All posts by rastrear-estafeta.com

Wolves could be heading for a major disaster over Ruben Neves, as the midfielder appeared to make a tearful goodbye to the supporters following yesterday’s 1-1 draw against Norwich.

The club have excelled since achieving promotion from the Championship in 2018, with Nuno Espirito Santo leading them to consecutive seventh-place finishes before a disappointing 13th place spot last year.

Nuno joined Tottenham Hotspur last season and Bruno Lage has responded well, securing a top-half Premier League spot with a match left to play.

Next season could see the manager having to undertake a rebuild of sorts. Replacing Neves will be key if the Portuguese midfielder does leave.

The 25-year-old has been linked with a move away from the Molineux, with Barcelona being one of the teams to state their interest in the player ahead of the summer transfer window.

Journalist Dean Jones explained to GIVEMESPORT: “I think £70million is unrealistic for Ruben Neves and Wolves will know that, but I can see it settling out at £40million to £50million.”

That’s a vast sum of money and a fee that could allow Lage to invest in signing another top-class midfielder to replace him.

Having had “sensational” praise lavished on him in the past by Tim Spiers and Lage won’t want to see one of his finest players leave the club, but if a big-money bid comes in, he would be hard-pressed to turn it down.

With a WhoScored rating of 6.86, Neves currently ranks fifth out of the Wolves squad this season, showing his importance to the team. He has also chipped in with four goals and two assists in the Premier League this season.

That tally of goal involvements is only bettered by Raul Jimenez this term so losing such a high percentage of their creativity and goal-scoring ability would be disastrous.

Neves has clearly been influential in the club’s resurgence into a top-flight mainstay over the previous four years and his departure would almost signal the end of an era.

Whatever happens, the player has made his mark on the club and hopefully, Lage can persuade him to stay for another season. If he can’t, then he will understandably be rather upset.

AND in other news, Mendes links: Wolves now plot bid for “exciting” 20y/o wonderkid, Lage will love him

Southampton are reportedly eyeing up a swoop for Middlesbrough midfielder Marcus Tavernier during the upcoming transfer window, according to Football League World sources.

The Lowdown: Tavernier profiled

The 23-year-old spent the majority of his youth career with Newcastle United before making the move to Teesside to join the Championship outfit at U14s level, where he has since progressed through the ranks to become a regular feature of Chris Wilder’s starting XI.

Boro recently missed out on securing a place in the play-offs following a 4-1 defeat to Preston on the final day of the season, which means that they have to be resigned to the fact that they could face losing some of their better players this summer.

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Tavernier has just one year remaining on his current contract at the Riverside Stadium, so he is one of the Middlesbrough stars to have been in the headlines over the last few days, and it looks like there could be some interest from the top-flight.

The Latest: Southampton considering a move

In a new article by Football League World, sources have told the publication that the Saints are ‘taking a look’ at the possibility of a move for the midfield maestro, whose contract situation means he will not be a costly acquisition.

However, they  are set to face competition from fellow Premier League rivals Brighton and Wolves, alongside newly-promoted Bournemouth, which could start ‘a war’ in the race for his signature.

The Verdict: ‘Manager’s dream’

With Middlesbrough now confirmed to be playing in the second-tier of English football for at least another season, it would be no surprise to see the £3.15m-rated ace looking elsewhere in the coming months if he has ambitions of playing at the highest level.

Tavernier has been hailed a “special” player and a “manager’s dream” by his former Boro boss Neil Warnock, so Ralph Hasenhuttl would instantly be a big fan of the versatile hard-worker.

He has made 155 senior appearances for the club to date, making a total of 36 goal contributions during that time, via Transfermarkt.

If Southampton are able to complete a deal for the Leeds-born talent, there’s no doubt that he would be a great addition to Ralph Hasenhuttl’s squad and could go on to strike up a new partnership with James Ward-Prowse in the middle of the park.

In other news… a Saints veteran could be tempted into signing a new contract at St. Mary’s this summer.

Sunderland have finished fifth in League One this season, earning themselves a playoff spot in the semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday on Friday evening.

Alex Neil will be hoping that his team can give one final push for promotion to the Championship after a successful run in League One since he joined the club to replace Lee Johnson in February, although injury issues have started to plague the team as the season draws to a close.

Dennis Cirkin, Carl Winchester and Nathan Broadhead are all in doubt to be available for the first leg of the semi-final tie at the Stadium of Light on Friday, however, the Black Cats’ boss has had an injury boost in the squad that could make a huge difference in the upcoming games.

Aiden McGeady has not featured in the team since November following a knee ligament injury but has been back in training of late and was on the bench for the final League One fixture of the season against Morecambe.

Neil has since revealed a further update on the £13k-per-week player to the ChronicleLive:

“He’s made good progress, he’s been on the grass and he has trained with the lads. We’ll take a view [on his fitness].”

With that being said, the 36-year-old who was hailed “gifted” and labelled as having “special quality” by Jack Ross, has been a talisman in an attacking midfield and winger role for Sunderland during his time at the club could have his final hurrah by helping his team gain promotion, as his contract will be up this summer.

McGeady has scored 36 goals and contributed 34 assists in his 149 appearances, with a goal contribution every 156 minutes of game-time for the Mackems, with three of those goals and four assists coming from 14 league appearances this season prior to his injury problems, proving that he can still offer consistency and an attacking threat.

Although the former Republic of Ireland international may not start games with Neil likely to be cautious after his prolonged amount of time off the pitch, he will surely be a great option for the manager to unleash in important stages of the upcoming playoff games and could offer a fresh perspective in the team to inspire Sunderland to secure the final at Wembley.

AND in other news: Huge blow: Six-word SAFC injury update emerges that’ll leave supporters worried…

According to a report from Goal Espana, Wolves are interested in signing Atletico Madrid central midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia. 

The lowdown: Career so far

The 29-year-old has enjoyed a stellar career to date, amassing 364 appearances across spells with Inter Milan, Sevilla, Lens, Monaco and Valencia prior to arriving in the Spanish capital in 2020.

Since then the Central African Republic international has lifted the La Liga title with Diego Simeone’s side and become a regular feature in the UEFA Champions League.

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Now a fresh update out of Spain has suggested a move could be on the cards this summer…

The latest: Wolves interested

As per Goal Espana, Wolves, along with Aston Villa, are keen on the eight-cap senior international ace.

The report claims that the Wanderers have ‘monitored’ the powerful star and Atletico would consider a ‘good offer’ for the defensive midfielder.

Previously dubbed a ‘destroyer’ on Inter Milan podcast, Studio Inter, Kondogbia represented France on five occasions before switching allegiances to CAR.

The verdict: No brainer

So far this season the combative warrior has scored once and provided two assists in 34 appearances across all competitions – earning a 7.03 average rating in the process whilst winning 6.5 duels, 2.7 tackles and making 1.7 interceptions per match (Sofascore).

With both Ruben Neves and Leander Dendonker linked with a move away this summer, it’s no surprise to see that Bruno Lage would be looking at alternative central midfield options.

When using statistical analysis from FBref, Kondogbia possesses similar traits to Brighton & Hove Albion superstar Yves Bissouma and would therefore appear to be ideally suited to life in Premier League.

At the right price and with reasonable wage demands, bringing the Atletico Madrid man to Molineux would be a smart piece of business.

In other news, Wolves are reportedly eyeing up a move for an exciting player. Find out who it is here.

Ahead of a crucial week for Celtic, the last thing the Hoops needed was some disruption.

There was an argument to be made that Martin O’Neill should have remained in charge for the game against Hearts and the League Cup final next week.

The other argument, however, suggested that new manager, Wilfried Nancy, needed to get his feet under the table as soon as possible in a bid to assess the squad ahead of the January transfer window.

Well, his tenure got off to the worst possible start, losing to Hearts 2-1 and surrendering ground on the league leaders.

What made things worse was Nancy’s behaviour on the touchline. We aren’t ones to judge too hard, but the fact that he was clipped moving little magnets around on a whiteboard in the dugout with his team losing sent alarm bells ringing.

Nancy discusses his Celtic tactics

Celtic have traditionally played in a classic 4-3-3 in recent years but the Frenchman tweaked things against the Jambos, starting with Kieran Tierney in a back three, with Sebastian Tounekti and Yang Hyun-jun playing at wing-backs and a four-man box midfield.

Evidently, it did not work and rightfully, Nancy was quizzed about his tactics post-game.

The new Celtic boss said: “To be honest, in the first half we changed the system. I would say in the second half it was the same system. After that, when we wanted to push, it was not the system that we started with.

“So for me this is more about how we can deal when teams are really low. The centre-backs for example, when they had the ball, recognise the moment to play a little bit quicker, recognised the moment to play in between. The intention was here. These are now the nuances that we need to improve.”

Nancy continued: “This is more about how we can connect a little bit more. When we connected, we had opportunities to break them. But second half, we didn’t connect. When we conceded the second goal, we started to put in cross and cross and cross. We needed to combine a little bit more, to attack the box with numbers because they are really good defensively with big tall guys.”

McInnes reveals how Hearts beat Celtic

What should be really concerning for the Bhoys is just how easily Hearts were able to pinpoint the way in which Celtic would play under Nancy.

Usually when a new manager arrives, things are a tad unpredictable for the opposition but that was not the case for Derek McInnes and his side on Sunday.

Speaking at the conclusion of the match, he said: “We have studied the last two or three days, watching a lot of Columbus Crew and what they want to do and expect from their players.

McInnes continued: “We felt well prepared for that and it meant we needed to fill the middle of the pitch with bodies. Celtic have got a lot of good players in that central area, so we needed to make sure we were nice and solid through that part of it.

“We tried to play in the spaces between the outside centre-back and the winger because it’s quite a big distance at times,” the Hearts boss said.

This was a crucial game for Nancy, not just because it was his first in charge, but because the Edinburgh side moved three points clear at the top of the Premiership.

Worse than Maeda: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who lost the ball 23 times

Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy must drop this flop who was even worse than Daizen Maeda against Hearts.

ByDan Emery Dec 8, 2025

Glasgow Rangers’ move to appoint Kevin Muscat as the new man in charge at Ibrox has taken a twist which could see a former Scotland winger take charge on an interim basis.

Following surprise rejection from Steven Gerrard, it was back to square one for the 49ers. It looked almost certain that the former Rangers manager would be making his return to Ibrox for the first time since leaving in 2021, only for their offer to simply come at the wrong stage of their current project.

Now, Kevin Thelwell and others have been left with no choice but to turn towards other candidates – sparking several rumours. Now that it’s not Gerrard, reports have mentioned Danny Rohl, former West Ham United boss Graham Potter and several other names, but the “favourite” for the job is now Shanghai Port manager Kevin Muscat.

The 52-year-old was previously in contention to take the job before the Gers ultimately turned towards Philippe Clement in 2023. Now, two years on, he could finally get the chance to take charge of the side that he played for between 2002 and 2003.

His appointment would certainly make sense. Muscat is someone that knows the club well from his playing days and someone who has since won everywhere he’s been as a manager.

Rangers now targeting history-making Championship manager in fresh Ibrox move

The Gers are still on the hunt for a new manager.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 14, 2025

Those at Ibrox should also know their candidate pretty well, given how close he’s been to the job in the past. The only obstacle will be getting Muscat out of his position in Shanghai, with the Chinese Super League season not coming to an end until mid-Novemeber.

That said, reports that he’s already got a secret agreement in place about one Ibrox change suggests that he’s been preparing for the job for some time.

Secret Rangers agreement could see interim appointment

As reported by The Daily Record, Muscat already has a secret agreement in place with Neil McCann to join his backroom staff at Rangers and, if he gets the job, the former Scotland winger will reportedly make himself available to take charge until the manager completes his business in Shanghai.

This could see McCann take charge as soon as this weekend against Dundee United and return for the first time since being part of Barry Ferguson’s staff in an interim spell last season.

The delay in Muscat’s arrival would be far from ideal, but handing one of his potential staff members the role on a temporary basis looks like an ideal solution. McCann knows the club well, knows the potential next manager well and could steady the ship before mid-November.

In an ideal world, however, Muscat will call time on his tenure in China and instantly take the vacant Ibrox position. He has been a man in waiting for some time and should take hold of the opportunity whilst he still has the chance.

There were a few positives to take away from the narrow win that Glasgow Rangers picked up on their travels in the Scottish Premiership last weekend.

The Light Blues won their first match of the league season, after four draws and one defeat in their first five matches, and Oliver Antman registered his first goal contribution in the league.

As shown in the clip above, the Finland international did well to hook the ball back into a dangerous area to set up James Tavernier for the opening goal against Livingston.

Unfortunately, goal contributions for Rangers forwards have been few and far between in the Premiership this season, as Russell Martin’s wide men have failed to deliver much in the way of quality.

How Rangers wingers have performed in the Premiership

Antman’s assist for Tavernier’s goal on Sunday was only the second goal contribution provided by a Rangers winger in six league games so far in the 2025/26 campaign, which is a damning indictment of how they have performed as a collective.

Djeidi Gassama

525

0 + 0

Oliver Antman

272

0 + 1

Mikey Moore

171

0 + 0

Nedim Bajrami

52

0 + 0

Findlay Curtis

35

1 + 0

Oscar Cortes

7

0 + 0

As you can see in the table above, Findlay Curtis, who scored against St Mirren, is the only other player who has delivered a goal or an assist from a wide position for the Gers this season.

Martin’s wide players have, to put it simply, not done enough in the final third in the Premiership, which will need to change if the Gers want to string more wins together to get their campaign back on track.

Whilst the wingers currently at the club are struggling in front of goal, a winger sent out on loan by Rangers is currently outperforming them all.

The Rangers loanee who is outperforming Oliver Antman

Ross McCausland was sent out on loan to Aris Limassol on a season-long loan during the summer transfer window, and the Northern Ireland international has impressed in Cyprus.

The Rangers academy graduate has delivered three goals and one assist in four league matches for Aris to date, which means that he has more goal contributions at league level (four) than every Gers winger combined (two) this season, per Sofascore.

McCausland, who scored seven goals and provided seven assists in 66 matches for Rangers (Transfermarkt), only started four times in the Premiership for the Ibrox giants in the 2024/25 campaign, including a game at right wing-back that saw him sent off against Aberdeen.

Looking back, the Gers may regret that he did not get more opportunities in his natural position, as a right winger, given what he has achieved in such a short time in Cyprus.

Journalist Scott McBurns has revealed that Aris are on course to trigger their obligation to sign him permanently in January, whilst adding that he is “attracting major European interest” because of his form for his loan club.

Rangers are set to receive a six-figure fee for the Northern Irish forward, which means that they will rake in less than a million for him. Whilst this is purely guesswork, the fact that there is “major European interest” in the attacker suggests that Aris could flip him for an instant profit in January or next summer.

This is why the Light Blues will regret ditching McCausland in the summer just gone, or at least for the less than £1m fee that they agreed with Aris, as he has gone on to outperform the current Rangers wingers and could move on to another European team next year.

Rangers star was "like the best of Zidane", now he's worse than Barron

This Rangers star who was once compared to Zinedine Zidane is now even worse than Connor Barron.

1 ByDan Emery Sep 30, 2025

The Northern Ireland international may not have set the world alight during his time in the first-team at Ibrox, but he is still currently looking like a better option than what Martin has at his disposal.

Arsenal are in advancing talks to sign yet another player for Mikel Arteta, following an already-hectic last seven days when it comes to the club’s recruitment drive.

Agbonlahor slams "very odd" Arsenal transfer decision as Berta agrees deal

The Gunners are shopping “at Asda”.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 27, 2025

Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi was in London this time last week to formalize his transfer to N5 and sign all documents as a new Arsenal player (Fabrizio Romano), with the 26-year-old becoming Andrea Berta’s first signing as new sporting director.

19/20 – winter

£0

20/21 – summer

£81.5m

20/21 – winter

£900k

21/22 – summer

£156.8m

21/22 – winter

£1.8m

22/23 – summer

£121.5m

22/23 – winter

£59m

23/24 – summer

£208m

23/24 – winter

£0

24/25 – summer

£101.5m

24/25 – winter

£0

Almost immediately after Zubimendi, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga also travelled to the English capital to complete his own Arsenal move, coming after Berta triggered the £5 million release clause in his Chelsea contract.

The Spanish duo were swiftly followed in their journey to N5 by Brentford captain Christian Norgaard as well, with Arsenal agreeing an initial £10 million deal, plus a potential £5 million in add-ons (Ben Jacobs), to sign the Denmark international as a replacement for Thomas Partey.

Norgaard has been authorised to have a medical at Arsenal (Fabrizio Romano), but according to recent reports, Berta may soon add yet another player to their growing list of very recent new additions.

Arsenal "set to sign" Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia

On Thursday afternoon, news emerged that Arsenal have opened talks with Valencia over versatile centre-back Cristhian Mosquera.

The 21-year-old could play at both right-back and at the heart of Arteta’s defence, if the Gunners can agree a potential £17 million deal, with Mosquera up for grabs at a cheap price considering he’s about to enter the final 12 months of his contract.

The news was originally shared by X account ‘HandofArsenal’, with credible media sources then reporting that Arsenal are now in pole position to sign the Spaniard ahead of RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Now, journalist Graeme Bailey, writing in a piece for TBR Football, has shared a further update on the story.

Bailey reports that Arsenal are “set to sign” Mosquera, with talks reaching an advanced stage after “positive” negotiations, but it could spell the end for back-up defender Jakub Kiwior.

The latter impressed alongside William Saliba last season when Gabriel Magalhaes was out injured, but Mosquera’s possible arrival is “set to signal the departure” of Kiwior as he prioritises a return to Serie A.

Called a “sensational talent” by members of the media, Kiwior is apparently preparing to leave the Emirates as a result of this move for Mosquera, with GiveMeSport also reporting that personal terms have already been agreed.

While Mosquera will serve as a back-up option initially, Arsenal are said to believe that the defender has serious potential to become a first-team regular in the coming years.

Birmingham City were viewed as a side continuously stuck in a battle against the drop the last time they were situated in the Championship.

Indeed, the Blues haven’t finished inside the top half of the difficult division since tenth spot was clinched at the end of the 2015/16 campaign. However, that could soon change as Chris Davies’ men return to the testing league now brimming with confidence.

Amazingly, the West Midlands outfit lifted the League One title with a stellar 111 points next to their name, meaning they should instantly fit in when moving back up a division, having obliterated all their third-tier opposition.

Whilst the newly crowned champions will prioritise Championship-ready talents when shopping this summer, they will be prepared to gamble with some left-field choices in the hectic transfer market, with a potential new signing going down as their next Christoph Klarer.

​​​​​​Birmingham chasing deal for £2k-per-week star

As per a report by Football Insider, Birmingham are just one of several EFL clubs chasing the services of Arminia Bielefeld defender Louis Oppie.

Hull City and Norwich City are the other second-tier outfits named as taking an interest in the breakout 23-year-old, with the attack-minded left-back playing a key role in Bielefeld’s promotion to the 2. Bundesliga to generate this buzz for his services.

The £2k-per-week defender – as per Salary Sport – could well come in handy for Birmingham as they look to add depth in the left-back spot.

How Oppie could be Klarer 2.0

Klarer is the obvious example that Oppie will attempt to follow as another gem from Germany attempts to swiftly adjust to the demands of the English game.

Games played

43

Goals scored

1

Assists

3

Touches*

91.8

Accurate passes*

68.4 (88%)

Ball recoveries*

3.5

Clearances*

5.6

Total duels won*

7.5

Clean sheets

18

After all, the former Darmstadt 98 centre-back made his own transition over from Germany look like a walk in the park last season, with the man mountain collecting 18 clean sheets on the way to Birmingham triumphantly lifting the League One title.

Oppie will hope he can follow in the Austrian’s footsteps very soon, with the in-demand Bielefeld number four amassing his own healthy clean sheet total of 16 last campaign in the German third division, away from also notching up a hefty nine goal contributions as an expansive face down the left.

Of course, Klarer only had to adjust to League One as opposed to Oppie now having to make a gigantic leap up to the Championship, but it could go down as another golden deal just based on how easy the coveted defender found the 3. Liga last season, with the exciting 23-year-old clearly in need of a new challenge away from his current employers.

He might well push Alex Cochrane all the way to a starting spot, as previously mentioned, with Cochrane the only left-back option in Davies’ camp currently.

24/25

47

5

11

23/24

42

6

3

Moreover, when looking at the table above, Oppie has been a standout performer for Bielefeld over many a season now, away from just his sterling 2024/25 output, with Klarer also a dependable figure in Germany too for both Darmstadt and Fortuna Dusseldorf before his EFL adventure began.

Therefore, everything seems to be coming together to suggest that Birmingham winning the 23-year-old’s signature would be a deal that’s looked back at with a lot of glee, especially if Oppie can play some significant role in the Blues competing near the top of the Championship again.

Their next Adams: Birmingham City ready to sign "unbelievable" free agent

Birmingham might not need to pursue a dramatic reunion deal for Che Adams if they can land this striker instead.

1 ByKelan Sarson Jun 17, 2025

A “really special” Liverpool player is potentially edging closer to the Anfield exit door this summer, following a new update from Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg.

Liverpool players who could leave this summer

The futures of many Reds players are up in the air ahead of next season, not least Luis Diaz, who has been linked with a move away for a while now. In fact, the Premier League champions are even reportedly eyeing a summer move for Brighton winger Yankuba Minteh, potentially seeing him as a replacement for the Colombian.

Youngster Ben Doak could also leave Liverpool during the summer transfer window and the Scot has been mentioned as a shock option for Merseyside rivals Everton, who are believed to be among a number of clubs interested in signing him.

Meanwhile, Caoimhin Kelleher is set to complete a move to Brentford at any point, while there are also doubts over the futures of defensive pair Kostas Tsimikas and Jarell Quansah.

Harvey Elliott has been mentioned as being part of a swap deal involving Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz, as has Quansah for that matter, and the likes of Federico Chiesa, Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez have all been linked with possible exits soon.

Barcelona in talks with Liverpool over £55,000-a-week attacker

Taking to X on Monday, Sky’s Plettenberg reported that Liverpool and Barcelona are now in “initial talks” over the signing of Diaz this summer, with Saudi Pro League clubs also showing an interest.

The £55,000-a-week Diaz has been an impressive signing for the Reds, scoring 17 goals in all competitions this season, and shining in both central and wide roles.

He was also lauded by Jurgen Klopp during their time together: “What a boy, what a story, what a player but he should have scored! He agrees probably. The speed he has is insane. He gets our football 100 per cent. We thought we saw that at Porto. He fits like a glove to our football and that’s really really special.”

The dream XI Liverpool could build: Wirtz signs & "the next Mbappe" arrives

Liverpool are making sweeping changes in the transfer market as Slot prepares to defend his PL title.

3 ByAngus Sinclair Jun 3, 2025

Despite this, Diaz has never quite broken into the world-class bracket at Liverpool, and at 28, it is hard to see that changing too much now. He is a very good player but not a truly great one, making him expendable this summer if the price is right.

Appearances

28

Starts

8

Minutes played

2413

Goals

13

Assists

5

Shots per game

2.0

Key passes per game

1.6

Dribbles per game

1.5

If he stays, the Colombia international could continue to be useful, but Arne Slot should consider big offers for him from Barcelona or elsewhere, using the money to bring in an upgrade or focus on a different position.