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One of the more notable transfer missed opportunities at West Ham United in recent times saw the club reportedly miss out on a move for Egyptian starlet Mohamed Salah, with the ruthless forward having since gone on to leave GSB more than ruing that previous failure.

The former Basel man had been snapped up by London rivals Chelsea on an £11m deal back in January 2014, although after scoring just twice in 19 appearances in all competitions at Stamford Bridge, the mercurial wizard was subsequently shipped off to Serie A side Fiorentina on loan after just 12 months in England.

That temporary move to Florence proved particularly fruitful as the 5 foot 9 menace scored nine times and provided four assists in just 26 games in the second half of the 2014/15 season, with such form seemingly catching the eye of the Irons.

The east London outfit – then managed by current Watford boss Slaven Bilic – had reportedly made an ambitious loan offer to sign the dynamic ace from the Blues in the summer of 2015, with the Hammers looking to pair the winger in attack alongside the incoming Dimitri Payet.

Supporters were denied the chance to see what would have been a simply mouthwatering partnership in action, however, as the fleet-footed sensation returned to Italy to join AS Roma on an initial loan deal, before signing permanently a year later for just £16m.

The rest, as they say, is history, with Salah having subsequently gone on to sparkle during his two-year stint at the Stadio Olimpico – providing 56 goal contributions in just 83 games for I Giallorossi – before joining Premier League giants Liverpool on a £34m deal in 2017.

That switch to Anfield has proven a masterstroke for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp – despite the German’s initial reservations – with the 83-cap machine having been a consistently clinical presence in the years since, with three top-flight Golden Boots to his name and 161 goals in just 266 games for the Merseyside outfit.

A simply “unique” asset – as described by Ben Webb – the £350k-per-week marksman has repeatedly terrorised opposition defenders with both his creative flair and relentless speed, proving a constant nightmare for West Ham, in particular, with a remarkable haul of nine goals in just nine games against the London Stadium outfit to date.

Such has been the 30-year-old’s rise since being cast out by his former employers Chelsea, he is now reportedly worth as much as £88m, according to CIES Football Observatory, notably earning praise as “one of the best players in the world” from current boss, Klopp.

To have missed out on such a stunning talent will likely be a huge source of frustration for both GSB and Hammers supporters, having also previously fluffed the chance sign another former Blues man on loan in the form of Romelu Lukaku in 2013…

Manchester City are ‘ready to submit’ an offer for ‘rising star’ defender Sam Curtis, according to reports in the last 48 hours.

The Lowdown: Begiristain busy?

Sporting director Txiki Begiristain has arguably just experienced one of the most hectic summer windows of his Etihad Stadium career.

The City chief orchestrated a plethora of major signings with deals to sign marquee big name Erling Haaland, Kalvin Phillips, Stefan Ortega, Sergio Gomez, Manuel Akanji and Julian Alvarez.

Begiristain was also locked in exit talks with long-serving mainstays like Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Fernandinho, who all left Eastlands – not to mention a few promising youngsters.

On the field, Pep Guardiola’s side are flying high as they seek to retain their third-successive Premier League title, but off it, the Sky Blues remain pretty busy.

The Latest: City ‘ready’ Curtis offer…

According to recent reports, City are lining up one of Ireland’s most promising young stars.

Football Insider claim they are ‘ready to submit an offer’ for St Patrick’s Athletic defender Curtis with the English giants even sending scouts to watch him recently.

The ‘rising star’ has also been looked at by Roma, Bayer Leverkusen and Feyenoord but it’s City who are ‘racing’ to get a deal done for the 16-year-old.

Highly versatile, the Irishman can play at right-back or centre-half, and he is already an ‘established member’ of St Patrick’s senior side despite his very young age.

The Verdict: Get it done…

The fact he is already playing regular first team football at 16 highlights his real potential.

Having been called ‘phenomenal’ by St. Pat’s boss Tim Clancy, Curtis also played a starring role in the League of Ireland side’s chase for European qualification.

The teenager appears to be an exciting talent and a real one to watch, leaving little wonder City scouts have taken note of his real exploits.

Wolves’ decision to keep hold of Pedro Neto during the summer has somewhat backfired, as his performances prior to injury were far from good enough.

The Portuguese winger looked to have established himself as one of the most exciting talents in the Premier League with his performances for the Old Gold in the 2020/21 campaign, as he hit five goals and six assists in 31 top-flight appearances, averaging a superb 7.11 rating from WhoScored.

Having signed Neto from Lazio in a double swoop alongside Bruno Jordao in 2019, it seemed as if the young winger would be the next big talent to emerge at Molineux, perhaps following in the footsteps of Diogo Jota after his big money to Liverpool.

BBC pundit Alan Shearer was certainly won over by Neto in that impressive 2020/21 campaign, labelling the young winger a “huge talent” after he produced a match-winning performance against Southampton.

Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, it has seemingly all been downhill since then, with injury ruling him out for much of the 2021/22 campaign, as he made just 13 appearances in the Premier League, contributing one goal and one assist.

There was hope that, with a full pre-season under his belt, Neto would be able to get back to his best with the Old Gold this season and provide some of the attacking and creative spark that Wolves missed under Bruno Lage in the last campaign.

However, he struggled immensely at the start of the season, failing to notch a single goal or assist in any of his opening eight appearances for the club.

It was something of a surprise, therefore, when Wolves reportedly turned down a number of approaches from Arsenal for Neto during the summer transfer window, with one report claiming that the Gunners were willing to pay £35m for the winger.

However, Jeff Shi clearly felt that he was in a strong financial position following the sale of Morgan Gibbs-White to Nottingham Forest and demanded £50m for Neto, which Mikel Arteta’s side were understandably not willing to pay.

That decision now looks to have been a poor one, as Neto’s form this season, like many others, has been very disappointing. The injury he picked up in the defeat against West Ham, which looks set to keep him sidelined for a number of months, only made matters worse.

Had Wolves sold Neto they could have added quality in other positions such as centre-back and striker, where a lack of depth has already been exposed this season after injuries to Raul Jimenez and Sasa Kalajdzic, as well as the suspension of Nathan Collins.

Therefore, this decision must surely go down as a blunder by Shi, as it seems unlikely that Neto could be sold for anywhere near £35m if he maintains his recent form when he does return from injury.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are still searching for their next manager following the sacking of Bruno Lage after a 2-0 defeat against West Ham United at the start of the month.

Spaniard Julen Lopetegui was Wolves’ main target to replace Lage, but he turned down the job due to family reasons, however, might there be a U-turn in the near future?

Journalist Guillem Balague has dropped a hint regarding what the future holds for the 56-year-old, saying: “I’m convinced a lot more managers are coming. Lopetegui will be in the Premier League very soon and both of [Lopetegui and Unai Emery] will make things very harder.”

With Steve Davis and James Collins remaining in charge until at least January 2023, it will give the club time to look for a new manager.

Lopetegui would be a huge coup

The former goalkeeper was sacked by Sevilla following a 4-1 rout against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League three weeks ago and is therefore free to speak to other teams.

He does have plenty of experience in La Liga while holding a managerial win percentage of 57.5%, which is solid if unspectacular.

Last season, his Sevilla side lost just four league matches, but a lack of consistency failed to generate a solid title challenge.

Having led the Spanish U19s and U21s to European Championship glory, he joined Porto but left after a trophyless 18-month spell.

Lopetegui then guided Spain to the 2018 World Cup, however, he was dismissed on the eve of the tournament as it was revealed he was taking charge of Real Madrid once the competition was over. This spell wasn’t successful and it wasn’t until claiming the Europa League title in 2020 with perennial winners Sevilla that he won his first club managerial honour.

His career has been a mixed bag, to say the least, but Wolves need someone with experience, and landing a coach with the history of Lopetegui would undoubtedly be a huge coup for the Old Gold – who are currently staring down the barrel of a relegation battle this season.

West Ham United will surely be disappointed that they weren’t able to sign Martin Terrier from Stade Rennais during the summer, as the Frenchman is enjoying another superb season in Ligue 1.

David Moyes’ side were heavily linked with the winger during the summer transfer window but Rennes’ asking price of £34m proved to be too much for the Hammers, especially after they paid a similar fee to bring in Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo.

Last season saw Terrier bag 21 goals and three assists in 37 Ligue 1 games for Les Rouge et Noir, averaging a superb 7.41 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

He has started the 2022/23 campaign in a similar vein of form, hitting eight goals and contributing three assists in just 13 French top-flight appearances, earning a phenomenal 7.78 rating from WhoScored so far this season.

For comparison, Declan Rice is rated as the top performer in West Ham’s side so far this season, with a 7.06 average rating from WhoScored, which emphasises just how impressive Terrier has been.

The 25-year-old only trails Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Jonathan David in the race for the golden boot in France, and has scored one more than the legendary Lionel Messi in Ligue 1 this season, which is no mean feat given the way he has started the season for PSG.

It is no surprise therefore that interest is increasing in Terrier again ahead of the winter transfer window, with Stade Rennais set to demand around £40m for his services, although the Hammers are not named as an interested party.

European football writer Tim Williams was full of praise for Terrier on the Sky Sports transfer talk podcast. He said:

“He’s a very quick, left-sided right-footed attacking player whose trademark is coming in off the left flank and whipping shots in, a-la Thierry Henry.

“Looking at his age and the phenomenal season he had last season, he will probably think that if he is ever going to make a big move to the Premier League, it’s probably going to be now or never.”

Considering Terrier is starring in the Europa League with the Ligue 1 side as well, with three goals and one assist in just six appearances, a move to West Ham in January is perhaps not on the cards, and the Hammers will surely regret not meeting Rennes’ asking price for the impressive winger in the summer.

Former Premier League striker and Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell has backed Newcastle United in their pursuit of Villarreal winger Nicolas Jackson.

The Lowdown: Newcastle interest

As per The Daily Mail, the St. James’ Park outfit are just one of a number of clubs in the Premier League eyeing a potential move for Jackson in the January transfer window.

They have been following his progress in recent months, but will face competition from both Everton and Aston Villa for his signature, as well as FC Barcelona.

Jackson’s contract at Villarreal runs out in the summer, meaning that he could be sold for a cut-price in January, at the risk of the Yellow Submarine losing him on a free transfer.

The Latest: Campbell backs move

Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell has claimed that adding a player of Jackson’s ‘quality’ in January ‘would be great’ for Eddie Howe’s side, as it would strengthen their chances of finishing in the top four come the end of the season:

“Newcastle could be big players in the market place come January.

“Now they find themselves in the top four, this is the time to strengthen. That would be the right way to think.

“Adding a player of quality to your squad like Nicholas Jackson would be great. It would be a smart move. It is essential to add goals to your squad and he would do that.

“I’m sure he will be one of many names floating around. Newcastle have been taking their time with transfers. The key is to get it right.”

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The Verdict: Get it done

Jackson would certainly give Howe another quality option in his forward line, should the Magpies be able to get a deal done.

Capable of playing on the wing, the 21-year-old has also impressed in a centre-forward position, as he has not missed a single match yet so far this term, scoring three goals and making two assists (Transfermarkt).

Lauded as a player with ‘bags of potential‘ by journalist Ashley Preece, Jackson received his first call-up to the Senegal national team in September, and was an unused substitute in international friendlies against Bolivia and Iran (Transfermarkt).

He will be hoping to get his first caps during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, so the Toon Army should be looking to keep tabs on his performances throughout the tournament.

Chelsea are looking to ‘bring in’ two new midfielders in 2023, with Brighton’s Moises Caicedo ‘definitely’ on the list of targets, according to journalist Simon Phillips.

The Lowdown: Triple exit on the cards?

The Premier League giants could be very light in the centre of the pitch next summer with Jorginho and N’Golo Kante’s contracts expiring at the end of the season, and both are yet to put pen to paper on fresh terms.

Denis Zakaria will also be returning to his parent club Juventus following the conclusion of his loan spell, meaning that Graham Potter will likely need to dip into the market to find suitable reinforcements.

The Latest: Phillips’ comments

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Phillips revealed that whilst Chelsea do still have the likes of Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek available, Todd Boehly is looking to make some new recruits in midfield over the next 12 months, with one player in particular name-checked.

The journalist said: “I think the way things are looking at the moment, Chelsea are potentially going to look to bring in two new midfielders within the next two windows. And Caicedo is definitely one of them on that list.”

The Verdict: Get it done…

The Mirror have claimed that Brighton are willing to entertain offers in the region of £85m for Caicedo, and whilst this is a large figure, he would be more than worth the purchase.

Dubbed a ‘machine man’ by Jacek Kulig, the Ecuadorian currently averages 2.8 tackles and 1.3 interceptions per game this season and has a pass success rate of 87.3% (WhoScored).

That’s more tackles per game than anyone in the current Chelsea squad, while he’d also be in the top five at Stamford Bridge for the other metrics (WhoScored).

With Potter and Caicedo having worked together at the Amex Stadium, this pre-existing relationship could help to give the Blues an advantage in the race for the 21-year-old’s services next year.

Some parts of the media were left criticising Bruno Fernandes for his part in Fulham’s equalising goal against Manchester United in the Premier League.

The Lowdown: Bright start

United and Fernandes made a bright start to the game when his pass was put on a plate for Christian Eriksen to tap in the opening goal with just 14 minutes on the clock.

However, his performance seemed to dip in the second half, as he was partially at fault for the equaliser for the hosts scored by former Red Devil Dan James before Alejandro Garnacho netted a dramatic late winner.

The Latest: Fernandes criticised

Taking to Twitter, Manchester Evening News reporters Samuel Luckhurst and Tyrone Marshall were both critical of Fernandes for losing the ball cheaply which directly led to Fulham’s equaliser.

Luckhurst claimed that he was ‘really timid’ as he was dispossessed, while Marshall called his ball ‘poor’.

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The Verdict: The good and the bad

Fernandes showed moments of brilliance in the first half, but was not at his best in the second. The attacking midfielder lost out on eight of his nine duels in total, a staggering 89%, and failed to record a single shot on target or dribble. He maintained just a 67% pass accuracy, the joint-lowest in the side, and gave possession away a total of 16 times. (SofaScore).

Fernandes will now be heading to the FIFA World Cup with Portugal, where he can shift his focus away from club football until the league season resumes again.

Sky Sports pundit Kevin Campbell has claimed that he could see Ange Postecoglou leaving Celtic to take over from Frank Lampard at Everton if the latter departs Goodison Park.

The Lowdown: Everton targeting Postecoglou

According to journalist Alan Nixon, Postecoglou is ‘top of the wish list’ for the Merseyside club to potentially replace Lampard as manager.

The 44-year-old is under pressure after a poor run of results which has seen his side win just one of their last eight matches in total across all competitions, slumping to a worrying 17th place in the Premier League table and at risk of enduring another potential relegation battle.

The Latest: Move possible

Speaking to Football Insider, Campbell has claimed that, given the ‘remarkable’ work that Postecoglou has done at Parkhead, he would not rule out the Celtic manager potentially replacing Lampard at Goodison Park should the latter be sacked.

The former Arsenal striker said: “I think Lampard is the man for the job right now. But who knows? He could be sacked next week.

“What Postecoglou has done at Celtic has been remarkable. He came with a resume that no one really knew too much about, as a wildcard – and he’s made a real difference.

“Could I see him taking that to Everton? Potentially.

“He’s got his own style and his own methods both on the pitch and in the transfer market. Why wouldn’t that work at Everton?”

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The Verdict: Worrying

Given that Postecoglou has been linked with managerial jobs at Wolves and Leeds United recently, the fact that he has been named in conjunction with with another high-profile Premier League job must be worrying for Celtic supporters.

The 57-year-old was vital in the Hoops taking the Premiership title back off the hands of bitter rivals Rangers, in his first season in charge no less, and his side are dominating the league once again this term, already opening a nine-point lead at the summit.

Nonetheless, the break for the World Cup presents an ideal time for the Toffees to change their manager, and the Bhoys will be hoping that Postecoglou’s camp will be quiet if Lampard is dismissed at Goodison Park.

Nottingham Forest captured the attention of the English football community and media when they signed 22 new players ahead of their return to the Premier League this summer, and it is safe to say the newly-built team hasn’t delivered to the ambitious expectations set.

The Tricky Trees have spent the majority of their top-flight campaign so far in the relegation zone following a poor start that has seen them pick up just 13 points from a possible 45 so far.

Following a review of the recruitment drive in the summer transfer window, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis sacked both the club’s head of recruitment and head scout but it won’t be just the £150m spent on players that Marinakis will be regretful of.

Surprisingly, there were some targets missed by the powers at The City Ground during their rebuild of the Forest team with one player in particular who has been thriving ever since an offer from the club was rejected in the summer.

PSV Eindhoven and Netherlands star Cody Gakpo has been impressing at both club level and on the international stage during the World Cup and his success will be something that will be a hard watch for Marinakis.

The talented 23-year-old winger has been a stand-out performer for PSV over the season so far and considering his contributions in front of goal so far, would have been a hugely valuable asset to Forest in their pursuit to retain their Premier League status.

Over 14 Eredivisie appearances, Gakpo – who was hailed a “sensation” by Tom Allnutt – has scored nine goals, delivered 12 assists and created a whopping 12 big chances, as well as averaging 4.3 key passes, 1.9 successful dribbles, 3.6 shots at goal and 54.7 touches per game.

Not only that, the £35m Dutch international has been “on fire” and the linchpin in the Netherlands’ successful progression to the knock-out stages of the World Cup in Qatar, scoring three goals in three games and is currently joint-top goal-scorer in the prestigious tournament alongside Kylian Mbappe, Marcus Rashford and Enner Valencia.

Considering that Forest have scored the second joint-fewest amount of Premier League goals so far this season, it is safe to say that the signing of Gakpo would have been a much more worthwhile investment than Jesse Lingard who is currently collecting £200k per week at the club but has registered not a single league goal or assist over his 13 appearances so far.

With that being said, Gakpo has now become one of the most sought-after players in the world following his performances at the World Cup leaving little hope for Forest to reignite their interest in the winger and will likely now just remain a ‘what if?’ for Marinakis, Steve Cooper and the Forest supporters.