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Former Premier League striker Dean Windass has exclusively told Football FanCast that he’s been left bamboozled by Chris Wilder’s departure from Sheffield United.

Following almost two days of uncertainty, Wilder was finally relieved of his duties at Bramall Lane on Saturday evening, less than 24 hours before the Blades were thrashed by Leicester City.

Having guided Sheffield United from mid-table in League One to their highest Premier League finish last season, Wilder’s sacking came as a major surprise to the footballing world, despite United sitting rock-bottom of the table and on course to be relegated.

Under-23s manager, Paul Heckingbottom, has been placed in temporary charge for the remainder of the campaign, but Windass believes that Wilder would have been the best man to take Sheffield United back into the topflight.

He exclusively told Football FanCast:

“I don’t see any sense in it if I’m being quite honest with you. I don’t get the logic behind it. Yes Sheffield United will go down even if Jose Mourinho or Alex Ferguson would have got the job, but nothing is going to change. I don’t understand it, unless there has been a massive row. There have been rumours of conflict between him and the hierarchy.

“The question on everybody’s lips is can Sheffield United get straight back to the Premier League?

“With Chris Wilder you would have said ‘yes’, I’m not saying no about Paul Heckingbottom or whoever gets the job, but more so with Chris, because the players knew him, he’s a local lad, he loves the club like me with Hull City, so it just doesn’t make any sense.”

And Wilder’s absence was quickly felt following Sheffield United’s 5-0 defeat at Leicester, which was their heaviest since their promotion back to the Premier League, and first time they conceded five in a league match for more than three years.

The transfer window slammed shut last Monday without a mere flutter from Leeds United’s cheque book.

They decided not to bring any new faces to Elland Road last month but their recruitment efforts ahead of the summer are now being stepped up.

What’s the word?

The Athletic reported earlier this week that Leeds had Brest defender Romain Perraud high up on their list of players to target in the summer.

However, they could revive their January interest in another player when the window opens in a few months time.

According to Eurosport, it’s likely that Leeds will make a bid for Wolves winger Adama Traore. They claim the Spaniard has been on their radar all season and hint that added investment from the 49ers could make a deal happen.

90min reported Leeds’ initial interest in January, citing that £40m might be needed in order to prise him away from Molineux.

Shades of Raphinha

When the Brazilian signed for the Whites last summer for £17m, there was a degree of uncertainty.

He’d enjoyed just one season in Europe’s top five leagues but rarely do Leeds make an investment without years of scouting. Victor Orta had been tracking the winger since his days in Portugal and it’s safe to say his meticulous analysis has paid off.

Offensively, Raphinha has been one of their best players this season. He has taken to the Premier League like a duck to water, scoring four goals and registering a further four assists in the process.

Critically, though, is that he fits Bielsa perfectly. He runs himself into the ground, presses the opposition and tracks back. His work rate is second to very few in the Leeds squad – he averages more than a tackle per game and wins 3.6 duels per match, impressive numbers for a winger.

One of the most eye-catching parts to his game is his quick feet and dribbling. So far this term, he’s managed 1.6 dribbles per game. That tally is higher than anyone in the Leeds squad.

But why is this relevant to Traore? Well, in terms of the impact they can provide in the final third they are very similar.

The Wolves forward has been dubbed “unplayable” in the past and it’s clear to see why. He has amassed a mighty 3.8 dribbles per game this term, beating players for fun with sheer pace and trickery. Already you can see the parallels between him and Raphinha.

Look at their running stats and you’ll realise what type of players the duo are. In 2020/21, no forward has made more accelerations and decelerations per 90 minutes that the dynamic Leeds winger (over 140). For context, Traore is also high up on the list, amassing just over 105 in the same metric.

Traore hasn’t scored in the Premier League for over a year so his explosive nature has become somewhat limited recently. That being said, the £43k-per-week speedster is still one of the most dangerous players in the division to deal with.

AND in other news, Leeds have unlocked their new Forshaw in £10k-p/w ace who is “perfect” for Bielsa…

Liam Kennedy has dropped an inside claim on the potential takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

Writing in his latest piece for The Shields Gazette, the football journalist has claimed that the KSA’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) have given their word to the consortium that they will return to the process of taking over at the St. James’ Park faithful once a path to the deal with Mike Ashley is cleared.

PIF are currently not at the table as they felt as if the process was taking far too long, as the Premier League eventually decided to fail the bid.

Kennedy has also claimed that there is understood to be other confidential financial guarantees between all of the parties involved in the deal.

However, as he points out, reports have been emerging from Italy that PIF may turn their attentions elsewhere if a pathway is not cleared sooner rather than later, with Inter Milan said to be a club that is up for sale and one that they would be interested in.

Newcastle takeover hopes lie on PIF

PIF would need to come back onto the table to keep any hopes of reviving the original deal with Ashley alive.

However, with the news emerging of their interest in Inter, the Tyneside club will be hoping that the takeover process can be sped up as soon as possible. If the Magpies get relegated, it’s hard to imagine the rich investors choosing Tyneside over Milan.

In other news, find out what worrying claim Luke Edwards has dropped on the potential takeover here!

Celtic must finally complete a move for Preston North End defender Ben Davies, with reports claiming Neil Lennon’s side are in an intense battle to sign him in this January transfer window.

What’s the story?

Reports over the summer suggested that the Hoops were considering signing Davies as a potential replacement for Kristoffer Ajer, but a deal failed to materialise before the end of the deadline, with the Norway international ending up staying at Celtic Park.

Now, Football Insider claim that Celtic are battling Genk for both Davies and Philadelphia Union centre-back Mark McKenzie.

The report adds that with the former’s contract at Preston coming to an end this season, the Deepdale side “will consider bids in the region of £5m this January as the club come to terms with the possibility of losing the defender for nothing in the summer”.

Bye-bye Shane Duffy

When Celtic snapped up Brighton’s Shane Duffy on a season-long loan back in the summer, Lennon couldn’t hide his excitement at bringing in the Premier League veteran.

He said: “He is leader and a warrior – someone with real ability and who will also give us that great physical presence.” Sadly for the Hoops, the 29-year-old just hasn’t been the answer at centre-back, and it’s been telling that he’s started just once in the past seven Scottish Premiership games.

In Davies, Celtic could snap up an absolute bargain, and someone who would offer them the kind of centre-back option suited to the modern game.

His manager at Preston, Alex Neill said: “Once I had looked at Ben, assessed the whole squad and seen him for a couple of weeks I thought to myself that we have a really good player on our hands.

“Ben has got a good left foot and he should really have more confidence in it than he actually has. He is better with it than he gives himself credit for. The lad has really good pace, which for a centre-back is rare. He reads the game well and has the determination to get better.”

Left-footed and with a bit of pace? Peter Lawwell surely has to dip into his pockets and find that £5m to sign him.

At time,s there’s nothing more frustrating than being a Crystal Palace fan during the transfer windows.

There’s usually a lot of hot air about the board doing business with their performances in the transfer market over the years (barring last year’s efforts) generally showing the club can resemble something close to a circus act when it comes to dealings.

For every Patrick van Aanholt, there’s also a Florian Marange, and that’s not to mention the more obscure players that have left supporters in total disbelief. If we’re being honest, most of the more bizarre signings came in the Ian Holloway era. Oh what a time to be alive!

Consider yourself the ultimate Crystal Palace fan?

Try your luck by taking our quiz below and see if you can get all the answers right – get one wrong and you could be the laughing stock of the fanbase…

AND in other news, Crystal Palace Festive Quiz: Can you remember their top 10 most expensive signings?

Leeds United weren’t afraid to splash the cash during the summer transfer window and some of their signings have proven to be great swoops form Victor Orta. However, Marcelo Bielsa’s latest injury update revealed that both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente are out with respective knee and muscle injures, which sees them very exposed at the back.

Defence is the one area that the Whites must fine-tune to avoid slipping into worrying territory in the league table. Meanwhile, their attack could also use a spruce up but they have options ready and raring to go.

This cancels out any suspected move for reported transfer target Gyrano Kerk, who Leeds were reportedly interested in according to a report from The Mirror (September 27, page 74), and whom Robin van Persie has been praising in recent days.

Why Leeds mustn’t sign Kerk

Orta did well to recruit Helder Costa on a permanent basis from Wolves during the summer after bagging himself five goals and eight assists in white last season (via Transfermarkt). He currently has two goals and two assists in the Premier League this term and already faces competition from rising 20-year-old talent Ian Poveda.

The two are clamouring to catch Bielsa’s eye, which is proving difficult recently due to the club’s third right-wing man Raphinha impressing the boss. Paying big bucks for another right-winger would only upset the applecart at Leeds.

Despite being valued at just £5.8million, Kerk has attracted a lot of attention and Utrecht have been holding their breath. Luckily for them, they survived the summer window without losing the star forward and are likely planning to slap a hefty price tag on his head to ward off any future interested parties.

Not only do Leeds need to invest their funds in other areas of the pitch, but signing Kerk could seriously hinder the growth of Poveda, who is learning from older teammates Costa and Raphinha. The club is stacked with talent down the right-hand side and splashing the cash on yet another winger would raise some serious questions at Elland Road.

In other news, Marcelo Bielsa drops huge clanger which could cost him against West Ham…

Former Scotland international Charlie Adam has voiced his thoughts on Celtic’s current situation. Current boss Neil Lennon could be staring down the barrel of a gun as the Hoops continue to struggle in their 2020/21 season.

They have suffered an early exit from the Europa League after winning just one of their group stage matches. Rivals Rangers are also pulling further and further away from second place Celtic, who look increasingly less likely to catch them up and retain their crown.

If they finish second, which is looking to be the only result at this point in the season, Lennon is at high risk of being sacked as the club’s head coach.

A lot of different names have been thrown into the mix when discussing who could replace Lennon and Adam has suggested Mauricio Pochettino could fit the bill.

Celtic would benefit from securing Mauricio Pochettino

“Could Pochettino be the one? He could come and rebuild his career again,” the Dundee United midfielder recently told PLZ Soccer.

The Argentinian was dismissed from his role as Tottenham Hotspur manager last year, and 2021 could be the year he gets himself back into the game.

Whilst Pochettino is regarded as an icon for guiding Spurs to their first-ever Champions League final. He was unable to win any silverware during his five years at the helm.

He impressed a lot of people with his final couple of seasons at Spurs. Liam Rosenior recently lauded the gaffer for performing “a miracle” at the north London outfit.

Joining a club like Celtic who have enormous chances of winning the Premiership and Scottish Cup year in, year out would be the ideal move for Pochettino.

Scotland’s top flight is very much a two-horse race and the Bhoys have an extremely rich history. If Pochettino joined Celtic, the chances of winning a trophy in his debut season are very high.

Not only would winning silverware with a new club boost his chances of a return to the Premier League but the Hoops would benefit from his knowledge.

The 48-year-old’s experience in both the English top-flight and the Champions League, plus his lure in the transfer market could completely transform Celtic as a club following a disappointing 2020/21 season.

In other news, Exclusive: Pundit rubbishes idea of Sam Allardyce replacing Neil Lennon at Celtic…

Leeds United have missed out on a number of transfer targets over the past few years.

Che Adams, Daniel James and Michael Cuisance are three that immediately come to mind, but perhaps their biggest transfer error of the past few years was missing out on John McGinn.

The Yorkshire club lined up a £2.5m bid for the Scot in the summer of 2018, but their failure to meet Hibs’ £5m asking price saw them miss out on him.

McGinn instead went to Aston Villa where he has been an absolute star.

The Scot has shown his quality in the both the Championship and the Premier League, and his brilliance has seen him linked with a number of big-money moves.

A £50m switch to Manchester United was rumoured last summer, but a more modest £30m switch to Newcastle looked to be on the cards at one point this summer, but Villa managed keen to keep hold of their midfield maestro and he’s wasted no time in showing them that was the right decision.

McGinn has started this season like a man possessed, providing four assists and scoring one goal in his first four games as Aston Villa started the season perfectly.

His brilliance shouldn’t come as that much of a surprise, he was described as a ‘top talent’ by John Terry prior to Villa’s first season back in the top-flight, and Leeds could really have used a player of his quality.

Mateusz Klich is good, don’t get us wrong, but McGinn is just that level higher and if he was a part of Marcelo Bielsa’s squad he may have elevated Leeds to that next level.

In hindsight, £5m for McGinn would have been an absolute bargain especially when you consider that he’s now being linked to £30m moves and Leeds should be kicking themselves that they didn’t sign him back in 2018.

Wolverhampton Wanderers face their Midlands rivals Leicester City in an interesting clash at the King Power Stadium, both teams cancelled either other out last season and both find themselves in the hunt for Europe this time around.

Nuno Santo has steered his Wolves side to a run of four games without defeat following the embarrassment at West Ham United.

Having leaked just one goal in that unbeaten streak, the Portuguese manager has plenty to consider as the Foxes could take the top spot in the Premier League with a victory.

Here’s the XI we’re prediction for this afternoon’s clash…

Nuno could make just two changes for the short trip to Leicester.

One of his biggest conundrums is in central defence – should he stick or twist with young 23-year-old centre-back Max Kilman? For much of last season, it was Romain Saiss’ spot to lose and perhaps unfairly the Moroccan international has been sat on the bench.

Although, he is likely to keep the back three intact after three clean sheets in four matches. It means the other two places are filled up by skipper Conor Coady and Willy Boly.

However, there is one alteration at left wing-back as Marcal comes back into the starting XI, replacing Rayan Ait-Nouri even though the youngster scored on debut against Palace.

Nuno wasn’t really impressed with his defensive work despite the goal, so the veteran defender, who also arrived this summer, comes back into the fray with Nelson Semedo continuing on the other flank.

There could also be a return for Joao Moutinho in the middle in the only other change as he replaces Ruben Neves, who is now valued at £45m by Transfermarkt. He offers a bit more creativity going forward having averaged two key passes per game last season.

The Midlanders have only scored more than one goal in a match once since the opening day.

He’ll partner Leander Dendoncker.

Whilst the front three of Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence and Raul Jimenez remains.

It means there is no place for Adama Traore, Ki-Jana Hoever or Fabio Silva, though they could feature from the bench.

AND in other news, Shi made his biggest Wolves mistake yet over £64m-rated “monster” better than Traore…

Chelsea boss Frank Lampard has revealed the reasoning behind the signing of Kai Havertz after the German came under criticism for his opening two performances in a Blues shirt.

The Blues spent an initial £72.7million to bring the Germany international to Stamford Bridge this summer in attempt to freshen up his attacking options.

The 21-year-old arrived alongside compatriot Timo Werner, but he has failed to impress during his first two outings for the club.

Chelsea opened the new season with a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion before losing to last season’s champions Liverpool at the weekend.

Discussing Havertzs’ impressions thus far ahead of his side’s EFL Cup third round tie with Barnsley, Lampard called for patience to be put on the shoulders of the attacking midfielder.

“Kai has played in various positions through his career,” the former Derby County boss is quoted as saying by The Metro.

“I think the main point at the minute with Kai is getting him fit. He is heavily, what I mentioned about the squad, in pre-season mode, because of the situation we aren’t in a position where we can bring in players, back-up players with big levels of money, that we can wait and integrate him into the team.

“Kai has come here to be a huge talent for this team and we just need to get him fit and ready and then the position will become very clear.”

Lampard took Havertz off at half-time against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon and with the likes Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech both vying for a starting place, it will be interesting to see who starts from now on.

At just over £70m, you would have to think that Havertz will be a regular starter but Lampard does have some superb options in his squad.

Patience is key though, especially given the attacking midfielder’s age. You cannot judge him off just two matches, he needs more time to settle in.

Who do you think should start? Havertz, Pulisic or Ziyech, or can more than one start…… Let us know in the comments section below…