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Nottingham Forest have now joined the race to sign an “extraordinary” Real Madrid player, who is tempted by a move to the Premier League.

Forest still keen to strengthen despite West Ham victory

Forest defeated West Ham United 2-1 at the London Stadium on Tuesday night, in what could prove to be a relegation six-pointer, and there is now much more breathing room near the bottom of the Premier League table, having moved seven points clear of Nuno’s side.

Sean Dyche praised his side for the way in which they responded to going a goal down in the first half, saying: “Well, [I’m] pleased obviously. Pleased with the mentality of the players.

“Awkward game for both sides and a lot of noise around the game. To go 1-0 down and stay calm and deliver a second half that can win the game is very pleasing.”

However, the Tricky Trees aren’t out of the woods just yet, as they remain in 17th place, which means it remains important to improve the squad this month, and they have now set their sights on a Real Madrid player.

That is according to a report from TEAMtalk, which reveals Nottingham Forest have joined the race to sign Andriy Lunin, with it possible the Spanish side could be willing to sanction a move in 2026, given that the goalkeeper has only received little game time.

The race for Lunin’s signature is heating up, with Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion also keen, which could be music to the Ukrainian’s ears, given that he is really tempted to move to the Premier League.

The Madrid ace’s entourage have already started to work on an exit from the Santiago Bernabéu, and there are plenty of signs he could be a success at the City Ground.

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Nottingham Forest have already identified a replacement for the outgoing Arnaud Kalimuendo this January.

Posts ByEthan Lamb "Extraordinary" Lunin is Champions League proven

Although the 26-year-old has been unable to establish himself as Madrid’s first-choice option between the sticks, he has proven himself at the very highest level in the past, making eight appearances in the 2023-24 Champions League, with his side going on to win the competition.

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After impressing against RB Leipzig in the round of 16 that year, the £76k-a-week shot-stopper was singled out for very high praise by CBS Sports’ Nico Cantor.

Forest may not need to bring in a new goalkeeper immediately, given that they already have Matz Sels, who won the Premier League Golden Glove award last season.

However, considering Sels is now 33-years-old, it is about time Dyche started to think about bringing in a long-term replacement, and Lunin, who needs to be playing regular football at this stage of his career, could be an exciting option.

This season, Manchester United’s striking options have certainly struggled a bit in front of goal. The Red Devils only have two senior out-and-out number nines at the club after Rasmus Hojlund’s summer departure, and it certainly feels like they’ve felt the impact of that lack of depth.

Manager Ruben Amorim has, perhaps unfairly, given Joshua Zirkzee limited opportunities this term, with the silky Dutchman only playing 11 Premier League games, bagging twice.

That is the same number of goals as Benjamin Sesko, with their summer signing from RB Leipzig now on a run of eight games without a goal.

It might not be a surprise, then, to learn United are linked with a new striker this winter.

Man United target Premier League striker

It does seem as though Zirkzee’s time at Old Trafford might be coming to an end in the next few weeks.

After another poor season at Old Trafford, he has been strongly linked with a move back to Serie A, with Roma touted as a potential destination for the United number 11.

Well, their replacement might come soon enough, and from within the top flight. According to a report from journalist Pete O’Rourke, the 13-time Premier League champions ‘are considering a move’ to sign Crystal Palace and France international Jean-Philippe Mateta.

The situation surrounding the three-cap French star at the moment is an interesting one. He is out of contract at the end of the 2026/27 season, and he is ‘stalling over a new deal’ according to O’Rourke.

This could give United the chance to move in and sign him for cheap, with Palace valuing him at a reported £26m over the summer.

Sky Sports have backed up those claims, revealing on Thursday that the Eagles forward is indeed a player they have ‘a long-term interest in’.

Why Mateta would improve United

In the last two and a half seasons, the 28-year-old has developed a reputation as “one of the best strikers in the Premier League”, according to Como scout Ben Mattinson. The Frenchman has become a key and consistent source of goals for the Eagles.

In 148 Premier League appearances, the striker, who hails from just outside of Paris, has bagged 45 goals and assisted nine. His best two goalscoring seasons came in 2023/24, when he scored 16 league goals and 2024/25, a campaign in which he grabbed 14 top-flight goals.

After 19 league outings this season, he’s already found the back of the net seven times, so he is roughly on course to score a similar number of goals again, showing excellent consistency.

Amorim would surely love someone with that level of experience in his squad. The strikers at Old Trafford have certainly struggled, with Sesko one of the players who has not really found his best form yet.

It might only be a matter of time, but United fans are not yet seeing the same sort of form the Slovenian showed for RB Leipzig.

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In two Bundesliga seasons, he hit 13 and 14 goals before getting his big move, so two goals in Red might well be seen as underwhelming.

The underlying stats from this season suggest that the Palace striker would be an upgrade on Sesko. For example, Mateta has a 16.28% conversion rate compared to just 8.33% conversion rate for the new Red Devils striker.

Mateta & Sesko 25/26 PL stats compared

Stat (per 90)

Mateta

Sesko

Shot accuracy

53.49%

50%

Coversion rate

16.28%

8.33%

Shots on target

1.5

1.3

Goals

0.5

0.3

Fouls won

0.7

0.3

Stats from Squawka

Having a striker with the quality and experience of Mateta in the squad would certainly benefit United’s number 30. Not only because he can learn from someone more experienced, but also because it would take the pressure off him as United’s main number nine.

This is surely a deal with which Amorim’s side cannot go wrong. It is a cut-price fee for a Premier League-proven striker, a plug-and-play attacker who would slot into the same system as he plays at Palace and improve the squad.

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Posts 1 ByJoe Nuttall

The eight squads for the women’s World Cup qualifiers have been finalised. The qualifiers take place in Lahore from November 17, with two spots up for grabs at the World Cup which will be held in Australia in 2009.The teams will compete in two groups initially – South Africa are in a pool with Bermuda, Netherlands and Papua New Guinea, leaving the other pool with PNG, Scotland, Zimbabwe and Ireland.Ireland, South Africa and Pakistan had already announced their squads.Bermuda Wendy Woodley, Reuna Richardson, Rhoda Jones, Stacey Simmons, Brittney Marshall, Maryellen Jackson, Rickelle Smith, Sinshea Paynter, Terry-Lynn Paynter, Suzette Albouy, Arkeita Smith, Stacy Babb, Chevonne Furbert.Netherlands Marloes Braat, Lotte Egging, Margaretha de Fouw, Jolet Hartenhof, Mandy Kornet, Maartje Koster, Marijn Nijman, Cheraldine Oudolf, Jacqueline Pashley, Helmien Rambaldo (capt), Annemarie Tanke, Violet Wattenberg, Denise Prins.PNG Konio Heagi, Henao Sam, Fari Mea, Karo Lumis, Pauke Siaka, Lucy Ovia, Vavine Amini, Ura Rigana, Norma Ovasuru, Mebo Ipi, Boni David, Bede Morea, Moa Kamea.Scotland Kari Anderson, Kathryn White, Charlotte Bascombe, Abbi Aitken, Caroline Heron, Catherine Smaill, Fiona Campbell, Fiona Urquhart (capt), Caroline Sweetman, Leigh Kasperek, Sehar Aslam, Charlotte Farr, Diane Pedgrift, Vari Maxwell.Zimbabwe Julia Chibhabha (capt), Yvonne Rainsford, Tina Kamchetsa, Susan Kudzibatira, Nonhlanhla Nyathi, Precious Marange, Hazvinei Saili, Thandakwenkosi Mlilo, Sinikiwe Mpofu, Emily Jinjika, Sharne Mayers, Christabel Chatonzwa, Ruvarashe Chinyemba, Chipo Mugeri.

ScorecardMumbai piled on the runs and the pressure on Rajasthan as they ended the second day 309 ahead at the Wankhede Stadium. Amol Muzumdar played a captain’s knock of 117, while Rohit Sharma and Abhishek Nair chipped in with valuable half-centuries to extend Mumbai’s lead. Nair played an aggressive knock of 86 and shared a 234-run stand with Muzumdar. After both were dismissed, Sharma and the lower order strengthened Mumbai’s position, with Vinayak Samanth helping himself to an unbeaten 41 at stumps. Mohammad Aslam, the left-arm spinner, was the pick of the bowlers, taking five wickets.
Scorecard
Delhi took a firm grip on the game after reducing Andhra to 92 for 4 after posting 355 in their first innings. Ishant Sharma prised out two wickets, including the vital wicket of Venugopal Rao, to leave Andhra struggling at 45 for 4 but the hosts attempted to stabilise through an unbroken 47-run stand between Prasad Reddy and Chandramouli Prasad. Earlier, Aditya Jain guided the lower-order, after his overnight-partner Mayank Tehlan fell after reaching his hundred, to take Delhi to a healthy total. Mohammad Faiq grabbed two more wickets to end up with a five-wicket haul and prevent Delhi from running away to a massive total but the visitors held the advantage by the end of the day.
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Hyderabad were sitting pretty after an allround bowling performance left Bengal limping at 172 for 7. Ranadeb Bose struck three blows to restrict Hyderabad, overnight on 258 for 6, to 309. Bengal lost wickets at regular intervals and slipped to 104 or 6 before they tried to rally through a 60-run partnership between Rohan Gavaskar and Saurasish Lahiri.But Pragyan Ojha dismissed Gavaskar to put the hosts on top. Bengal and Hyderabad are tied at 8 points apiece.
Scorecard
Karnataka, who amassed 426, were eyeing a first-innings lead after reducing Tamil Nadu to 119 for 4 at the end of the second day’s play in Bangalore. Balachandra Akhil blasted a quick 73 to lift Karnataka, overnight on 309 for 6, to a huge total. Tamil Nadu started their reply in a disastrous fashion when Srikkanth Anirudha was run out in the first over but recovered through a 78-run partnership between Ramaswamy Prasanna and Murali Vijay. But Appanna, the young left-arm spinner, removed Vijay to regain the initiative. Three wickets fell in the space of 41 runs as Tamil Nadu found themselves in trouble.
ScorecardA five-wicket haul by seamer Anupam Sanclecha restricted Gujarat to 369, blotching their sound start, on the second day at Nasik. Shortly after Niraj Patel – overnight on 92 – reached his century, Gujarat lost their way. Sanclecha struck twice, sending back Parthiv Patel and Niraj Patel, and Gujarat lost four wickets for just 35 runs. Kirat Damani then salvaged the situation with a half-century, and was well supported by the lower order. Damani’s 52 came off 81 balls with eight fours and a six. Maharashtra began their reply in a cautious manner, ending the day at 72 for 1 after Dheeraj Jadhav lost his wicket to Damani’s off breaks.
ScorecardSaurashtra were in a spot of bother against Haryana at Rajkot as they lost their top five for 134, still trailing by 174 runs. Resuming on 238 for 7, Amit Mishra and Sandeep Singh continued their resistance, adding 27 before Sandip Maniar sent back Singh for 58. Mishra looked set for his maiden first-class century before falling to Rakesh Dhruv, who picked up his fifth wicket. Saurashtra stumbled in their reply, as Shitanshu Kotak and Jaydev Shah failed to convert their starts, both falling in the 30s. Mishra picked up two quick wickets by the close of play.

Scorecard
Six wickets from Chetanya Nanda, the legspinner, helped Delhi dismiss Bengal for 211 – a lead of 63 – in the final session of day two, before Shikhar Dhawan and Aakash Chopra ensured that Delhi built on the advantage. Bengal managed to stretch its first-innings lead thanks primarily to a dogged fifty from Rohan Gavaskar and a useful contribution from Manoj Tiwari down the order. Earlier, Bengal had bowled the hosts out for a paltry 148, and Delhi will definitely need to make amends in the second innings if they wish to register their first points in the season.
ScorecardA fine hundred from Vinit Indulkar, his second in first-class cricket, helped Mumbai consolidate their position on the second day of the Ranji Trophy clash against Karnataka at Bangalore. After bowling out Karnataka for a modest 186 yesterday, Mumbai rode on a solid 62 from Wasim Jaffer before Indulkar, 21, dominated proceedings. He crashed 18 fours in his 209-ball unbeaten effort and his 119-run stand with Omkar Khanvilkar, who made a patient 23, strengthened their position at the end of the day.
ScorecardUseful contributions from the middle order enabled Tamil Nadu to gain the edge on the second day of the Ranji Trophy game against Railways in Delhi. Sridharan Sriram, Subramanium Badrinath and Hemang Badani ground out half-centuries as Tamil Nadu overcame an early slump, reduced to 32 for 2, to recover to 211 for 4 at stumps. Madan Yadav, the left-arm spinner, ended as the most successful bowler for Railways, the defending champions, and ended with 2 for 58.
ScorecardIt was a tense battle at Valsad as Gujarat and Maharashtra jostled for supremacy on the second day of the Ranji Trophy clash. The Maharashtra lower order managed to add just 40 more runs this morning as Siddharth Trivedi, the medium-pacer who finished with a five-wicket haul, led a Gujarat fightback. Their top-order batsmen then stole the initiative by laying a solid platform – with Nilesh Modi, Akash Christian and Niraj Patel crossing 30 – but a triple strike from Rohit Jadhav, the offspinner, enabled Maharashtra to claw back into the see-saw contest.
Scorecard
Andhra were 50 for 1 at the close of the second day’s play at Anantapur, after Ibrahim Khaleel’s maiden first-class hundred took Hyderabad to an imposing 370. Pragyan Ojha, the left-arm spinner, dismissed MSK Prasad for just 9 to get the early breakthough, but Tirumal Suman, who shifted from Hyderabad this season, clubbed consecutive sixes off his – and the day’s – final over to signal Andhra’s intent. Hyderabad had began the day on 211 for 5 and lost two wickets before lunch, but staunch resistance from Khaleel, the wicketkeeper, and Inder Shekar Reddy turned a precarious situation into one of dominance.
Scorecard
Centuries from Connor Williams and Jacob Martin took Baroda to a comfortable 268 for 2 on day two of the Elite group match-up against Uttar Pradesh at Kanpur, just 78 runs behind UP’s first-innings total. It was a day of struggle for UP as both Williams and Martin found the boundaries with ease and staved off any attempts of a fightback from the bowlers. Earlier, UP had extended its overnight of 303 for 6 to 346 thanks to some lower-order hitting.
Scorecard
Joginder Sharma’s second consecutive five-wicket haul helped Haryana bowl out Punjab for 224, with only Ravneet Ricky’s 58 standing out amid the rubble, but two late wickets helped Punjab fight back at Mohali. Joginder’s decisive strikes with the new ball left Punjab reeling, before Ricky stemmed the rot with a gritty 161-ball knock. Dinesh Mongia, who fell for a golden duck, will hope for a much better showing from himself and his middle order as Punjab aim to push for victory in the game.

Scorecard

Graeme Hick led the revival – a brief one – for the World XI with his 44© Getty Images

Brilliant hitting by Stephen Fleming took New Zealand to a resounding victory by nine wickets over the FICA World XI at Jade Stadium in Christchurch with nearly 34 overs to spare. Fleming went on a one-man wrecking mission as he raced to a century off 54 balls, with his last 50 runs coming in ust 19 deliveries. He struck seven sixes off Muttiah Muralitharan to bring up New Zealand’s 100 in only the 12th over.Fleming saw plenty of Muralitharan during his innings of 274 in the last Test series played between New Zealand and Sri Lanka in 2003. He showed Murali no mercy here , playing a large part in his sorry figures of 0 for 57 in only 3.1 overs.Fleming’s batting reached the heights it did during his innings of 134 against South Africa in the 2003 World Cup. He reached his century with nine sixes and nine fours, and hit one more four before holing out to Craig Spearman for 106. Such was his dominance that Nathan Astle seemed a passenger with his unbeaten 36, which came at almost a run a ball.The damage was done earlier, when Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills scythed through the World XI’s top order after Shane Warne had chosen to bat first. Both Tuffey and Mills took two wickets apiece as the World XI slumped to 20 for 4. But Jonty Rhodes, out of cricket since September 2003, and Graeme Hick, who hadn’t played since the end of the last English season, effected a mini-recovery. They added 79, with Rhodes scoring 36 and Hick 44. Warne hit out for 26 as well, but after the fast bowlers did the damage at the top, Daniel Vettori swept through the lower order to take 3 for 33 to dismiss the World XI for 158 in 39.3 overs.Tuffey took 2 for 25 and Mills 2 for 30. There was a special cheer when Jeff Wilson, a double international, took Hick’s wicket to end with 1 for 27 off seven overs, his first wicket at this level since 1993.Off the field, much of the attention centred around the good cause which the match was supporting – to raise funds for the tsunami victims in South East Asia. The takings from the game came to $NZ506,233, and it supplemented a sum of $NZ700,000 that had already been pledged.The only sour note was provided by the arrest of five people for drunk and disorderly behaviour, and another spectator – also inebriated – trying to run off with a collection bucket. Those around him caught him and handed him over to the police.The second match will be played in Wellington on Monday, with the final game to follow in Hamilton two days later.

The South African board has announced it will meet in Johannesburg tomorrow to discuss reviving the cancelled tour to Pakistan. Gerald Majola, the chief executive, said he had received a letter from Pakistan offering alternative fixtures.A statement read: “Gerald Majola is to convene a meeting of the management committee of Cricket South Africa in Johannesburg on Tuesday to discuss the PCB proposal and to receive a full briefing from security consultants.”The South Africans originally called off the tour after a bomb blast in an empty Karachi office building on Friday night. They said the security in Pakistan had deteriorated to an unacceptable level, and offered to either play the series outside Pakistan or delay the tour until security improved. The Pakistan board, however, refused to play the series away from home.The revised fixtures miss out Karachi all together and have the option of excluding Peshawar. The South African committee will consult with their government, Eric Simons, the coach, and Graeme Smith, the captain, before making a final decision.”We made a decision on Saturday, based on information from our security consultants who had also been in contact with intelligence agencies,” Majola added. “That information was that the situation in Pakistan, particularly following a bomb blast in Karachi on Friday evening, meant that sending our team to Karachi on Sunday as planned would have constituted an unacceptable risk.”Majola said the his board would continue to assess the security situation and continue to look at it in relation to the proposed alternative fixtures: “We will continue to make every effort to find alternatives that do not pose an unacceptable level of risk to our national team.”Meanwhile, Rameez Raja, chief executive of the Pakistan board, said he was confident that the tour would still go ahead. “I talked to Gerald Majola and he has conveyed to me that they would find a positive way before Tuesday evening to reschedule the tour.”He added: “I am confident that the tour will go ahead with three Tests and as many one-day games as originally planned. They had misconceptions about Fridays blast that it was a car bomb and after talking to our security officials, they got the clear picture that the blast was not linked to terrorism.”

Skipper Tushar Arothe hit a fine century to give Baroda the upper hand in their Ranji Trophy league match against Saurashtra at Rajkot on Thursday.Baroda started their first innings well, putting on 70 runs for the first wicket. Nayan Mongia, batting at number three, hit an unbeaten 74, made off 149 balls with seven fours. He held the fort as a mini-collapse occurred with him at the other end.Arothe’s presence stabilised the innings, and the pair took Baroda through to the close of play. At stumps, Baroda were 283/4, with Arothe not out on 105 off 202 balls. Mongia and Arothe had added 149 runs for the fifth wicket.

Rangana Herath, who has spearheaded the Sri Lankan bowling attack for the past six years since the retirement of Muttiah Muralitharan, says he won’t make any decision on how long to carry on playing until after the end of the 2016 World Twenty20 in India. However, Herath, who will turn 38 during the World Twenty20 next March, says it could come “very soon” and admits he is struggling to stay fit with recurring knee problems hindering his effectiveness.”With my age you cannot perform the way you did some 10-15 years ago. From my fitness I am doing the maximum with the injury, I am struggling a little bit on it,” Herath said. “I cannot give a guarantee with my bowling or my fitness. I am trying to retain whatever energy I have and to prolong my career I have reduced the number of one-day matches and play only Tests.”If I put a target to end my career I will not be able to give my maximum to the team. Every time I play I look to give 100% to the team. But before long I will have to take a decision on my future. I will decide after the World T20 which is to be played in India next year. We are the reigning champions and we have a good chance of defending it with the present team although they lack in a bit in experience.”The upcoming two-Test series against West Indies represents another challenge for Herath. In particular, his knees are a special area of concern after undergoing surgery on each leg four years ago. To reduce the pain, Herath went to Australia shortly before the 2014 World Twenty20 and got a C-reactive protein injection for each knee but it is a over a year since and the pain has returned.”I did an operation on both knees in 2011 for damaged cartilage,” Herath said. “I had a clean-up and I had no problem playing after that. But of late I have been getting pains. It is four years since the operation and the effect of it must have worn off over the years due to the wear and tear while playing.”I sometimes get the pain on my knees when I start to run but not when I am bowling. I have been working with the physios, trainers and the medical staff how best to manage my injury and taking tablets and taping myself when I play in matches.”Following the retirements of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, Herath is one of the few experienced hands around for skipper Angelo Mathews to turn to for advice, making his presence all the more valuable.”Even when Mahela and Sanga were around as a bowler I offered advice and assistance to Angelo. In future, Angelo will require the support of all the team members. As a senior player I also have a responsibility to support him especially from the bowling side. If you take our bowling unit apart from Dhammika [Prasad] and me the rest have not played many matches. When you play with an inexperienced bowling unit, the captain will need to have a lot of patience because you will not get the breaks every time you need them.”In the past five-six years it has been this bowling unit which has been shuffled around and played. We always look as a team to build partnerships with the bowling unit. If anyone is bowling well from one side, not consistently bowling maiden overs but lessening the number of loose balls and not allowing batsmen the freedom to score, the strike bowler has more chances of taking wickets.”This was something that didn’t happen during Sri Lanka’s Test series against Pakistan where young offspinner Tharindu Kaushal leaked runs from one end which affected Herath, who could manage only two wickets in the series and found himself dropped for the third Test.”I don’t blame anyone for my poor performances against Pakistan. From my side I had room to improve myself which I managed to do during the Indian series,” said Herath. “PHT [Kaushal] is a newcomer to Test cricket. We cannot expect too much from him like building pressure and things like that. He needs the experience to do that. With experience only you can improve their performance. From my side I could have bowled better than I did against Pakistan.”Technically you cannot put your finger on anything that’s wrong. It is against Pakistan that I have performed very well taken about 90 Test wickets. What I found was that the Pakistan batsmen played me better than in the past and although I did not concede as many runs what stood out was that I could not get any wickets.”Despite the early inconsistency, Kaushal does have two five-wicket hauls in his first six Tests and Herath believes that Kaushal is the best option Sri Lanka has to succeed as a frontline spinner after him.”If you take our spinners it is Kaushal who has played a lot and has the wicket-taking ability,” Herath said. “Even Dilruwan Perera has it but Kaushal from the wicket-taking angle is the most successful and promising, we should pursue with him for the future. He has a problem with his doosra but I believe he can go a long way with his offspin.”PHT does not spin the ball as much as Murali. Murali had a wrist from which he could impart sharp spin and turn. Kaushal does not have that advantage, but he definitely has turn.”In contrast to all other opposition, Herath’s record against West Indies is poor. He has only taken eight wickets in five Tests but he is confident that he can put the record straight in the upcoming series.”I am confident that I can do what I have been doing in the past and have great belief if I bowl well we have a good chance of winning the series.”

Wolves have shown over the past few years that as well as signing new players to come into the club, they have also seen a number of players move out of Molineux for significant transfer fees.

One player that left the Old Gold in recent years that they will not be missing is winger Helder Costa, who was sold to fellow Premier League club Leeds United back in the 2020 summer transfer window in a deal worth a reported fee of £16m.

Wolves originally signed the attacker on loan from Benfica in 2016 before securing him on a permanent basis for a then-record club transfer fee of £13m in the 2017 January window.

During his time at Molineux, the winger racked up a total of 19 goals and 19 assists in 109 appearances across all competitions.

Since leaving the Midlands club for Leeds, the 28-year-old’s career has probably not gone the way he or the Elland Road side would have liked having scored just eight goals in 71 appearances before being moved out on loan to Spanish club Valencia last summer.

Even with the La Liga side, the Angola winger hasn’t been able to prove himself with no goals scored in 20 appearances as well as a rather underwhelming overall performance rating of 6.47/10 according to WhoScored.

Labelled as a “massive flop” for the Yorkshire club by Noel Whelan, Costa’s current market value of £7.2m from Transfermarkt shows a 55% decrease from the fee that Wolves picked up for him.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that Wolves made the right decision in selling Costa when they did and making a profit on him by doing so.

Despite not being particularly potent in front of goal this season with 24 goals scored in 25 league games, it’s hard to see the former Old Gold attacker being much help in that department if he had stayed at Molineux based on what’s he’s delivered for Leeds and Valencia since his exit.

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Moving forward, unless the player can end his loan spell in Spain on a high note, it will be hard to see what the next step in his career will be.

In other news: Forget Traore: Lage must finally axe barely-seen Wolves outcast, he’s “miles off” – opinion