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Premiership giants Celtic are on red alert as West Ham United have now mandated agents to work on helping the club secure the services of Odsonne Edouard.

Edouard has previously been linked with a move to other Premier League clubs like Brighton, Aston Villa and Crystal Palace. Monaco had a bid rejected in the past too. It now seems as though West Ham are leading the way to sign the Frenchman.

Agents to work for West Ham in Edouard deal

Football Insider have dropped the latest about Edouard, saying that West Ham are set to mandate agents to help them work on the deal for the Frenchman in the summer.

Sources have allegedly told Football Insider that David Sullivan wants to see his club move for the striker and is sending agents to negotiate on the Hammers’ behalf.

The report claims that Edouard’s actions of switching agents was a sign of the fact that he is set to leave the club in the summer.

The Hoops have tried multiple times to hand him a new contract, but he has knocked back these attempts every single time. As a result, his value has fallen and West Ham now want him as an option alongside Michail Antonio.

Celtic should part ways with Edouard in the summer

Edouard has racked up a non-penalty goals per 90 minutes tally of only 0.66 in the Premiership this season. That is his lowest ever tally in his Celtic career (as per FBRef).

His contract at Parkhead runs out in the summer of 2022, meaning that the upcoming summer would be Celtic’s best chance of earning a good fee from his sale.

Considering that he hasn’t had a great season by his own lofty standards, perhaps it will be a good time to part ways, ensuring the Hoops get a good fee which they can reinvest into a new manager’s rebuild, rather than losing him for free in the not-so-distant future.

In other news, Chris Sutton picks out three players for new Celtic boss to build around – read more here.

Derby County are among a number of Championship clubs considering a summer move for Manchester City centre-forward Liam Delap according to reports…

What’s been said?

That’s according to TEAMtalk, who claimed that Wayne Rooney’s side have joined the likes of Cardiff City, Middlesbrough and Stoke City, as well as Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion, in monitoring the situation of the 18-year-old striker ahead of a potential loan bid.

However, it is also reported that Manchester City are unsure as to whether they would be willing to let the promising forward leave the club, with Pep Guardiola recently confirming that Delap will be joining his first team squad as of next season.

Instant upgrade

Derby fans will not need it explaining that the attacking department is an area in need of much improvement in the summer transfer window as, so far this season, only Colin Kazim-Richards has scored more than three league goals for the club, with the 34-year-old bagging on eight occasions.

The other two centre-forwards in Rooney’s squad, Lee Gregory and Martyn Waghorn, each have three Championship goals to their name this season, and with the former only at Pride Park on a loan deal from Stoke, Waghorn is the prime candidate for Delap to replace at Derby.

So far this season, the Manchester City youngster has been in spectacular form for the club’s under-23 side, scoring 20 goals and registering four assists over his 18 appearances in the Premier League 2. That is in addition to three goals and one assist over three EFL Trophy fixtures, plus two goals in two games in the FA Youth Cup.

Admittedly, the Championship is a different kettle of fish from under-23 football, but judging from his returns at youth level, it is clear that Delap is ready to make the step to the next level – with football talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbing the youngster a “fantastic” talent.

Considering that the 18-year-old earns a modest £5,000-per-week in comparison to Waghorn’s £7,900 weekly wage, should Rooney be able to shift the 31-year-old this summer while also bringing in Delap, Derby would actually be saving themselves almost £3,000 a week by replacing the former Ipswich Town striker with the teenager.

Aston Villa have moved ahead of Wolves and Leicester City in the hunt for Tammy Abraham, according to Football Insider.

Villa are reportedly willing to meet Chelsea’s asking price for the striker and have set aside £40m. It is hoped that the deal will be part of ‘another major recruitment drive’ at Villa Park.

Intriguingly, the report added that Abraham’s proposed arrival could see Ollie Watkins shifted out to the flank. The £75,000-per-week forward is Villa’s top scorer this season with 15 goals.

Villa return an option for Abraham as Tuchel leaves him out in the cold

Abraham has, of course, played for Aston Villa before. Chelsea loaned him to the Midlands outfit during the 2018/19 season, and his 25 goals helped fire them to promotion to the Premier League.

The 23-year-old is actually the Blues’ top scorer this term, having netted one more goal (12) than £45m signing Timo Werner. However, since Thomas Tuchel replaced Frank Lampard at the end of January, Abraham has played just 140 Premier League minutes.

An ankle injury sidelined him for five of those games, but the striker appears to be concerned over his future at Stamford Bridge, with the report noting that Chelsea’s attempts to extend his contract have hit an impasse with the Englishman about to enter the final two years of his deal.

Transfer Tavern verdict

Lampard gave Abraham his shot at Chelsea, but now that the 42-year-old has gone, it feels like the striker might follow him out of Stamford Bridge

He would seem an excellent acquisition for whoever signs him, but is Villa the right option? He already has an attachment to the club, but Watkins has done enough to suggest that he can be Dean Smith’s long-term number nine.

Perhaps that £40m would, in all honesty, be better spent elsewhere by the Midlands club.

In other news, Lee Hendrie had this to say about the race for Abraham. 

Speaking exclusively to The Transfer Tavern, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer believes Sheffield United’s board were against the signing of Rhian Brewster.

Brewster was signed under former Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder for big money, joining from Liverpool in a £23.5m deal last year.

However, the 21-year-old striker has really struggled in the Premier League this season, failing to score a goal all campaign.

Ultimately, it is a transfer that has simply not worked out yet, and Palmer is convinced the signing is one that the Sheffield United higher-ups were never fully on board with.

On Brewster, the ex-Sheffield Wednesday player told TT:

“The striker I believe that they signed from Liverpool, I think the board were against him [Wilder] bringing him in. He hasn’t really hit the ground running.

“But, you know, on another day that could have worked out. Now they’ve been relegated, that could work out for him. He could score shedloads in that division.”

Brewster was in prolific form during his last spell in the Championship, scoring 11 goals in 22 appearances for Swansea City back in the 2019/20 season.

Bearing that in mind, the England U21 international could still come good for the Blades and help fire them back up to the Premier League.

Wolves’ win over Brighton on Sunday afternoon felt like a landmark moment for a number of Nuno Santo’s players.

Morgan Gibbs-White stole the show with a last-minute winner while Max Kilman returned to the fray to prove he still has something to offer.

The defender has been linked with the exit door but he and several other young players at Molineux put in a battling and brave display.

With Vitinha at the top of Wolves’ midfield, the future looks particularly bright. They will, of course, have to exercise their option to buy him but considering his performance against West Brom over a week ago, they’d be fools not to.

What Wolves do require, though, is a battling midfield player.

Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho bring poise and grace but Leander Dendoncker has been far from consistent throughout 2020/21.

The perfect player would be Boubakary Soumare, a man Wolves have been linked to in the French media. It’s thought Leicester are interested in the midfielder but Nuno’s men, Everton and Aston Villa have all made enquiries.

The 22-year-old is a dominating force in Ligue 1 for Lille and would add something brand new to the squad at Molineux.

He is strong in the tackle but crucially, he likes to stride forward and influence play in the final third too.

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If we compare him to Dendoncker, they are pretty neck and neck for their contribution defensively but it’s in the build-up where Soumare really stands up.

The Frenchman has proven to be successful with a massive 85% of his dribbles this term while his 67% tackle success is 15% more than Wolves’ Belgian enforcer.

Coincidentally, Dendoncker’s pass success (87.4%) is better, but Soumare’s tally (86.4%) is greater than both Moutinho and Neves.

What sets him apart from all of the midfielders at Wolves this season is his ability to carry the ball forward. On plenty of occasions Nuno’s side has lacked someone willing to transition things from defence into attack swiftly.

Fortunately, Soumare would provide them with an enormous dose of energy. In 2020/21, the youngster has carried the ball forward 157.1 yards per 90 minutes. That number is considerably more than Dendoncker (69.8) and the aforementioned Portuguese duo.

Moutinho carries the ball 111.8 yards per 90 minutes while Neves manages an average of 101.9.

It won’t come as a great surprise to hear that he’s been compared to Paul Pogba. Another all-action midfield player, he combines frantic energy with raw power.

Speaking about the Soumare in 2020, Lille president Gerard Lopez said: “He’s one of the very best at his job. He’s technical, with incredible physical power and wins a great deal of possession. He’s a modern No.6 or 8. We’ll see him in the France team very soon.”

Valued at £30m a few months ago, it won’t be a cheap deal for Wolves to conclude, but if they get it over the line he’d represent an enormous upgrade.

AND in other news, Forget Traore: Wolves “danger” who played 3 key passes was Nuno’s true hero today…

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, Steve Howey, who made 157 appearances for Newcastle United, is hopeful that PIF will still be interested in buying his former club despite 12 months of no progress.

It was 12 months in April since Mike Ashley accepted a £300 million bid from Amanda Staveley’s consortium that was largely backed by PIF, however, the takeover is even further away from being passed through now.

It was reported last week that Mike Ashley is set to launch a second legal battle against the Premier League for costs, damages and interests after the proposed takeover failed to be approved last year.

Speaking on how he still hopes PIF are willing to buy the club but how it will be another slow process, Howey exclusively told FFC:

“We just have to wait and see what happens because I think Mike Ashley is now putting together a lawsuit against the Premier League for anti-competition, so you can imagine that will drag on.

“Let’s just hope that these people are still willing to take the club on so things can move forward, but it will probably be another slow process as it won’t happen overnight.”

Ashley is also in the process of an arbitration case against the Premier League, which is still yet to begin as the Sports Direct tycoon looks to get Newcastle sold.

With Steve Bruce managing to guide the Magpies to safety it will allow any potential buyers to look at Newcastle as a Premier League club they could buy.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Carlton Palmer has accused Tottenham left-back Danny Rose of simply playing football for the money.

The 30-year-old hasn’t played a single minute of first-team action this season having been axed from Jose Mourinho’s 25-man Premier League squad following his return from his loan spell with Newcastle.

Rose had been involved in a fall-out with the ex-Spurs manager during the club’s All or Nothing Amazon documentary having been left angry after a lack of minutes last January.

The England full back was then loaned out to Newcastle weeks later and was a regular at St James’ Park.

But Rose returned to Tottenham and looked set for a summer departure, but nothing materialised, and he remained in north London, occasionally turning out for the Under-23s.

Despite Mourinho’s recent sacking, Rose’s contract runs out in June, meaning he’s expected to make his long-awaited exit having done little more than train throughout the course of the previous 12 months.

And Palmer told Football FanCast that Rose should have left the club rather than continued to collect his wages when not playing:

“I do believe it happens in the game, but when people say they’re playing football to earn a wage at it.

“You’ve got to play football, that’s what it’s about. You’re not talking about football; you’re talking about you picking up another pay day.

“And he’s done that, hasn’t he? He’s stayed at Spurs when he could have moved. And he said that he was going to see his Spurs contract out, I’m assuming because of the type of money he was earning.”

West Ham United have been a huge boost ahead of today’s crucial Premier League fixture…

What’s the latest?

The Hammers are just one point away from securing a place in the Europa League and have been given some rather encouraging news from the Southampton camp.

Speaking in his pre-game press conference, Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed that he would not risk striker Che Adams as he has one eye on this summer’s European Championships.

“Che cannot play on the weekend because he has a small groin injury, so he will also definitely be out,” he told reporters, via the Daily Echo. “It is five to 10 days, so his chance for the weekend is a small one, but we didn’t take the risk because we know he has the Euros coming up, which for him is a big tournament.”

He also revealed that Oriol Romeu is in line to return to the squad for the first time since late February following a knee injury but given he has only just begun training again, it would be hard to see him start from the off, handing Moyes and West Ham further encouragement.

Will Smallbone is also a confirmed absentee.

It’s a big boost

There is so much on the line for the Irons today, less so for Southampton.

One more point will secure a Europa League berth and their best-ever finish since the 1997/98 campaign when Harry Redknapp guided them to eighth place.

In reality, this is a must-win game for West Ham, just to ensure they get over the finish line with no worries. A loss, with results going against them elsewhere, could tarnish what has been a phenomenal run under Moyes.

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It was nearly a year ago that he steered the East London outfit to safety with one game to go, now he’s one more match away from achieving what would’ve been unthinkable before the season started.

Saints could well be missing two key stars and this will only bolster their chances, so it’s huge news for the Scotsman heading into kickoff.

Adams is currently their second top-scorer on nine goals behind Danny Ings (12), though he offers more than just the ability to find the net, as he has averaged one key pass per game, which also makes him amongst Hasenhuttl’s most creative options, as per WhoScored.

Similarly, Romeu’s role in defensive midfield cannot be understated as he does the dirty work that often goes unnoticed, and he would be one tough battle for the out-of-form Jesse Lingard if he were to start.

He tops the charts for tackles (3.4) and isn’t far behind for interceptions (1.5) per game on the south coast.

All in all, this news should absolutely delight Moyes as his chances of securing that point have been bolstered massively.

AND in other news, Moyes must ruthlessly axe “incredible” £26m-rated West Ham star after midweek disaster…

Sunderland owner Kyril Louis-Dreyfus has revealed that Lee Johnson will remain in charge of the club next season.

What’s been said?

In an interview with talkSPORT, the 24-year-old Black Cats majority shareholder gave his backing to the incumbent Sunderland manager, suggesting that, while he was disappointed with the play-off semi-final defeat against Lincoln City, he would not be making any impulsive decisions over the 39-year-old’s future.

Louis-Dreyfus said: “I was disappointed, like everyone else, that the season didn’t finish as we expected it to finish. Anything can happen in the play-offs and unfortunately we fell short, but I think the players deserve credit.

“Lee Johnson was a long-term appointment from the start and we all knew, regardless of the outcome this season, he would be with us next season. I think he’s the right man to lead us to promotion.”

Fans will be split

Following the disappointment of the defeat in the play-off semi-finals, it was reported that Louis-Dreyfus was considering Johnson’s position ahead of the club’s third consecutive season in League One, however, these latest comments would appear to put any doubt regarding the manager’s job to bed.

It could easily be argued that this is a good decision by the club’s owner, as the 39-year-old showed that he is more than capable of getting a tune out of the Sunderland team, having led his side on a run of 12 straight league games without defeat earlier in the season, before a number of injuries suffered by several key players derailed the club’s promotion push somewhat.

Furthermore, Johnson also ended the club’s 48-year wait for a victory at Wembley this term, with his side lifting the Papa John’s Trophy back in March.

However, whether or not the Mackem fanbase view Louis-Dreyfus’ backing of the former Bristol City boss as a good thing is debatable, as footage emerged shortly after the play-off loss that appeared to show a number of fans extremely unhappy with the 39-year-old.

On the other hand, a number of Sunderland fans on Twitter appeared to give their backing to the manager, with one stating that he is “100% behind” Johnson ahead of next season, while another called for their fellow Black Cats supporters to “back this guy.”

As such, it would seem as if the fans are somewhat split as to whether they agree with Louis-Dreyfus’ backing of Johnson, and only time will tell to determine which of the faction will prove to be right.

In other news: Sunderland drop update on “desperate” £6k-p/w flop that is sure to leave fans livid – opinion

Alan Nixon believes Roy Keane is desperate to become Celtic’s new manager.

The Lowdown: Keane’s previous links

Keane, a former Champions League winner as a player, has been linked with the vacant role in recent months.

The 49-year-old was in talks with the Hoops board in March and was back in the frame for the job a few weeks later.

Eddie Howe appeared to be Keane’s main rival for the job back then, however, a move for the Englishman fell through on Friday, with the Hoops now thought to be in advanced talks with Ange Postecoglou.

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The Latest: Nixon’s claim on Keane

Nixon was asked about the possibility of Keane landing the job over Postecoglou on Twitter by a Celtic fan on Saturday evening.

The Sun writer replied, dropping a huge three-word claim by believing Keane ‘wants it badly’. However, according to Nixon, the Hoops hierarchy don’t want him.

“Keane wants it badly. But people in power there don’t want him. Shame. Would have been fun.”

The Verdict: Hoops making the right call

Even though Keane seemingly wants to return to management after 10 years away, we think Celtic are making the correct decision by having no interest in giving him the job.

Martin O’Neill appears to be in Dermot Desmond’s ear, staking his claim for Keane to get the job, but it seems even the opinion of a Hoops hero hasn’t persuaded the owner to change his mind.

Celtic have held extensive talks with Postecoglou and have submitted an offer for the Yokohama F. Marinos boss, who was coy on a move to Scotland on Sunday.

Postecoglou has only had a three-month break from management over the last 12 years, so that experience could be a key factor in Celtic looking at him over the Irishman, who has simply been out of the dugout for too long to trust as a reliable option.

In other news: Anthony Joseph shares three factors why Eddie Howe move fell through, find out more here.