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West Ham and Spurs after intelligent £3.5m man: But where will he go?

Alan Curbishley will be looking to invest in his squad but he will not want to splurge big money on players, he tried that last summer and due to injuries and poor form those signings failed. West Ham have now been linked with a clever player who has been in top form in the Championship this season. Tottenham are also believed to be considering a move for the talented youngster.

West Ham United are about to move for Wolves winger Michael Kightly.(The Mirror)

Tottenham are also interested in a move for Kightly (Daily Mail)

22 year old Kightly has had seen his career sky rocket in recent seasons. After being released by Southend he got stuck in at Grays and netted an incredible amount of goals from the midfield and the wing. He had a great season at Molinuex but now it appears he may be about to leave Wolves for a move back to London and into the Premier League. Do West Ham and Spurs fans like the look of Kightly?

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Wolves v West Brom: The REAL player ratings!

Yes, it was a crucial derby encounter as Wolverhampton Wanderers searched for the points to keep up with a play-off push and West Bromwich Albion looked for points to take top spot. Now it’s your turn to say it as you saw it! Who had a ‘mare’ and who was on the money? You decide with our lovely cut and paste thingy!

Check the line-ups below, then simply give your personal rating for each player and cut and paste the whole thing into the comments box. Then see how your fellow fans scored the game.

Wolves

Hennessey
Foley
(Kyle)
Neill Collins
Craddock
Elokobi
Jarvis
Olofinjana
Gibson
Gray
(Eastwood)
Keogh
Ebanks-Blake

West Brom

Kiely
Hoefkens
Barnett
Clement
Robinson
Gera
Koren
Greening
Morrison
Miller
(Bednar)
Phillips
(Pele)

Everton, Newcastle and Aston Villa battle over £10m trio, but who can offer the best future?

Three teams moving in the right direction up the Premier League table appear to be battling for the same three British talents.

All three are apparently keen on Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessey, valued in the 3m bracket, who said of the attention:
“At the end of the day I’m still at Wolves and I love it here. The club and the fans have been fantastic to me and I just want to keep going and playing my games. When you look at the table it’s all still there for us with our games in hand - we’ve just got to go and grab it.” (various)

Next up, another Wolves star, 4m rated striker Sylvain Ebanks-Blake
However Wolves’ chief executive Jez Moxey has vowed that none of the club’s big hitters will be leaving this summer.
“We won’t lose anyone that we don’t want to lose,” said Moxey. (various)

And the final member of this trio Barnsley captain Brian Howard
Howard will be offered a massive £10,000-a-week deal to make him the highest-paid
Oakwell boss Simon Davey is desperate to keep the £3million-rated midfielder, who has a year left on his deal Howard said of the possible deal: “I would be delighted to talk about it.” (The Sun)

So will these player resist moves away? If Wolves fail to make it through the play-offs then it will be harder to keep these youngsters and Brian Howard, having now had a taste of the big-time in their fabulous cup run, may seek an even bigger pay packet in the Premier League or indeed he may just see a move to the top tier simply a more ambitious move regardless of salary and I don’t think anyone could blame him. Unlike the Wolves pair, who are a good three or four years younger, Howard may see this as the right time to move up the ladder. Would Villa, Everton and Newcastle fans welcome their arrivals?

Watch Everton live online

Watch Aston Villa live online

Sunday’s Transfer Rumour Frenzy! Part 2

Part 2 of our round-up…

Arsenal gaffer Arsene Wenger is pondering a bid for Raffaele Palladino, and may make a move for the Juventus midfielder in the summer. (Star)

Chelsea boss Avram Grant will make a move for Palermo’s Brazilian striker Amauri at the end of the season. (Sunday Mirror)

Liverpool captain Stevie Gerrard reckons that ex-gaffer Gerard Houllier made a huge mistake in letting Nic Anelka leave the club. (News of the World)

Wigan chief Steve Bruce has sanctioned the sale of midfield gem Jason Koumas to Celtic. (News of the World)

Ex-Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce will be offered the Wolves hotseat if current incumbent Mick McCarthy fails to win promotion. (People)

Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones has a relegation release clause in his contract, which could see him heading for pastures new if the Black Cats are relegated. (Sunday Mirror)

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Watch Chelsea live online

Is Derby’s Steve Howard Just a Championship Striker?

He was Derby’s player of the year last season but goals have been harder to come by for Steve Howard in the Premier League. The former Luton striker finally got off the mark at Old Trafford on Saturday, although the Derby Evening Telegraph have reported interest from Leicester and Wolves in the 31-year-old.

“We’ve had calls from clubs who want to know what we are going to be doing with Steve in January,” said Jewell.

“Steve scored his first goal of the season at Old Trafford on Saturday and, hopefully, he can now go on a roll and play a part in keeping us up.

“I’ve only been here two weeks and I see everybody playing a part. I have told the players to show me in training and in the matches that they should be in the team.”

Howard started Jewell’s first match in charge of the Rams but came off the bench to score against Man United, his manager unsurprisingly favouring a 4-5-1 formation against the champions. It remains to be seen whether the forward has the quality to trouble Premier League defences on a regular basis.

Will Everton Move for Young Wolves Keeper?

According to the Birmingham Mail, Everton are in the hunt for a new young goalkeeper by the name of Wayne Hennessey. The current Wolves number one has been racking up the clean sheets at Molineux this season and, despite Mick McCarthy’s protestations that the Welsh youngster isn’t for sale, he’s apparently been watched by Goodison Park scouts.

“I’ve already said that if there’s people interested in Wayne I’m delighted,” said McCarthy. “The same goes for Kites, Seyi Olofinjana - if people are interested then it means they are playing well.

“I know they are interested because I see all the scouts at our games. It doesn’t bother me because it’s part of football, and it doesn’t bother me because they’re not going anywhere.”

Everton don’t appear to be short in the goalkeeping department right now, having signed Stefan Wessels in the summer. The German is proving an able understudy to Tim Howard, although perhaps the Toffees will soon have the first Welshman between the sticks since Neville Southall last donned a pair of gloves for the Merseyside club.

Who is the best player outside the Premiership?

For a while it was Kevin Phillips, for ages it was Jason Koumas, there was even some rubbish talked about Robert Earnshaw at some point. But who is currently the best player outside the Premiership? Well, here are some options, but feel free to pick your own?

Kevin Phillips (West Brom) - Is he past it? Probably, but a bit of expeience never hurt anyone.

Darius Henderson (Watford) - Scores a shed load of goal, but is he just a flash in the pan?

Zolton Gera (West Brom) - Top class midfielder, who really should be playing in Premiership soon.

Robbie Fowler (Cardiff) - Stop laughing at the back, he used to be the next Jimmy Greaves, that’s got to be worth something.

Jimbo Beattie (Sheff United) - The only good thing about Bryan Robson’s reign?

Peter Halmosi (Plymouth) - An outsider for the title, this Hungarian winger is leading Ollie’s Argyle revolution.

Any better suggestions?

Three Things You Learned From The Weekend’s Championship Matches?

It was back to the rat-race for Championship players at the weekend and they looked more than happy about it; turning in some great performances.

Sheffield Wednesday continued to get their season back on track with a impressive win at Stoke while Watford continued to steamroll their way to the Premiership as Marlon King grabbed another goal against Hull. Meanwhile, Neil Warnock almost got off to a winning start before Palace returned to their usual form and Man Utd’s Lee Martin proved to be a wise loan signing for Plymouth with a man of the match performance.

But here’s your chance to tell everyone what you learned from the weekend’s Championship results, and to see what others thought as well. Sort of a lower-league love-in, only not quit as disgusting.

Barnsley 1-1 Burnley

Blackpool 1-1 Palace

Colchester 3-2 West Brom

Norwich 1-3 Bristol City

Plymouth 1-0 Coventry

Queens Park Rangers 1-1 Ipswich

Scunthorpe 0-0 Leicester

Sheffield United 1-1 Preston North End

Stoke 2-4 Sheffield Wednesday

Watford 1-0 Hull

Wolves 2-0 Charlton

Midweek Championship Predictions: Charlton, Southampton, Hull, Cardiff Cit and more

With a full programme of Championship games this week, it is time for punters to show that they know their stuff outside the Premiership by beating Caughtoffside at our predictions game. Simply go for a home win, away win or draw.

Here are the fixtures, check out our picks and cut and paste into the comments to show your own:

Barnsley v Bristol City - draw

Burnley v Ipswich - home win

Coventry v Blackpool - home win

Hull v Charlton - draw

Leicester v Wolves - away win

Norwich v Scunthorpe - home win

Plymouth v Crystal Palace - draw

Preston v Southampton - away win

Sheff Utd v Cardiff - draw

Watford v Sheff Wed - home win

The winner will get a pat on the back and a firm handshake. And maybe some crisps… but probably not.