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Wolverhampton Wanderers picked up a valuable point in their battle against relegation on Friday night as they earned a 1-1 draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage, with Hugo Bueno impressing for the visitors.

Julen Lopetegui’s side looked far superior to their hosts in the first half and took a deserved lead when Pablo Sarabia fired to the net after Raul Jimenez’s header found him inside the penalty box.

However, the Cottagers earned a point when substitute Manor Solomon curled in a delightful equaliser in the second half, while Jose Sa produced a great save late on to deny Carlos Vinicius.

Why was Bueno Wolves’ star performer against Fulham?

While Sarabia and Ruben Neves produced excellent displays in Wolves’ midfield, earning 7.8/10 and 7.6/10 ratings from Sofascore respectively, Bueno was arguably the standout performer at Craven Cottage.

Although Sofascore awarded him a modest 6.6/10 rating for his performance, he was a constant menace on the left flank, regularly causing problems by getting forward, while he also did well defensively and was perhaps unlucky not to come away with a clean sheet after Solomon’s wonder goal.

During his 90 minutes on the pitch, the 20-year-old completed 32 passes, a small increase on the 27 that he has averaged per Premier League match so far this term. He was also successful with three dribbles, far exceeding his seasonal average of 0.8 per game.

Bueno’s one interception and three fouls at Craven Cottage showed that he is not afraid to get stuck in, and again these figures were an increase on the 0.6 interceptions and 0.4 fouls he has committed per top-flight game in 2022/23.

While the figures don’t suggest that Bueno was at the very top of his game against Fulham, the eye test suggested differently. Jamie Carragher certainly agreed, as he awarded the young defender the man of the match award on Sky Sports’ coverage of the game.

The former Liverpool man also suggested in commentary during the game that the Portuguese full-back was “causing problems” for Fulham all night with his ventures forward, claiming that he was arguably Wolves’ “best attacker” in the second 45.

Neves might have been central to much of Wolves’ strong play, particularly in the first half, but that is to be expected from the talismanic midfielder who has been his team’s best performer of the season (as per WhoScored), whereas Bueno’s emergence as a first-team player has been one of the highlights in a disappointing season for the Old Gold.

Therefore, the academy graduate deserves all the praise he gets after another very promising display at Craven Cottage.

Presenter and YouTuber Conor McGilligan wasn’t impressed with Leeds United defender Rasmus Kristensen against Fulham on Tuesday evening.

The Lowdown: Cup exit

The Whites fell to a 2-0 defeat at Craven Cottage, with goals in either half from Joao Palhinha and Manor Solomon securing the win for the hosts. Leeds missed plenty of chances and saw Georginio Rutter’s goal ruled out in the first half when the scores were level.

The club’s sole focus now under Javi Gracia is on Premier League survival, but McGilligan wasn’t impressed with one player against Fulham, so perhaps they will play a limited part in that quest.

The Latest: McGilligan’s comments

McGilligan responded to one Leeds supporter on Twitter who described Kristensen as a ‘horror show’ during the first half.

The presenter of One Leeds Fan Channel said: ‘Some agent that lad has.’

The Verdict: New position

Gracia actually decided to use Kristensen, primarily a right-back, as a centre-back alongside Robin Koch. As per SofaScore, he finished with a match rating of 6.7/10, a better score than Junior Firpo, but Koch and Luke Ayling both outperformed the Denmark international.

Kristensen, who was making his first start under Gracia, did lose possession 11 times and was only involved in two duels, however, he did make two interceptions, completing one cross and a key pass.

Therefore, you could say that his display wasn’t all bad, but it wouldn’t come as a surprise if Gracia brought back Max Wober at centre-back on the weekend, with Ayling keeping his place on the right-hand side.

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery enjoyed a reasonably quiet first transfer window in charge in January as the Spaniard only made two additions to his squad.

The ex-Villarreal boss brought in Jhon Duran and Alex Moreno from Chicago Fire and Real Betis respectively on permanent deals and allowed striker Danny Ings to join Premier League rivals West Ham United.

Emery’s side are currently ten points clear of the relegation zone and eight points off the top six, which means that they are placed firmly in the middle of the table in 11th.

The Villans appear set to retain their Premier League status for another season and planning could already be underway with regard to what they want to do in the summer transfer window, as a result of their security in the table as it stands.

It has been reported in recent weeks that the club may reignite their interest in Southampton star James Ward-Prowse at the end of the campaign and Emery must act on that by swooping for the midfielder as he could be a big upgrade on John McGinn in the centre of the park.

Would James Ward-Prowse be an upgrade on John McGinn?

McGinn has been a solid performer in the top-flight for Villa this season – averaging a Sofascore rating of 6.95 – but the Saints skipper could offer a step up in quality.

The Scotland international has created 0.5 chances and made three tackles and interceptions per game whilst failing to score a single goal in the league this term.

Ward-Prowse, meanwhile, has scored six times and produced 2.1 key passes and 2.9 tackles and interceptions per match for Southampton.

The £100k-per-week magician ranks in the top 11% of players in his position in Europe’s top five leagues over the last 365 days for shot-creating actions and non-penalty goals per 90, whilst McGinn does not rank higher than the top 42% in either statistic.

This shows that the England international would be a significant upgrade on the Scotsman when it comes to what he offers in possession – both in scoring goals and creating chances for others.

Their aforementioned defensive statistics also indicate that there is not a big difference between the volume of work they get through on a weekly basis, which suggests that Villa’s defence would not be worse off by replacing McGinn with Ward-Prowse.

Therefore, Emery must sign the Saints star, whose set-piece ability was once hailed as “sensational” by ex-Villan Darren Bent, as the gem could be a big upgrade on his current option in that position.

It is now down to the Spaniard and Johan Lange to strike an agreement with Southampton in order to improve Villa’s team heading into the 2023/24 campaign.

West Ham could now sign Torino defender Ola Aina for nothing, coming after a failed summer deadline day bid last year.

The Lowdown: Hammers’ busy summer…

Manager David Moyes and the Irons board oversaw one of the busiest summers in their history last year, sealing deals for Alphonse Areola, Nayef Aguerd, Flynn Downes, Gianluca Scamacca, Maxwel Cornet, Thilo Kehrer, Emerson Palmieri and club record signing Lucas Paqueta.

Their plethora of transfer activity totalled £162 million, not including the winter addition of Danny Ings from Aston Villa, but unfortunately West Ham’s performances on the pitch haven’t reflected this series of investments.

The Premier League relegation-battlers are currently just one point off the bottom three and face a crunch last few months of the campaign.

The Latest: West Ham gifted opportunity…

In some good news for West Ham, allnigeriasoccer report that they could now have an opportunity to seal a missed summer target at zero cost.

The African news outlet claims Moyes’ side lodged a summer deadline day bid for Aina of Torino last year but were knocked back.

West Ham are still eyeing a move now, and according to allnigeria, the east Londoners ‘could be saving transfer funds’ by signing the right-back ‘for nothing’ this year.

Contract talks with Torino have apparently stalled and Aina’s current deal is set to expire at the end of this season.

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The Verdict: Great player?

Called ‘unbelievable’ by sections of the press, Aina has experience starring for Fulham in England and has even been praised for his versatility.

According to WhoScored, over his 14 Serie A appearances this season, the 26-year-old has won their joint-most Man of the Match awards whilst ranking as their second-best performer overall.

Aina, going by the numbers, is a highly attack-minded player – having registered Torino’s joint-highest rate of successful take-ons per 90 (WhoScored).

Indeed, the Nigerian could be an asset at West Ham, especially as an alternative to Vladimir Coufal or the out-of-form Ben Johnson.

Everton are interested in a deal to bring Sheffield United forward Iliman Ndiaye to the Premier League this summer, according to reports.

The Lowdown: January offer rejected

The Blades star has now entered the final 18 months of his contract at Bramall Lane and could be tempted to look for a move elsewhere at the end of the season should Paul Heckingbottom’s side fail to secure promotion to the top-flight.

The Toffees reportedly made a £25m bid plus add-ons to sign the 23-year-old in the closing stages of January, and despite this being rejected by the Yorkshire outfit, it looks like Sean Dyche is set to take a second bite of the cherry.

Reports claim that the Goodison Park outfit, Newcastle United and West Ham have all sent scouts to watch their target in ‘recent weeks’, with the Merseysiders currently the ‘keenest’ ahead of the upcoming window.

The Latest: Everton still eyeing Ndiaye

According to Football Insider, Everton do indeed ‘remain interested’ in trying to strike a deal for Ndiaye after their failed attempt at the start of the New Year.

The Blades ‘want to keep’ their maestro and are ‘confident’ of reaching an agreement over a contract extension, but understandably their position will become ‘vulnerable’ should they still find themselves in the Championship beyond the summer.

If Sheffield United aren’t able to meet his demands, it’s expected that they ‘could be forced’ to accept any offer that arrives at their door within the region of just £10-15m, considerably lower than the amount that was turned down in January.

The Verdict: No-brainer

Ndiaye has previously been labelled ‘stunning’ by journalist Josh Bunting, and should the opportunity to sign him arise in the next window, Everton have a no-brainer of a decision to make.

The Rouen native has racked up 11 goals and seven assists in 36 second-tier appearances so far this season and would add plenty of versatility to the squad with his ability to play in six different positions.

The Senegalese, however, is also equally as strong in the defensive aspect of his game, where he currently ranks in the 98th percentile for most tackles and blocks made per 90 minutes by players in his position.

Ndiaye already has an existing relationship with Idrissa Gueye as the two of them are international teammates for Aliou Cisse’s side, so this could potentially give the Toffees an advantage should they make another attempt to sign him in the months ahead.

Ivan Cavaleiro was once a fan favourite at Wolverhampton Wanderers but his career since leaving Molineux suggests that the Old Gold did brilliantly to sell him for as much as they did.

How did Cavaleiro perform at Wolves?

Wolves would sign the Portuguese winger from AS Monaco in 2016 for what was a club-record fee at the time, and he would play a significant role in their eventual promotion to the Premier League.

He would hit five goals and five assists in his first season with the Old Gold, which included a memorable late winner in a 2-1 triumph away at Brentford.

Paul Lambert sang his praises after the game, saying to the Express & Star (via HITC):

“He’s a threat, Cav. If he can find consistency in his game he’s a massive player. You saw when he came on…I changed his position and I thought he was absolutely fantastic.”

The wide man was able to find that consistency the following season as he was comfortably one of the top performers in Nuno Espirito Santo's side as they won the Championship title and secured a return to the top flight.

Across 42 league appearances, Cavaleiro would contribute a hugely impressive nine goals and 12 assists, a tally which he was sadly never able to achieve in the Premier League for the Midlands club.

Despite Wolves' impressive performances in their first season back in the top division, the former Portugal international would manage just three goals and one assist in 23 appearances, which led to him joining Fulham on loan in the Championship again the following season.

How has Cavaleiro done since leaving Wolves?

The second tier appeared to be his level as he once again earned promotion, with six goals and seven assists under his belt, and the Craven Cottage outfit opted to pay £15m to sign him permanently that summer, which now looks to have been a brilliant deal for Fosun and the Old Gold.

Although he was a regular for the Cottagers in the Premier League the following season, he would manage just three goals in 36 appearances as they were relegated, and that certainly seemed to knock his confidence, as he then notched just two goals in the Championship last season, despite Marco Silva's side running away with the title.

It was no surprise therefore that he was loaned out by Fulham, with the 29-year-old joining Alanyaspor in Turkey, where he boasts a modest return of four goals and three assists in 18 appearances this season.

Unsurprisingly, Cavaleiro's move away from England and lack of goal contributions in recent years have seen his market value plummet since his Wolves exit, with FootballTransfers now suggesting that he is worth just €2.7m (£2.4m), which represents an 84% decrease on the fee Wolves received just three years ago.

Liverpool could be set to lose James Milner this summer, with the club yet to enter talks about a new contract, according to a report from The Athletic.

Which Liverpool players are leaving this summer?

There has been a changing of the guard at Liverpool in recent times, with Sadio Mane choosing to join Bayern Munich in a £35m deal last summer, and now Roberto Firmino also looks to be heading towards the exit. The Brazilian forward has informed Jurgen Klopp he will be leaving at the end of the campaign, when his current contract is set to expire, news that came as a real blow to the manager, who wanted to keep him.

One player that Klopp has always been keen to keep hold of is Milner, with the £120k-per-week midfielder signing another one-year contract extension last summer, however it now appears as though his time at Anfield could be coming to an end…

As per a report from The Athletic, Liverpool are yet to open contract talks with the 37-year-old, despite the manager's eagerness to tie him down for an additional season, because he values his experience, leadership and versatility. The Englishman is keen to carry on playing and ideally wants to stay at Anfield for another year, but there has been no progress made since Klopp spoke about the possibility of a new contract way back in January.

As such, there is now a possibility that the veteran midfielder could leave the club in the summer, as he will be free to move elsewhere if no new deal is agreed before the end of the campaign.

Will Liverpool keep James Milner?

Considering the Liverpool boss is eager for the former England international to stay, and the player himself is willing to commit to a new contract, it seems a little strange that no progress has yet been made. It raises the question of whether senior figures at the club perhaps want to focus on bringing in younger options to bolster the midfield, with the Reds still said to be leading the race for Jude Bellingham.

That said, the former Leeds United man has proven himself as a reliable back-up option, being hailed "superb" by the media earlier this season, and Klopp clearly values his influence in the dressing room.

As such, Liverpool should look to offer Milner fresh terms in the near future, as he is still thought of in high regard by the manager, and he can always be relied upon to step in when required, making 32 appearances in all competitions this season.

Everton, in their seemingly never-ending pursuit to return to the top, have thrown money at every problem.

Farhad Moshiri boasted little experience within the footballing industry prior to taking control of the club but was inundated with cash from his various business ventures.

Therefore, he saw fit that any issue could be solved with a shiny new player or swiftly replacing a manager.

The club's owner soon came to understand that in football, and the Premier League especially, you have to have a plan.

Manchester City did not fumble their way to the top; Sheikh Mansour had it all planned out, and the money was merely supplementary to their successful model.

There are many examples of the Toffees’ misguided spending that outlines the difference between themselves and the Cityzens, but arguably few more so than Cenk Tosun.

How much did Cenk Tosun cost Everton?

With the start of the 2017/18 campaign having disappointed, as the club momentarily dipped into the relegation zone, Moshiri’s rashness came into full effect as he dismissed Ronald Koeman in favour of Sam Allardyce, to ‘save them’ from a scrap for survival of which they were never really in.

Clearly a short-term appointment, it became particularly baffling that the Iranian allowed the journeyman boss to spend at all in his one window in charge.

But instead, £27m was unloaded on Turkey international Cenk Tosun, as an answer to their Romelu Lukaku-sized absence.

Whilst the fee alone drew criticism, the fact he was also handed a five-year contract on £60k-per-week made the deal even more questionable.

Unsurprisingly, the 31-year-old was not a hit on Merseyside, featuring just 61 times across that period, scoring 11. It was no surprise to see him branded “toothless” by journalist Luke Gardener too upon hearing Crystal Palace’s interest in signing him back in 2020.

Allardyce would be sacked at the conclusion of that season despite guiding them to a more than respectable eighth, whilst Tosun remained at Goodison Park until his contract ended last summer.

When accumulating both his wages and initial fee, across the 231 miserable weeks he spent at the club, the current Besiktas forward cost the club £41m.

The striker was one of many players signed under the new owner, who has sat on a huge wage before leaving at a cut price. It is a miserable trope that has now become synonymous with the Moshiri reign and has led to fan unrest too.

Evertonians deserve better, and had their untold riches been spent alongside a well-thought-out structure, perhaps the Toffees might be perched alongside Man City rather than at the opposite end of the table.

Southampton have been handed a huge boost after transfer target Bojan Miovski admitted that it’s his goal to move to the Premier League.

What's the latest on Miovski to Southampton?

The Aberdeen striker’s contract at the Pittodrie Stadium isn’t set to expire until 2026, but being Barry Robson’s top-performing offensive player, has caught the eye of Ruben Selles at the St. Mary’s Stadium. The Scottish Sun previously credited the south coast outfit with an interest in the 23-year-old whilst also revealing that the Saints hierarchy have already sent scouts to watch him in action as they weigh up whether to make an approach at the end of the season.

The North Macedonia international has recently been operating for his country for their Euro 2024 qualifier against Malta, followed by a friendly vs the Faroe Islands where he was on hand to score the winner, and during the time he had off the field, made an ambitious claim that Saints supporters will be excited to hear.

Speaking to Macedonian publication Popup (as quoted by HampshireLive), Miovski lifted the lid on what he hopes to achieve in the future and name-checked the top-flight as his dream destination. He said:

"My goal is to continue in a club from the best five (England, Spain, Italy, Germany and France) leagues in Europe, and if I could choose one, it would definitely be the English Premier League. Every player's goal is to reach the highest level in football, and the English Premier League attracts me due to the fact that it is the most attractive and watched league in the world."

Would Miovski be a good signing for Southampton?

According to Aberdeen’s former manager Jim Goodwin, Miovski is “athletic”, has a “decent turn of pace” and “ticks all the boxes” in terms of the profile of striker you’d want, so he would definitely be the perfect fit for a Southampton side lacking in the final third.

The £4.5-p/w talisman is extremely prolific having scored 17 goals and provided one assist in 34 appearances north of the border, where he’s currently averaging 2.33 shots per game. The Dons attacker is also the ideal target man standing at 6 foot 2, which is just what the Saints are missing when it comes to getting on the end of long balls and set pieces.

Finally, Miovski is a versatile operator having played in four different positions outside of his natural centre-forward role, including on both wings, making this a match made in heaven for both parties.

Tottenham Hotspur coach Ryan Mason was left seething with what he was seeing on Monday night at Goodison Park with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg a big culprit.

What did Hojbjerg do wrong?

Monday night offered Spurs with an opportunity to start afresh ahead of the remaining 10 Premier League games of the season on the back of Antonio Conte's departure.

It also provided the players with an opportunity to send the Italian a message following his fiery press conference post-Southampton where he called his squad out.

However, Spurs reverted to type and threw away what would've been an important three points against one of the league's strugglers.

The Lilywhites have four seriously challenging fixtures coming up so three points felt like a must as their hopes of Champions League football took yet another blow.

Standing on the sidelines, Mason was left seething with how sloppy Spurs were proving to be on the ball with the £100k-per-week midfielder, Hojberg, one of the main culprits.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Alasdair Gold shared the 31-year-old's visible anger at what he was witnessing from the Spurs players at Goodison Park:

(18:25) "And you could see this growing frustration on the sideline from not only Stellini but Ryan Mason was getting very annoyed and very agitated."

"Yeah, there was a few of those before and after a Hojbjerg ball I saw him doing that [waving his arms] and going a bit mad."

How bad was Hojbjerg against Everton?

The 27-year-old midfielder has been a key feature in the Spurs side since arriving from Southampton a few years ago and he has played over 2500 minutes in the league this season alone.

And it has to be said, the Dane made an impressive start to the campaign under Conte having netted four league goals before the turn of the year (via Transfermarkt).

However, his performance on Merseyside left a lot to be desired with Gold awarding him a mere 4/10 in his post-match player ratings.

Hojbjerg was heavily involved in the game having registered 108 touches of the ball throughout the 90 minutes, but he was also guilty of losing it 15 times (via SofaScore).

And it was the areas in which he was losing the ball which were proving seriously frustrating for the coaches as his slack passing was seeing Spurs fail to relieve the pressure on their defence.

But the issue Cristian Stellini has is the lack of options available now as a result of the long-term injuries to the likes of Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma.

This has left the Italian with only Hojbjerg, Oliver Skipp and Pape Matar Sarr to select from his first team options.

Given the huge fixtures against their top-four rivals over the next three weeks, this makes it almost impossible to imagine Stellini would be willing to drop the Dane in favour of the 20-year-old, Sarr.