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Wolverhampton Wanderers saw their hopes of Carabao Cup glory dashed in cruel fashion on Wednesday evening, with Julen Lopetegui’s side having crashed out at the hands of Nottingham Forest following tense penalty shootout drama at the City Ground.

The visitors had got off to the worst possible start on the night as the returning figure of Willy Boly almost inevitably got on the scoresheet, with the former Molineux titan netting inside 18 minutes after being teed up by another familiar face in the form of Morgan Gibbs-White.

The Old Gold did eventually pull level just after the hour mark through Mexican marksman, Raul Jimenez, with that strike ultimately ensuring that the tie – and a place in the last four of the competition – would be decided on penalties.

With both sides having missed their opening spot-kicks courtesy of Sam Surridge and the typically reliable Ruben Neves, a string of successful attempts left the responsibility on young Joe Hodge to take the shootout into sudden death, albeit with the playmaker seeing his effort saved by opposition stopper, Dean Henderson.

Although the 20-year-old’s miss may well have ultimately been the game’s deciding moment, the Republic of Ireland youth international had shown great courage to step up to the plate in the first place, with little blame likely to be directed his way.

One man who was something of a villain for the away side, however, was summer signing Goncalo Guedes, with the Portuguese international having failed to build on his weekend strike at Anfield after producing a limp display against Steve Cooper’s men.

That simple finish in the 2-2 draw with Liverpool had been just the 26-year-old’s second goal since his £27.5m arrival from Valencia, with the forward having yet to truly make his mark in English football to date.

Those woes were laid bare last night as the 32-cap dud was hooked at half-time after making only 32 touches in total in his wide berth, while also recording a pass accuracy rate of just 64%.

That dismal outing was encapsulated by the fact that the one-time Paris Saint-Germain man also lost the ball on 13 occasions, ensuring that he squandered possession once every 2.6 touches.

The struggling asset also failed to win a single duel and was unable to register a solitary key pass to further illustrate his lack of impact, with it having been no surprise to see him replaced in favour of the aforementioned Neves.

As Birmingham Live’s Alex Dicken stated, Wolves supporters are still ‘waiting for the real Goncalo Guedes to arrive in Wolverhampton’, with the misfiring attacker having been ‘ineffective’ once again.

Although Guedes did make his mark on Merseyside just a few days ago, that already appears a mere distant memory following what was another underwhelming showing against Forest.

Everton are reportedly eyeing up a potential move to sign Middlesbrough striker Chuba Akpom.

The Lowdown: On fire

Akpom is currently a player on fire, with 11 goals in the Championship since October, and 13 in total in the division (Transfermarkt).

This currently makes him the Championship’s top scorer, and so it is not surprising to see him attract attention from the Premier League in this window.

The Latest: Everton interest

As per The Daily Mail, the Goodison Par outfit, as well as fellow top-flight rivals Crystal Palace and Southampton, are ‘monitoring’ Akpom ahead of a potential move.

His current contract expires in the summer, although Boro have an option to extend it by an additional 12 months.

The Verdict: Firepower needed

The Merseyside club currently have one of the worst records in terms of scoring goals in division, and so are in desperate need of some additional attacking firepower in order to help them climb up the table and away from the dreaded relegation zone.

Hailed as a ‘fantastic’ striker by former Boro caretaker boss Leo Percovich, he is now making strides under new manager Michael Carrick, and is a player full of confidence at the moment.

The Premier League is a different animal to the Championship, but the 27-year-old would surely relish the opportunity to prove his worth in England’s highest division.

Incidentally, Akpom is a player that Alex Iwobi knows very well from their time playing for Arsenal together at youth level, and Iwobi has previously noted the ‘chemistry’ they have enjoyed on the pitch.

Nonetheless, the duo would enjoy playing with each other again, and could form a formidable new partnership at the Toffees.

Queens Park Rangers are reportedly interested in appointing Mark Robins as Michael Beale’s successor and the Englishman could fix a glaring issue at Loftus Road.

While it might prove difficult to prise Robins away from the high-flying Sky Blues, reports certainly suggest that he is one of the main candidates to take over in west London, following Beale’s move to Glasgow Rangers last week.

Robins has taken Coventry from League Two to the Championship during his time at the club and it seems as if a remarkable journey to the Premier League could well be on the cards when you consider their start to the current campaign.

Journalist Richard Keys was full of praise for the job that the 52-year-old has done at Coventry earlier this year.

He said: “Robins is one of the brightest and best coaches outside the Premier League. He’s done an extraordinary job cleaning up a wasted decade inflicted by SISU.”

Despite seeing a number of games called off early in the season, Coventry currently sit 12th in the second tier ahead of this weekend’s fixtures.

Ahead of the World Cup break, Robins’ side would impressively win each of their last four games without conceding a single goal, including a 2-0 triumph over QPR, and their superb defensive record is one of the main reasons behind their brilliant recent form.

Only Preston North End have kept more than Coventry’s 10 clean sheets this season, although it is the Sky Blues that boast the best clean sheet percentage in the league, having managed to keep the opposition out in more than half of their games.

Although QPR currently sit two points and six places above them in the second tier, the Rs have managed just five clean sheets in 21 league games this season – with only three teams keeping fewer – which suggests that defence is a key issue for the Hoops.

Therefore, if Robins were to arrive at Loftus Road, you would hope that he would look to amend this issue, as QPR have no chance of promotion if they keep conceding so many goals, with Sir Alex Ferguson perhaps putting it best when he said that “attack wins you games, defence wins you titles.”

Liverpool have been dealt a setback in their bid to bring Konrad Laimer to Anfield.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to Christian Falk, with the BILD journalist revealing in a recent post on Twitter that, despite being heavily linked with a move to Liverpool and rejecting the chance to join Premier League rivals Chelsea, the RB Leipzig midfielder has his heart set on a move to Bayern Munich at the end of the current campaign.

In his tweet, the German transfer insider said: “Konrad Laimer said no to Chelsea. The free agent wants to join Bayern in the summer.”

Klopp must move

Considering just how impressive Laimer has been for Leipzig over the last year, coupled with just how good of a fit the 25-year-old would appear to be for Jurgen Klopp’s tactical setup at Anfield, it would appear highly advisable for the 55-year-old to do everything in his power to convince the midfielder of a move to L4 ahead of one to the Allianz Arena this winter.

Indeed, Laimer is exceptional going forwards, with FBref ranking the £24m-rated talent in the top 24% of midfielders in Europe’s big five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90, in addition to the top 13% for non-penalty xG, the top 29% for shots, the top 7% for assists and the top 11% for xAG over the past 365 days.

The £50k-per-week engine also ranks in the top 13% of midfielders for dribbles completed per 90, as well as the top 1% for blocks, the top 21% for tackles, the top 16% for touches in the opposition penalty area and the top 13% for progressive passes received over the last 12 months.

Furthermore, the 25-year-old has also been dubbed an “elite presser” for his harrying of opposing players in possession, while German media outlet Bulinews also dubbed the box-to-box midfielder a “pressing machine” in an article on the Austria international earlier this year, suggesting he would easily fit into Klopp’s intense pressing system at Liverpool.

As such, considering the fact that Laimer was believed to be available for a figure in the region of £25m this summer, in order to give Liverpool the best chance of beating Bayern to his signing, it would appear highly advisable for Klopp to launch a bid for the 25-year-old in January, as it is clear the 24-cap star would make an exceptional addition to the German’s current options in the middle of the park.

Everton have struck gold by appointing Frank Lampard, a manager who has not only improved the performances of the first team but has an eye for young talent that have become superstars in their own right.

Reece James, Mason Mount, Tariq Lamptey and Marc Guehi are just some of the hottest young English prospects the former Chelsea boss gave Premier League debuts to when he was managing the squad at Stamford Bridge.

James and Mount have gone on to be regular England internationals featuring in the squad that were the first to reach an international final since 1966 last year at the Euros, and both played a crucial part in Chelsea’s Champions League victory just six months after Lampard was sacked.

As a result, the promising prospects in the Everton academy on Merseyside will surely be hoping that they can become the manager’s next big breakthrough and there is one youth player in particular who could be Lampard’s next Mount.

Everton U21 star Charlie Whitaker signed a brand new contract yesterday, agreeing a three-year deal that keeps him at the club until June 2025.

The talented attacking midfielder – who was dubbed an “undoubted talent” by Kevin Thelwell – name-dropped Lampard as one of his inspirations for the way he plays upon signing his extension on Tuesday:

“As a kid, Frank Lampard was someone I looked up to and to learn from him now has been terrific.”

Just like Mount, Whitaker is an attacking midfielder with an eye for goal and a creative mindset that allows him to be a versatile threat in his advanced role on the pitch.

The 19-year-old has scored 20 goals and registered nine assists over his 64 appearances across the Everton U18s and U21s with a goal contribution every 154 minutes.

This season over his three appearances in the EFL Trophy, Whitaker has been a standout performer, scoring one goal and delivering one assist, as well as averaging 2.7 tackles, 2.3 key passes and 2.7 shots per game, proving that he is becoming a player Lampard will struggle to ignore as he continues to flourish.

Whitaker is comfortable operating in all three positions across the front three as well as the attacking midfield role and could be the perfect answer to Everton’s much-needed refresh in the forward line and has already had the opportunity to train with the first team on many occasions.

With that being said, the future is looking bright for Whitaker and if he continues to flourish in the Everton U21s and first-team training sessions, there is no doubt that the talented midfielder will catch Lampard’s eye in no time at all.

Everton will now ‘do very well’ to sign Ajax attacker Mohammed Kudus having failed to land him over the summer, according to The Guardian journalist Ed Aarons.

The Lowdown: Late bid rejected

The Independent have reported that the Toffees made a last-ditch £15m offer for the 22-year-old in the summer transfer window, but this was rejected by the Eredivisie giants, having already sold several of their other big-name players.

The Ghanaian later admitted that he wanted to make the move to the Premier League club in search of more game-time but was denied the opportunity, although he has since been an integral member of Alfred Schreuder’s Ajax team in Amsterdam.

The Latest: Kudus could now be unattainable

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Aarons claimed that Kudus would now be looking to join a higher-profile team than Everton given his impressive start to the 2022/23 campaign.

The journalist said: “I think Everton will do very well to get him, I’d suggest, in the future because he’s got five goals in eleven league games for Ajax so far this season. And I think he’s probably destined for a club higher up the table eventually.”

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The Verdict: Time to move on

The Goodison Park outfit may have held some pulling power before, but the chances of landing Kudus now would appear even more difficult than when they tried to land him in the summer.

The ‘electric’ attacker, as he was described by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, has already made ten goal contributions in 17 outings across all competitions this term (Transfermarkt), and has been attracting interest from none other than Borussia Dortmund.

Having cemented himself as a hugely valuable player at Ajax, it’s hard to imagine that he’d want to walk away from such a good project, meaning that Everton should perhaps start turning their attention elsewhere.

West Bromwich Albion are in desperate need of something miraculous to halt their current decline, as Steve Bruce’s side are winless in their last eight Championship matches.

Leaky defensively and not lethal enough up front, the addition of a fresh, young, hungry talent might be just what they need to turn things around.

They have conceded eight and scored just five in their last four games.

With the transfer window shut, attention might have to be turned to the academy, which currently boasts a crop of exciting youngsters all raring to take their opportunity.

Perhaps for the future, or perhaps to replace him now, John Swift might soon have to make way for 19-year-old starlet Rico Richards.

The attacking midfielder is a tricky number ten who can create or score and was actually included in The Guardian’s Next Generation list back in 2020.

Within that report he is described as such by Ben Fisher: “He has a creative eye in terms of finding others but is equally capable of carving openings for himself.”

Four appearances this season for the U23s and two assists mark a solid start to the season, and with the Baggies’ poor form he will be hoping that he will be given his chance should he continue to impress.

He has made 62 appearances across both the U18s and U23s youth setup, even registering an eight-minute stint for the first team in the FA Cup.

Across this period, he has managed an impressive 13 goals and seven assists, demonstrating some immense qualities in the final third.

With Swift only boasting two goals and two assists in his 14 games for West Brom, it is not a feat that Richards will see as unattainable given his quality.

Not only this, but his versatility could make him a fine option for Bruce given how Jed Wallace and Grady Diangana are underperforming. Combined, the two wingers have only scored five and assisted four times.

He would certainly provide fine competition for all three of these attackers, whilst exposure to the first team would hopefully fast-track his development.

With their current form, there is little risk in handing Richards some added involvement. However, Bruce has everything to gain if he begins to star.

Newcastle United are reportedly in the running to sign Barcelona forward, Memphis Depay, according to reports in Italy.

What’s the word?

As per TuttoJuve, the Magpies could be said to hand the 28-year-old a ‘new opportunity’ in the near future, with a return to the Premier League potentially on the cards for the former Manchester United man.

The Netherlands international – who has just a year left on his existing deal at the Camp Nou – had been heavily linked with an exit over the summer, with the Tynesiders having been earmarked as one of those potential suitors, as well as Serie A side Juventus.

The La Liga outfit had seemingly been keen to sell the 5 foot 9 gem – who only arrived on a free transfer last summer – amid their ongoing financial woes, albeit with the player opting to stay put late in the window.

Newcastle’s own Nkunku

It would no doubt be some coup were Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth able to bring the fleet-footed forward back to England in the winter window, with Depay having proven throughout his career just what a talent he is.

While his previous stint at Old Trafford did not go to plan – as he netted just seven goals in 53 games in all competitions – the £22.5m-rated ace has since sparkled elsewhere, notably registering 76 goals and 56 assists in just 178 games during his time in France.

The dymanic “maverick” – as previously described by pundit Rio Ferdinand – has even impressed during his time in Catalonia despite the club’s desire to move him on, with a respectable haul of 14 goals in just 41 games to his name to date.

The former PSV Eindhoven man, who is currently sidelined with injury, has also dazzled on the international stage with 42 goals in just 81 games in his career thus far, with the £174k-per-week menace a truly lethal presence in attack.

Such a high-profile addition could well prove an ideal alternative for the northeast side to that of Christopher Nkunku, with the Frenchman seemingly on his way to fellow top-flight club Chelsea after having been linked with Eddie Howe and co over the summer.

Interestingly, Depay shares a number of stylistic and statistical similarities to that of the exciting Frenchman, according to FBref, with the pair both showing great versatility to feature as a fluid forward option.

That likeness is illustrated by their ball-carrying brilliance, with the RB Leipzig man ranking in the top 10% for dribbles completed and the top 11% for progressive carries in comparison to his peers across Europe’s top five leagues, while the Dutchman ranks in the top 3% and 7% for the same two metrics, respectively.

Equally, the pair are also quality assets in a creative sense when in possession, with Depay ranking in the top 9% for progressive passes, while Nkunku also ranks in the top 9% for progressive passes.

The latter man is currently hot property amid his links to Stamford Bridge, with nine goals in just 13 appearances so far this season, having previously provided 55 goal contributions in just 52 games last term.

Although the 24-year-old may now appear out of reach as far as the Magpies are concerned, it could well prove to be an astute move were Ashworth to swoop for Depay instead, particularly amid the prospect of a cut-price deal as a result of his contract situation.

Everton failed to meet Blackburn Rovers’ asking price for Ben Brereton-Diaz on deadline day, in a move which could prove to be a disaster by Kevin Thelwell.

The Toffees’ priority for much of the summer has been focused on signing a striker to replace Richarlison in Frank Lampard’s side and while Neal Maupay was signed from Brighton, the Merseyside club still look very short on attacking options following the transfer deadline.

Mike McGrath suggested that both Everton and Fulham lodged £12m bids for the Chile international but Blackburn held out for £20m and he will remain at Ewood Park until January at least.

Maupay’s form in recent seasons, when he has managed just 16 goals in his last two Premier League campaigns, does little to suggest that he can replace the talismanic Richarlison at Goodison Park, after the Brazilian’s ten goals proved vital in Everton’s survival last season.

Brereton-Diaz meanwhile, hit 22 goals in the Championship last season and has three goals to his name already this season, so could have offered a real goalscoring threat in Lampard’s side, particularly with Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s fitness issues over the last year.

He has scored just twice in the last year and is evidently a player they can no longer rely on for large portions of a campaign.

Thus, the former Nottingham Forest product could have been an inspired signing. The forward has proven himself to be a phenomenon in Chile, who he represents because of his mother’s heritage, and the national team manager Eduardo Berizzo sang his praises last season.

He said: “Brereton is very intelligent in his movement and found himself behind rival defenders several times.”

“He is a footballer with many qualities… He is a player of interesting movements. He will be an important reference for us.”

His former manager, Tony Mowbray was another to wax lyrical over his performances, hailing the Chile international as an “extraordinary” player.

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Lampard is now left with just Maupay, an injury-prone Calvert-Lewin and Salomon Rondon as his main striking options until January, which won’t inspire much hope that the Toffees can avoid another relegation battle this season.

Therefore, it seems a risky move by Thelwell to turn down the option to sign a goalscorer in such a confident mood, as it could leave Lampard very short of attacking threat in his side until the next transfer window. If they continue their current slump, not signing such a feared prospect in front of goal will undoubtedly be considered a disaster.

At just £20m, this was an ideal and cost-effective way of improving the team.

Leeds United transfer target Kai Wagner ‘seems to prefer’ a move to Elland Road over both Benfica and Dinamo Zagreb, according to journalist Manuel Veth.

The Lowdown: Leeds talks

The Whites have been linked with bringing in a new left-back before the deadline following Junior Firpo’s injury in pre-season.

Jesse Marsch has used centre-back Pascal Struijk at left-back for the opening two matches of the Premier League campaign but is reportedly driving a move for Wagner.

Talks are thought to be going well for the Philadelphia Union player, who has been labelled ‘very creative’ by Ben Jacobs, and Leeds chiefs have been handed a further boost in their pursuit of the German.

The Latest: Veth’s claim

Veth took to Twitter on Sunday evening to reply to Jacobs’ update on the full-back.

He claimed that Wagner’s camp ‘seems to prefer Leeds United’ over both Benfica and Dinamo Zagreb.

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The Verdict: Get it done

Both Benfica and Dinamo Zagreb are in the Champions League play-offs, so Wagner’s preference for a move to Elland Road is huge for Victor Orta and co.

Veth has stated that Marsch is a ‘big fan’ of the 25-year-old, who can also play as a left midfielder, and a move appears to make sense due to the left-back situation in Yorkshire.

A transfer may not be too expensive either, as Wagner is out of contract with the MLS club at the end of 2022, so hopefully the full-back will arrive in England before the transfer deadline, alongside a new striker.