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Wolverhampton Wanderers appear to have dodged one massive bullet with one of their former academy stars.

When trying to make it as a professional footballer, application and work rate is very much as important as ability, if not more.

During the summer, the Midlanders cut ties with their Championship-winning striker Bright Enobakhare, ending a six-year relationship with the club.

The 22-year-old, who came through the system at Molineux, scored three goals in 49 appearances for the Wolf Pack but could never really find his feet – even less so with Raul Jimenez pulling up trees.

Three loan spells away were not enough to convince Nuno Santo of his credentials in the first-team, though that didn’t stop the Portuguese dubbing him a “special player” soon after his departure.

He added: “He has so much talent, but Bright was one of the players that we were not able to be with as much as we wanted to keep on improving him. “I think he can be a top player, but he made mistakes and sometimes things don’t work out.”

That hasn’t turned out to be the case whatsoever…

Where is Enobakhare now?

The Nigeria U23 international signed for Greek Superleague outfit AEK Athens on a free transfer in June but by October, he’s back looking for a new club.

After signing a three-year deal in Greece’s capital city, Enobakhare scored on his debut against Lamia after coming on as a substitute – within a week, his contract was ripped up.

According to Greek newspaper To Vima, a ‘serious of disciplinary offences’ led to this surprising outcome. It very much seems like his attitude and behaviour has caused AEK manager Massimo Carrera to severe ties after just 14 minutes of action.

When you’re having to sign for the third-ranked team in Greece, you know your football career is bordering on desperation, so to waste such a golden opportunity is shambolic.

No wonder Nuno gave up on him and cited “mistakes” as a key reason.

He clearly had the potential – Coventry City boss Mark Robins told CoventryLive (via the Express & Star), that Enobakhare possessed “unbelievable” quality with his feet, also claiming that “he’s Premier League quality.”

The ex-Wolves grad only has himself to blame now.

AND in other news, Wolves must surely regret not signing Hwang Hee-chan

Wolverhampton Wanderers are making great strides with their academy system, but when it boils down to it, they have very little to show for it.

Morgan Gibbs-White is one that bucked the trend at a very early age but since then, there has been a serious lack of youth bred through into the first-team.

In some ways, you can count Max Kilman following his most recent breakthrough into the starting XI, although non-league outfit Maidenhead United take the majority of the credit there.

Well, if Nuno Santo is on alert, then the Midlanders may have uncovered their best gem since the aforementioned Gibbs-White in fellow midfield prospect Taylor Perry, who continues to light it up in the U23 squad.

Earlier this week, the 19-year-old sensation bagged his fourth goal in his last three matches, banging home a superb free-kick during a 2-1 defeat to Crystal Palace U23s – even despite not starting the match.

“I don’t really work on them, it just comes naturally. Whenever you get a free-kick around the box, there’s always a chance and today I pulled it off again, so it’s great for me.”

– Taylor Perry on his goal.

Speaking after the match, Perry’s head coach James Collins said:

“TP’s unbelievably unfortunate not to play really because he’s been excellent as of late, but we felt that with the boys we had back from the first-team group, that was the best way to go

“Those are the great learning things that you don’t see, but are important, so we felt they should play, but TP was unlucky not to start but has come on and scored. He’s probably our best goal threat at the moment.”

A midfield dynamo with phenomenal set-piece ability? That sounds very much like a certain Joao Moutinho and given he’s getting on a bit at 34, perhaps Perry can be developed with the intentions to replace him in the near future.

The Portuguese playmaker is certainly ageing like a fine wine in terms of quality, but it can’t hurt to plan for when that day eventually comes.

Perry has already featured three times for the senior side, the latest coming in last season’s Carabao Cup defeat to local rivals Aston Villa. but the young maestro impressed.

Express & Star reporter Joe Edwards graded his performance a 7/10, and said: “Did not have the best of starts but recovered by showing great determination to win the ball off Luiz and get a shot off, which Cutrone poked in for Wolves’ goal.”

Nuno must look to Perry, his best prospect since Gibbs-White, going forward.

AND in other news, Nuno must unleash £36m-rated Wolves MONSTER against Palace TONIGHT…

Aston Villa appear to have fully moved on from that fateful 2015/16 season which saw them relegated to the Championship for the first time in their Premier League history.

They narrowly missed out on a return to the second-flight last season but have come on leaps and bounds since, smashing Liverpool for seven goals earlier this season and now, they find themselves inside the top six going into the international break.

Many at Villa Park would’ve been glad to see the back of much of Tim Sherwood’s faltering squad but one player has actually thrived since then, clinching four major trophies.

That man is Idrissa Gueye, who originally signed for the Midlands outfit in a £9m deal from Lille before his £7.1m release clause was triggered by Everton.

Where is Gueye now?

The decision to include such a low figure was a disastrous decision from then-chairman Randy Lerner as Gueye’s value has skyrocketed since.

As per Transfermarkt, the Senegalese international is now worth around £21.6m, which is rather generous in itself as he’s cemented his place down among some huge names like Neymar, Angel Di Maria and Kylian Mbappe.

The 31-year-old has started seven of ten Ligue 1 matches this term, as well as featuring against Manchester United and RB Leipzig in the Champions League too.

Gueye averaged 3.3 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and 1.2 key passes per game, via WhoScored, on PSG’s way to winning the domestic quadruple.

And whilst Villa now have the likes of Douglas Luiz and John McGinn pulling up trees in Smith’s midfield, you can’t help but feel the club could have benefitted more from a player that Sherwood once lauded as a “monster.”

The French giants paid the Toffees £30m for his signature in the summer of 2019, which makes Lerner’s call to put a £7.1m release clause within his contract look like one of the worst pieces of business Villa has ever seen.

AND in other news, Aston Villa dodged a £18.5m bullet with one target this summer…

Leeds United have taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, they belong amongst the big boys and that much was clear from their season-opener at Anfield against Liverpool.

The Whites were perhaps unlucky to come away in a narrow defeat. That display left Jurgen Klopp in awe, he said after the match: “What a game, what an opponent, what a performance from both teams.”

That was the rest of the league’s one warning shot.

And whilst they may only sit in 12th place, they have indeed grasped the top-flight by storm.

After two poor performances against Leicester City and Crystal Palace, Marcelo Bielsa’s men have bounced back with a pair of frightening displays.

United picked up four points from Europe-chasing duo Arsenal and Everton, and despite scoring just one goal, the Yorkshire giants amounted a whopping 48 shots across both fixtures.

The Championship-winners are more than holding their own in the big time, so much so that they have created more ‘big chances’ than Pep Guardiola’s City and the lethal-looking attack at Frank Lampard’s disposal; seen in the following table as per Phil Hay at The Athletic:

Leeds have done this largely without the influence of Pablo Hernandez too, especially over their last three outings as he’s not even been named in their matchday squad.

That means they’ve created those 48 shots at goal without a major creative influence, so perhaps this is a signal of things to come for the 35-year-old Spaniard.

He was first dropped for the Palace game and Bielsa hinted it was down to team selection. He told West Yorkshire Sport post-game: “The decision may seem strange but I choose the 18 players who I feel are most apt for the game.”

It has since been revealed that he’s been absent with a muscle injury, but in all honesty, he may not be needed anymore.

Hernandez, on his day, can produce game-winning class. We saw that frequently during the title run-in – six of his nine goals came in the second half of the season, as did five of nine assists, per Transfermarkt.

Last week, former Leeds defender Pontus Jansson told Sky Sports’ EFL podcast that his old teammate was “something special” as he put him alongside Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the best players he’s played with.

But we’re just not seeing that in the Premier League anymore, Hernandez hasn’t provided any goals or assists, and is averaging a measley 0.3 key passes per game, via WhoScored.

By comparison, Jack Harrison (2.6), Mateusz Klich (1.8), Kalvin Phillips (1.7) and summer signing Rodrigo (1.1) have all been more creative.

Time is running out for the long-serving Garry Monk signing. This could well be the beginning of the end for the Elland Road favourite, maybe they ought to get rid entirely.

AND in other news, Leeds will forever regret not signing “unplayable” £20m dynamo as he continues to soar…

Tottenham Hotspur are back in Premier League action tonight as they head to defending champions, Liverpool, in a top-of-the-table clash.

Jose Mourinho will learn a lot about his side in a game like this, as will we – are they genuine title contenders?

We’re about to find out.

The north Londoners travel to Anfield on the back of a disappointing 1-1 draw to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

Spurs rested on their laurels with a one-goal advantage and they were made to pay for doing so after Hugo Lloris spilled a ball into the path of Jeffrey Schlupp late on.

It was an off-day for much of the squad, though one player continued to look underwhelming yet again.

Sergio Reguilon.

As ruthless as it may be, the Spaniard should probably be dropped for this one, especially when you consider he’s going to be coming up against potentially the best right-flank in the division in Trent Alexander-Arnold and the ten-goal Mo Salah.

The pair can be devastating on their day, which is why the defensively-sound Ben Davies should be preferred to the £80k-per-week summer arrival.

In the past week alone, the 23-year-old former Real Madrid star has lost possession 19 times against an average Palace side and won just two of six duels against Royal Antwerp in the Europa League, per SofaScore.

And in the north London derby, he could only make 64% of his passing attempts.

Perhaps some of this form can be attributed to burnout, he has started eight of their last nine Premier League matches after all.

Davies can offer an alternative capable of frustrating Jurgen Klopp and his lethal-looking frontline – last season as the first-choice left-back, the Welshman averaged 1.6 tackles and 2.3 clearances per game, via WhoScored.

Spurs have another tricky fixture on the horizon in Leicester City, who themselves are hunting down a successive appearance in Europe next term, so rotation will be key this week going into a hectic festive period.

Once lauded as “unstoppable” by ex-Spain coach Robert Moreno and a player “everyone loves” on the training ground by Alasdair Gold, it’s time to give the popular Reguilon a little break ahead of a crucial run-in.

AND in other news, Get rid: Spurs must offload “pathetic” £80k-p/w disaster who’s been robbing Levy blind…

Glasgow Rangers romped to a four-goal rout of Ross County at Victoria Park on Sunday afternoon to extend their lead to 13 points at the top of the Scottish Premiership.

Steven Gerrard’s side brushed aside the second-bottom Staggies to maintain their unbeaten start to the season as Celtic dropped points against St. Johnstone at Celtic Park.

Kemar Roofe poked the ball past County goalkeeper Ross Laidlaw to open the scoring before the break, and James Tavernier, a Callum Morris own goal and Jermain Defoe added the extras.

Rangers dominated from start to finish in a largely one-sided affair, although Stuart Kettlewell’s side came close to scoring after Canadian midfielder Harry Paton forced a fine save from Allan McGregor.

The current club captain produced a near-perfect display, Defoe rolled back the years with his brief cameo, but Kemar Roofe was arguably the pick of the bunch.

SofaScore graded the 27-year-old with a decent 7.3 rating – he won three out of his six duels, produced 17 out of 18 passes (94%), was fouled once, which shows that he was a constant threat throughout.

Roofe finished the game with a team-high two shots on target, plus two shots off target and one shot blocked, despite the fact he was replaced by Cedric Itten towards the latter stages of the second half.

Valued at £4m via Transfermarkt, the versatile forward has now scored six goals and supplied an assist in nine appearances in the Scottish Premiership so far this season, whilst he is averaging 2.3 shots per game, via WhoScored.

There’s no doubt the Ibrox boss will have been buoyed by his striker’s performance as Alfredo Morelos struggled alongside the Jamaican striker. Despite the Colombian’s best efforts, he couldn’t end his latest mini goal drought, and may be left to rue his missed chances as Defoe came off the bench to score on his 800th appearance for club and country.

Gerrard’s side travel to Poland to face Lech Poznan on Thursday knowing they will win Group D if they can match or better Benfica’s result against Standard Liege.

Morelos may be the trusted man for the big occasion, but we’re backing Roofe to lead the line in the Europa League as he has made such a strong start to the season.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers boss Steven Gerrard could unshackle Kemar Roofe as the team’s No. 10…

Celtic are one match away from making history by winning the ‘quadruple treble’. To achieve this, they must see off Hearts in what promises to be a heated Scottish Premiership final on Sunday. The Hoops will take on Hearts, who are currently leading the table in the Championship.

Whilst Celtic have the better team on paper, they must not underestimate their opponents. Neil Lennon’s side have fallen short in some shock losses this season and look fragile in certain areas on the pitch.

However, one positive that the manager can takeaway recently is that his attack is one to be feared. Mohamed Elyounoussi has been frightening in front of goal and is currently the club’s leading scorer for the season. The next player behind him is Odsonne Edouard, but he has hit a dip in from recently.

With summer signing David Turnbull breaking into the starting lineup and contributing a goal and two assists in his last two appearances, Lennon can afford to switch up his strike options. He may choose to bench Edouard and rest him whilst he deploys Leigh Griffiths.

The £15,000 per week forward is far from favoured by the manager and he could be looking at seeing out the remainder of his contract on the bench. But the long-time serving striker would be a good option to start against Hearts.

After suffering a calf injury Griffiths hasn’t started a single Premiership match for the Bhoys this term. He is still devoted to his team though, after recently admitting that he wishes to break into the top 20 highest goal-scorers at Celtic.

If Lennon also plans to drop him from the squad permanently, the least he can do to repay the 30-year-old’s hard work is let him play a part in a potentially historic result.

In other news, Signing Bright Osayi-Samuel will fill huge gap in Lennon’s squad…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Southampton footballer Carlton Palmer has reacted to Alex McCarthy’s positive coronavirus test as Southampton prepare to play host to Premier League leaders, Liverpool, at St Mary’s on Monday night.

McCarthy has been an integral part of Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side this season thus far, keeping seven clean sheets in 16 league games, via Transfermarkt.

The Saints manager, who has only recently returned from a period of self-isolation himself, confirmed that McCarthy may also be unavailable for the FA Cup clash with League One side Shrewsbury Town.

“After the last round of tests, we have one positive case now with McCarthy, so he’s out for the game on Monday and maybe also the Shrewsbury game, as he has to self-isolate for a period,” Hasenhuttl said.

Valued at £5.85m via Transfermarkt, the veteran goalkeeper has started every single game across all competitions for the Saints so far this season.

Only Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez has kept more clean sheets in the top-flight since the start of the season, with McCarthy averaging 2.9 saves per game, as per SofaScore.

However, despite their latest setback, Palmer isn’t too worried about his former team’s prospects, as he believes they have the strength in depth to adapt to the ever-changing environment.

He told FFC:

“It’s one of those unfortunate things that’s happened to most Premier League teams this season that they’ve lost one or two players to the virus.

“And it’s one of those things, these things happen, they happen to everybody, and it’s how you adapt. Of course, you’re always going to miss your best players, but it’s about how you adapt as a team and that’s what the pandemic has proven in life.

“It’s about who’s resilient, who’s strong, that’s what it’s proving now.”

Hasenhuttl does have the luxury of several options at his disposal – he will most likely hand Fraser Forster a rare start and could also call upon the services of one-time England U18 international Harry Lewis if required.

AND in other news, Southampton suffer Alex McCarthy blow before Liverpool clash…

Carlo Ancelotti must cash-in on Burnley’s interest in Everton’s Jonjoe Kenny during the January transfer window as he will never be the heir to Seamus Coleman at Goodison Park.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Mail, Sean Dyche’s Clarets have approached the Blues to discuss a potential mid-season deal that will see the former England U21 international move to Turf Moor this month.

Kenny has struggled to establish himself under Ancelotti following a strong season on loan with Bundesliga outfit FC Schalke 04, and is now keen to secure more regular playing time after featuring for just 77 minutes in the Premier League thus far this term.

Dyche is believed to be keen on making Kenny his first signing of the winter market after failing to seal a deal last year, while Football Insider further add that the Clarets boss is a big admirer of the £6.5m-rated full-back.

Everton are not yet thought to have decided on the best course for Kenny’s future with loan or permanent exits on the cards, but Kenny’s position in Ancelotti’s plans was further made clear on Saturday when the 23-year-old failed to make Everton’s matchday squad for their FA Cup third round win over Championship strugglers Rotherham United.

Kenny had further failed to make the 18-man squad for the Toffees’ prior Premier League match at home to West Ham United, while making his sole top-flight start of the season in November’s 2-1 defeat at Newcastle.

Time for Kenny to go

While it is noted that Everton are yet to reach a decision on Kenny’s future amid the alleged interest from Burnley boss Dyche, Ancelotti must accept that now is the time to boot the right-back out of Goodison Park permanently as he will never be the heir to Coleman’s role.

Ancelotti has shown throughout the current campaign that he does not value Kenny’s talents by his relentless preference to overlook the £15,000-per-week defender, whose terms are due to expire in 17-months’ time.

The Italian tactician has even taken to fielding Alex Iwobi, Tom Davies and Mason Holgate at right-back at times this term whilst without Coleman, who missed seven top-flight fixtures in the run-up to Christmas with a hamstring injury.

Ancelotti is even being linked with a string of new right-backs after reportedly deciding to use the winter market to find a more suitable long-term Coleman replacement, with LOSC Lille’s Zeki Celik and Norwich City’s Max Aarons among the potential targets touted.

Kenny is clearly not seen by those in power at Goodison Park to be fit to feature for Everton anytime soon, and Burnley’s interest may prove to be their best route to securing his maximum market value before thoughts start to turn to a future exit as a free agent.

AND in other news: “Absolutely” – Exclusive: Pundit can see £31.5m-rated “Ancelotti type of player” joining Everton.

Steve Bruce must urge Newcastle United to sign Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury on loan during the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

According to Sky Sports (Transfer Centre, 19/1, 13:42), Bruce is in the market for a new option for his engine room as the Toon boss feels like he is currently lacking a midfielder with the energy to control play at both ends of the field.

Newcastle would be expected to face strong competition should they move to sign Choudhury this month, and any deal for the former England U21 international is likely to go down to the wire.

The 23-year-old has fallen out of favour at the King Power Stadium this season after earning a career-high 20 outings in the Premier League last term, with Brendan Rodgers only calling on the Loughborough-born midfielder to play 70 minutes of top-flight football to date.

Rodgers has confirmed Leicester would prefer to sell Choudhury in the January transfer window if he is to leave the East Midlands outfit in search of more game time, as the loan offers received so far have not been attractive enough from a Foxes perspective.

Sam Allardyce is thought to have marked Choudhury as his top target for West Bromwich Albion to sign this month as, like Bruce, he strives to bring in a new midfielder.

The Leicester product also reportedly favours a move to The Hawthorns over Southampton or Newcastle as he feels he will be given the most playing time, while not having to relocate, per the Express and Star.

Should Newcastle sign Choudhury?

Bruce should do all he can to ensure Choudhury opts for a move to St. James’ Park by the end of the winter market by pushing Newcastle to have a package in place that will appeal to Leicester, as the Foxes outcast could be the ideal option to solve his midfield headache.

Choudhury may be out of favour in the Premier League this season, yet he has kept his fitness up with frequent minutes in the Europa League with Rodgers opting to rotate his options. But those chances will likely soon dwindle, as Leicester look to negotiate their way through the knockout stages.

That will, more probably than not, see Choudhury face the same situation as he does in the top-flight, where Rodgers has omitted the £7m-rated anchor from six matchday squads and left him as an unused substitute on 10 occasions and counting.

It was not that long ago that Rodgers was a firm advocate of Choudhury’s talents in the engine room and those sentiments were also echoed by former Crystal Palace striker Clinton Morrison, who told BBC Radio 5 Live: “What Choudhury gives you is that he can sniff out danger, he destroys it and can make a tackle, but he’s also really good on the ball.”

Choudhury reflected his Carabao Cup exploits over the 2019/20 Premier League season with 1.2 interceptions and 0.8 successful tackles a game. Those numbers would suggest he can provide Bruce with strong depth as Isaac Hayden (1.85) and Matty Longstaff (1.4) are the sole members of his current unit who break up opposition play more often this term, per SofaScore.

His ability to be the box-to-box presence may not be as strong, with Choudhury rarely carrying possession up the field with just 0.1 successful dribbles a game last season. But his defensive prowess may better free Jonjo Shelvey, who ranks second only to Matt Ritchie (1.63) for key passes (1.2).

AND in other news, Newcastle face heightened competition for a £2.7m target…