Jordan Williams commented: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard.”

The youngster scored nine goals in 21 Championship outings for the Tykes this season, bagging goals by using clever moment and monumental strength.

Dike isn’t all about scoring goals, however. For Barnsley, the attacker has been a crucial part of their build-up play.

In an article for The Athletic, Joseph Lowery perfectly epitomised the machine that Dike is. He wrote: “At 6’1”, 220 pounds, it shouldn’t come as a shock that Dike is a force in the box. He’s a force anywhere on the field – and he’s a particularly useful force for Barnsley, given how they play under manager Valérien Ismaël.”

Lowery added: “Dike’s frame and ability to control hopeful long balls make him a key cog in Ismaël’s extremely aggressive, direct style.”

Possessing jaw-dropping strength and the ability to find the net consistently, this would be a superb addition for Everton.

Described as a “ruthless guy” by former college coach George Gelnovatch he’d be a superb acquisition.

AND in other news, Ancelotti could finally replace Gueye if Everton sign “exceptional” £40m tank…

“Fergie” Gupte is no more

V Ramnarayan01-Jun-2002″Fergie” Gupte is no more. Those of us who grew up watchingcricket in the 50s remember the seeming effortlessness of hisaction and the mesmeric influence he had on batsmen despite histiny, frail physique. Subhash Gupte had a neat little action,and, unless my memory tricks me, he had the palms of his handspointing towards him even as his arms went up during his predelivery stride.For a leg-spinner, Gupta had a remarkably high arm action, andhis flight, while tantalising and deceptive, was rarelyextravagant. Like all great spinners, he had the uncanny knack ofinducing an optical illusion in batsmen of the ball heading for acertain spot on the pitch and invariably dropping just short ofthat. His control was perhaps unmatched by leg-spinners of mosteras, though his admirer and successor for a mere two Tests, V VKumar, came close to it, as did Shane Warne.My first memory of Gupte is from the Madras Test against NewZealand in January 1956, when his nine wickets in the match werecompletely overshadowed by the world-record opening partnershipbetween Vinoo Mankad and Pankaj Roy. Yet he made an instantimpact on young spectators with his buttoned-down sleevesfluttering in the breeze and the clinical precision of hisbowling.For weeks on end, countless boys around India tried to bowl legbreaks and googlies in the Gupte manner, all with slightlydifferent results, no doubt a result of the complete absence offull-sleeved shirts in their wardrobes. The walk from school tobus-stop and bus-stop to home now became a succession of maidenovers and devastating googlies so that England or the West Indieswere reduced to two-digit totals for the loss of all theirwhimpering batsmen. (The love affair with Gupte continued throughthe next Test at Madras against Ian Johnson’s Australians, butgiven a boy’s natural inclinations, it was not long before GhulamAhmed took over, bringing with him a propensity to walk tallerand swing the arms in an imposing swagger.)Conversations with two great cricketers come to mind as I try toremember the little details of the Gupte magic. The first waswith Neil Harvey on a visit to Chennai during the 1998-99 ChennaiTest between India and Australia. Harvey remembered how he wentafter the little leg-spinner after his captain Richie Benaud hadleft a newspaper clipping under his breakfast plate at Bombay onthe morning of the Test match there in 1960. According to theleft-hander, the story had described what Gupte would do to him,and it had not been flattering. The message from the captain wasclear: it was Harvey’s job to hit Gupte out of the attack.Harvey recalled accomplishing his mission successfully. To hisastonishment and the utter delight of his team, the selectorsdropped the little leg-spinner for the next Test, even thoughAustralia had been in all sorts of trouble against him before theHarvey assault.I also had the privilege of listening to Sir Gary Sobers’ viewson Gupte at the Madras Cricket Club a couple of years later.Sobers’ evaluation of Gupte as a greater bowler than Shane Warneis by now common knowledge. After explaining to the smallaudience why he thought so, he turned to me – to my completesurprise – and asked who, in my opinion, was the next best Indianleg-spinner of the orthodox variety. Was it Baloo Gupte, hewondered. I pointed to the sprightly young fellow of 65 summerssitting just a few yards away.Why did I consider V V Kumar superior to other leg-spinners, thegreat West Indian persisted. "Because, not only did he bamboozlebatsmen with his flight and variety, he was also the mostaccurate wrist-spinner around," I told him. "Yes, I can see that.The old chap still lands it on a perfect length in the nets athis coaching camp," agreed Sir Gary, who had been flown in by theMAC Spin Academy for a brief stint. Sobers’ assessment of Gupteas the finest exponent of his craft will, given his stature,perhaps live on as the most famous eulogy of a great spinner.

With Nuno Espirito Santo no longer the manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Fosun and Jeff Shi are busy trying to find a replacement.

It’s thought that Bruno Lage is the frontrunner, with the Jorge Mendes client believed to be in negotiations with Wolves.

If he does agree terms at Molineux, it would be an interesting appointment for a number of reasons. His phenomenal work with Ruben Dias and Fabio Silva proves that he knows how to develop a young player, so it could be game-changing for the young talents coming through the academy at Compton if he is hired.

Lage may face an uphill task in the transfer market, with Wolves required to sell some of their best players before they can afford to spend on new recruits.

With that in mind, how could the Portuguese’s starting XI look if he takes over at Molineux? Here’s our fun prediction…

With Ruben Neves linked with a £35m departure, we’re tipping the midfielder to take his leave when the window opens.

We also think that, in order to fund new recruits, Wolves could sell Adama Traore. They’re in negotiations to extend the Spaniard’s deal in the Midlands but are yet to reach an agreement.

If those two are sold, it will give the Old Gold a wonderful opportunity to spend.

Replacing Neves in midfield is Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Palhinha, a player Wolves have been tracking for a year now. He could set the Old Gold back a fee of £35m.

With Willian Jose heading back to Real Sociedad following the conclusion of his loan deal, we anticipate Lage and Fosun to sign a new striker.

[snack-amp-story url= “https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-the-latest-wolves-transfer-news-guedes-toney-shaqiri-neves” title=”Read the latest Wolves transfer news!”]

They have been linked with Carlos Vinicius, who played under Lage at Benfica, but we believe Ivan Toney would be the better addition. Brentford are seeking a fee of £30m in order to relinquish the grasp on their star striker.

In scoring 32 goals for the Bees this season, he’s a player on whom plenty of Premier League clubs – including Wolves – have had a keen eye.

Two new wingers could arrive, with the £10.8m-rated Arnaut Danjuma of Bournemouth linked with a switch and Goncalo Guedes – a player for whom Wolves are willing to put €20m (£17.2m) on the table – heading to Molineux.

Other permanent additions arrive in the form of on-loan duo Vitinha and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Wolves possess the option to buy the former for €16m (£14m), while the latter’s option stands at around the €15m (£13m) mark.

All in all, that would see Wolves spend a colossal £110m. It’s not completely out of the equation, with a number of players, including Neves, Traore and Raul Jimenez all linked with exits from Molineux.

AND in other news, Wolves eye swoop for “outstanding” 25 G/A beast, he could be their new Traore…