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Allan Saint-Maximin inspired a stunning Newcastle United comeback on Saturday afternoon to hand a boost to Steve Bruce’s hopes of staying in the Premier League this season, but another name arguably stole the show at Turf Moor.

The Magpies were heading for a frustrating result until the Frenchman’s 57th-minute introduction as he came off the bench to score and assist two goals in quick succession.

He first found Jacob Murphy before a superb solo effort was rifled home, both within eight minutes of coming onto the pitch.

And whilst he deserves plenty of plaudits, Newcastle’s opening goalscorer deserves just as much, having made a considerable impact throughout the 90 minutes.

Indeed, Murphy was amongst Bruce’s highest-rated starters (7.4), as per SofaScore ratings and this was something echoed by ChronicleLive’s Lee Ryder, who claimed the wing-back bounced back from an indifferent opening half to form a brilliant partnership with Saint-Maximin.

The 26-year-old was one of the Magpies’ most influential players as he recorded 66 touches, a feat only bettered by Jonjo Shelvey – understandably as he’s supposed to dictate play from the engine room.

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But that merely showed how Newcastle relied on Murphy down that right flank, he only got better when Bruce replaced the struggling forward duo of Joelinton and Dwight Gayle.

The 5 foot 9 dynamo also managed to provide two accurate crosses and pulled off one successful dribble but he too contributed defensively to great effect.

As per SofaScore, Murphy made two tackles, which was only bettered by one player on the pitch – Erik Pieters (six), who the Magpies star often went to battle with.

By comparison, central defensive duo Ciaran Clark and Federico Fernandez combined for the same number of tackles. Murphy also chipped in with one interception and one block too.

The £25k-per-week dynamo earned the glowing praise of Alan Shearer on Twitter as he couldn’t contain his excitement at the victory, so whilst Saint-Maximin will be the main name spoken about, you cannot ignore the industrious contribution of the former Norwich City graduate.

He’s still set to be out of contract in the summer, so the Magpies hierarchy will need to act on Bruce’s wishes sooner rather than later after that display.

AND in other news, “There’s rumours” – Exclusive: Marcus Bent drops big claim on ex-player returning to Newcastle…

Since signing in January, Willian Jose has had a torrid time in the Midlands. Wolves look no better with him leading the line, and it looks increasingly unlikely they’ll sign him permanently.

Jose was an eye-catching arrival. The Spaniard has proven pedigree in La Liga but he has struggled in the Premier League. He hasn’t scored in a Wolves shirt, registering just 19 touches in the area during 11 hours of football.

In that time frame, he’s had just ten shots at goal; clearly he is not the Raul Jimenez replacement Wolves were so desperately seeking.

Fabio Silva has hardly provided much either. The Portuguese was signed for big money last summer, £35.6m in fact, and has scored just twice in the top-flight.

Jimenez is still to return but you sense that Wolves could do with some added firepower when the transfer window opens.

One player they could target is Ivan Toney. The Brentford striker has been sublime this season in the Championship and as such, is attracting the eyes of not only the Old Gold but also Arsenal, Leicester and Leeds United.

The Bees have slapped a £30m price tag on his head and you can understand why. Toney has been exhilarating this term, bagging 27 goals in just 35 matches following his arrival from Peterborough.

Toney is also creative. The forward has registered nine assists in the second tier this term, proving to be a complete all-round player.

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It’s hard to deny that he isn’t better than Jose at this moment in time. Everything the Wolves target touches seemingly turns to gold while everything Jose touches goes awry.

Signing the Brentford striker, therefore, could be game-changing. He knows where the back of the net is and has pace in abundance.

He would also arrive with glowing appraisals. Before signing for the London outfit, Posh owner Barry Fry commented: “He’s turned into a tremendous all-round footballer. It’s important to remember Ivan is not just an exceptional goal-scoring forward, he’s also an outstanding defender.”

Those sentiments are also felt by Brentford manager Thomas Frank: “Ivan is a special, special player,” he said.

£30m would be a lot to pay, but as Shi proved with the arrival of Silva last summer, he is willing to pay up. Considering how lethal Toney has been, he’d definitely be worth the investment.

AND in other news, “The first thing I’d say to him” – Exclusive: Wolves icon Bull offers Fabio Silva unusual advice…

Everton were right to sell Davy Klaassen to Werder Bremen for a significant loss in 2018, despite Ruud Gullit now claiming that his compatriot was wasted at Goodison Park.

Klaassen moved to Merseyside from AFC Ajax four years ago in £23.6m deal as the priority signing of then-manager Ronald Koeman amid doubts over Ross Barkley’s future, but he would only last the one season in royal blue.

The Dutchman struggled to adapt to the demands of the Premier League during a turbulent campaign for the Toffees, making just 16 appearances in all competitions before leaving for only £12m.

The season had begun with a run of just two wins in nine league games to pave the way for Koeman’s sacking, and the appointment of Sam Allardyce brought with it a style of football unsuited to Klaassen’s talents.

The physicality of the English game also proved an issue for the player named as the 2016 Dutch Footballer of the Year, and saw that he only started three of his seven Premier League outings and never scored for the Toffees before moving to Werder Bremen.

Now back at Ajax, Klaassen is again firing on the front foot and scored his fifth international goal as the Netherlands lost to Turkey in a World Cup qualifier earlier this week. Afterwards, Gullit explained how Everton had failed to get the most from the 28-year-old.

“He’s a [No.] 10. He’s a midfielder who goes all the time in the box. Ajax always played with plenty of people around the box, so it was easy for him,” the Dutch icon said, via quotes shared by the Liverpool Echo.

“There are numerous players from Ajax who went abroad then all of a sudden are in an environment which doesn’t play like that. That is the worst part of it.

“Klaassen went to Everton and found that problem. He came from Ajax, goes to Everton, who don’t play like that. All of a sudden, he’s lost, he doesn’t know what to do, where to come, because he’s not good at the ball and doesn’t do all kinds of tricks, he doesn’t have that.

“Klaassen then went to Germany, played a different role and played well. Now he’s back to Amsterdam and played the same role as he did before and he’s an outstanding player in the national team again and everyone says ‘Ooof!’.”

While Gullit suggests that Everton wasted Klaassen during his year at Goodison Park, the 58-year-old also explained why the Toffees were right to sell the midfielder, even if doing so meant owner Farhad Moshiri had to sanction a £11.6m loss.

Everton wasted a total of £15.6m with the signing and subsequent failure of Klaassen, having awarded him a £70,000-per-week contract which earned the Dutchman £4m in wages over his 58 weeks on Merseyside.

For that money, the Toffees only saw one assist, no goals and 10 starts from 16 appearances in all competitions, while being omitted from 29 matchday squads due to his inability to adapt to either the demands of Koeman and Allardyce or the demands of the English game.

It would have been unsustainable for Moshiri to continue paying Klaassen so lucratively for that return, knowing that a second season at the same level – or worse – would have meant his market value decreasing more than the near 50% it already had.

Everton simply had to bite the bullet with Klaassen when they did and accept that he may go on to rediscover his form in a system more to his suiting, as – like Gullit claims – the Premier League and the tactics used at Goodison Park were not set up for him to excel.

AND in other news, Everton dodged a £13m bullet in a “remarkable” talent as the hype falls silent…

Andreas Sondergaard has spoken exclusively to Football FanCast about his decision to come to the Premier League and sign for Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wolves’ young shot-stopper has been in and around the first team all season training and recovering with them, but also keeping up his match sharpness by playing for the under 23s.

This sort of environment and feeling involved in the whole club was a huge pull factor for Sondergaard when he made the decision to move to the Midlands at just 17-years-old.

Nuno Espirito Santo has already shown that he wants him to be amongst the first-team squad to gain valuable experience alongside two international keepers in Rui Patricio and John Ruddy.

To feel wanted was a big necessity for Sondergaard when he moved to England at a young age and not knowing anyone at the club so, to be welcomed and included in day-to-day training has helped him grow both on and off the pitch.

The 20-year-old explained to Football FanCast exclusively, what the key factors were in deciding to join Wolves.

“Definitely the environment,” Sondergaard said when asked for the reasons why he joined the club.

He went on to say: “I’d only heard good things about going to England and, that’s where you can learn the most.

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“Especially with the environment, because it is a tough environment. And there are so many other keepers to compete with, and there’s a lot of competition.

“So, it would only make you even better and again, I know the Premier League is the best league in the world. So it did attract me a lot to come here and grab the chance to come over here and yeah, do my best and hopefully, being able to achieve my goals.”

It was a huge decision to make as a 17-year old to move away to a foreign country to play football, especially in such a competitive position as a goalkeeper.

However, to make a young player feel like they belong at the club may go a long way in helping Sondergaard to become a future number one for the club.

Sheffield Wednesday returned to winning ways in the Championship on Tuesday evening, and the Owls’ versatile star Adam Reach stole the show on their way to a valuable three points.

The South Yorkshiremen moved out of the dropzone with a crucial victory over rock-bottom Wycombe Wanderers at Hillsborough Stadium, thanks to goals from Jordan Rhodes and the already mentioned Reach.

Sitting 25 yards out from goal, the ball fell to the 28-year-old’s feet before he fired home via a deflection to seal a 2-0 win, and aside from finding the net, the utility man put in an industrious display on all fronts.

YorkshireLive reporter Dom Howson handed out his Man of the Match award to fellow wide man Kadeem Harris, who provided the assist for their opener. He graded him a 9/10 and claimed that Reach was a “real livewire on the right.”

However, Reach arguably outshone him to steal the show on the night.

The former England U20 international was at the heart of it all, recording more touches (75) than any other player on the pitch, either home or away. Usually, you’ll find Owls skipper Barry Bannan (59) taking this acclaim, but for once it was Reach on that left flank, which only shows how influential he was.

That’s even backed up by the fact that the £2.88m-rated wing-back lost possession 24 times, more than anyone in a home shirt.

Indeed, he also top-scored as per SofaScore ratings with an 8.4, nearly one point higher than Howson’s pick for the match.

Reach was a constant threat on the left side of the pitch as he left Chairboys duo Scott Kashket (6.8) and Jason McCarthy (6.1) in his wake, neither failed to win over 62.5% of their duels up against the Owls man.

Similarly, the 6 foot 1 dynamo put in an absolute defensive shift, displaying those versatile qualities to a tee – he made a match-high four tackles and was close behind for interceptions (three) and clearances (three), all via SofaScore.

In the absence of a clear left-sided option in defence, the £20k-per-week Reach stepped up to the plate again to run the show for his interim boss, Thompson.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Palmer drops Sheffield Wednesday manager claim…

Leeds United have bounced back from their previous two losses in the Premier League thanks to a 3-0 win over Southampton. The evening clash at Elland Road saw Marcelo Bielsa set up rather differently to his usual unwavering formation.

As highlighted by Sofascore, the Argentine opted for a 3-3-3-1 formation, which is very surprising considering he rarely strays away from his 4-1-4-1 staple. This saw a back three of Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk protecting the goal.

Luke Ayling and Stuart Dallas played further forward, operating more in the midfield, whilst an attacking three were deployed to aid Patrick Bamford who led the line.

However, this formation clearly didn’t suit one player, who was hauled off in place of Helder Costa after the restart.

Jack Harrison was uncharacteristically off-form

Jack Harrison hugely struggled to get into the swing of things at Elland Road tonight. His usual pacy presence was extinguished by the Southampton defence, who kept him extremely quiet.

According to Sofascore, the £15,000 per week loanee managed just six passes in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. This is lower than any other Leeds player who started the match and fewer than the amount of passes both goalkeepers put in. This is a huge step down from the 25 accurate passes he managed against Wolves, which the Whites lost 1-0.

Harrison also failed to complete any of the dribbles or crosses he attempted and registered no shots on target. This performance comes as a surprise for the man who is boasting the second highest goal tally at the club so far this season. He currently sits on six goals and four assists, behind only Bamford who’s way in front on 13 goals and five assists, as per BBC Sport.

He has been noticed by many professionals and pundits alike, with Paul Robinson recently lauding him as a player with “a lot of talent”.

Whilst this isn’t a performance to be worried about, it’s a strange blip on the radar for someone as consistent as Harrison. He will get a chance to rectify his sluggish display this evening when Leeds take on Aston Villa at the weekend.

In other news, Leeds run high risk of losing Raphinha the more he shines…

Crystal Palace and Tottenham are just two of several clubs credited with a recent interest in Hatayspor striker Aaron Boupendza.

According to a report from 90min, Palace, Spurs and six other Premier League sides are all interested in the Gabon international.

Celtic and Rangers also keen

Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers are also thought to be keen on the 24-year-old, with the report claiming that it is the forward’s wish to move to the Premier League.

Hatayspor are reportedly willing to do business, should their £8.5m valuation be matched.

Boupendza has only been with the Turkish side since the summer and has already made a major impact, scoring 18 times goals in 26 Super Lig appearances.

Transfer Tavern take

Palace have lacked real firepower up front in recent years, relying too much on wide man Wilfried Zaha for goals at times, so bringing in Boupendza could be a shrewd piece of business.

Christian Benteke is out of contract in the summer, Michy Batshuayi will return to Chelsea at the end of the season and Jordan Ayew turns 30 in December, so this upcoming transfer window could be the perfect time to splash the cash on a striker.

It seems as if the Eagles will face plenty of English competition for Boupendza’s services, though, but guaranteeing game time at Selhurst Park could possibly work out in Palace’s favour.

In other news: Plenty of Palace fans have been reacting to one scout’s presence at Selhurst Park on the weekend, find out more here. 

Alex Iwobi was Carlo Ancelotti’s real midweek hero having played an influential role in Everton’s 2-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night.

Ancelotti was forced to be resourceful with his options at Molineux having decided that Richarlison and Cenk Tosun were only fit enough for seats on the bench, despite top-scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin being sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin’s absences were felt hard by the Blues, who have built a resilient defensive line this season, but proved their grit by securing the result through goals from Iwobi and Michael Keane.

Everton started brightly in the Black Country when Iwobi fired home his first goal in 38 Premier League appearances after a wonderful piece of build-up play involving the Nigeria international, James Rodriguez and Lucas Digne in the sixth minute.

Wolves struck back swiftly with Ruben Neves finding the back of Jordan Pickford’s goal with a sublime sidefoot finish, and looked the stronger side until Keane rose highest in the area to meet Andre Gomes’ teasing cross with just under a quarter of an hour left to play.

Iwobi clearly took confidence from his rare strike in the West Midlands, with the £50,000-per-week dynamo behind much of Everton’s creativity by linking up well with the likes of Rodriguez and Abdoulaye Doucoure, and coming close to beating Rui Patricio again.

The Arsenal product’s willingness to run further helped Everton in a fast-paced environment at Molineux, even if a toothless frontline meant Wolves were able to stay in the tie and caused Ancelotti’s men issues as they moved back inside the top-four of the table.

Iwobi continually put himself in positions to threaten Wolves and his link up with Rodriguez saw the 24-year-old prove to be Everton’s most important player at Molineux, despite Keane taking the credit for sealing the Blues’ 10th win of the league season.

His crossing could have been better, with Iwobi failing to find a teammate with any of his three recorded attempts, yet kept his head held high to take 60 touches, complete 36 of 41 passes, attempt three shots and be successful with three of his five dribbles, per SofaScore.

Iwobi’s drive on the ball saw the 44-cap forward attempted a game-high tally with 27% of Everton’s total 18 dribbles, with an improved showing to his season-average of 1.9 successful efforts per league appearance.

Taking three of the Blues’ total five shots was also a clear improvement, having averaged just 0.3 efforts a game so far this season.

The £23m-rated winger further won an impressive seven of his 10 ground duels and helped defensively with four successful tackles and one clearance, while never being dribbled past, to offer Mason Holgate support on the right-hand channel in a heroic showing against Wolves.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti must cash-in on a £6.5m-rated outcast unfit for Everton…

Jose Mourinho will meet his former club this afternoon as he and Spurs side travel to Stamford Bridge to face their next Premier League hurdle. It could boil down into a really cagey affair in west London as the two rivals fight to assert their dominance in the table.

As it stands, just two points separate the clubs and a win or a draw for Tottenham will see them leapfrog Liverpool and reclaim their top spot.

Owner Roman Abramovich will be hoping that his 1,000th match in charge of the Blues will end in victory on home soil. However, Mourinho has the perfect chance to get revenge on the man who gave him the boot twice.

Mourinho masterclass

“You’ll have to ask Frank [Lampard] if they fear us or not,” the ex-Chelsea boss said ahead of the fixture. “But I don’t think fear is the right word at this level. We don’t fear anyone.”

With his fighting talk, he could unleash his new stroke of genius that has seen Spurs field perhaps the deadliest attack in the league this season. Mourinho has been deploying Harry Kane in a deeper role recently and his gamble has paid off in dividends.

Tottenham have scored 21 goals so far and the £250,000 per week forward has contributed to 16 of them with his seven goals and nine assists (via Transfermarkt). Kane’s deadly presence in front of goal and new unearthed playmaking ability could be crucial in Mourinho’s mission to upset Chelsea and Abramovich this afternoon. Lampard’s defence will need to be on high alert as they prepare to keep the Englishman and Son Heung-min quiet.

In other news, Exclusive: Gary Mabbutt makes bold Spurs Premier League claim…

When Celtic took on Hearts on Sunday in the Scottish Cup final, it was an ideal opportunity for Neil Lennon to silence the doubters for a while.

Indeed, after the Hoops went 2-0 up it looked like positivity was finally going to be reached at Parkhead.

Ryan Christie sunk a stupendous opener when he curled the ball in from distance and then Odsonne Edouard cheekily found the back of the net from the penalty spot with a panenka.

It left Craig Gordon fuming but he was the more jubilant of the two goalkeepers as the clash went on.

In typical Celtic fashion, they were brushed aside in the second half and conceded two soft goals. Liam Boyce got behind Shane Duffy who was caught out of position to head home and then Stephen Kingsley equalised with just over 20 minutes to go.

Hearts were in the ascendency at this point and should have won the game before it went to extra-time. Josh Ginnelly had two brilliant opportunities but fired both high and wide.

Celtic’s defence were rather comical again and on a day when Lennon needed his senior figures to lead by example, they failed to help out an understandably nervous Conor Hazard.

The young stopper was making just his third appearance for the Hoops and after keeping the club’s first clean sheet since early November against Kilmarnock, he probably warranted his place.

However, his performance during normal time and then in extra-time proved why he still has work to do to be guaranteed a starting position. He lacked confidence, was clumsy and didn’t look up to the task.

Taking to Twitter, Edinburgh Sport writer Joel Sked said: “Conor Hazard. Three times he’s looked dodgy. The three times the ball has been within 40 yards of the Celtic goal.”

Indeed, the 22-year-old set the tone for a nervy performance after just 14 minutes. Hazard raced out to clear a through ball but completely missed it and allowed Steven Naismith to receive possession.

Fortunately for Hazard, he spurned the opportunity. The ‘keeper struggled all afternoon and his turgid day was summed up for the second and third Hearts goals

He was too weak as he allowed Naismith to bully him to one side which effectively led to a tap in for Kingsley. For the third, he came rushing out and failed to punch the ball before Christophe Berra could get to it. What followed was a tap in for Ginnelly who atoned for his earlier misses.

Celtic have had numerous problems with their goalkeepers this season. Vasilis Barkas made some howlers against AC Milan, while Scott Bain was no better when the Bhoys travelled to Prague in Europe.

This is a situation that should leave Lennon deeply concerned about who plays between the posts.

Forget the fact he saved two penalties from the spot in the shoot-out, Hazard’s contribution in normal time was not good enough. Had those errors not been made, Celtic wouldn’t have even needed penalties to win.

The Hoops now have a huge dilemma to sort out.

AND in other news, Lawwell MUST SELL “outstanding” Celtic ace with “dangerous episodes”…