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Marcus Bent has described Eddie Howe as one of the top up-and-coming managers but doesn’t believe Crystal Palace is the right fit for him.

Howe has been strongly linked to several managerial vacancies since leaving Bournemouth following their relegation last July, but is still a free agent after his move to Celtic recently fell through despite months of ongoing talks at Parkhead.

One of those jobs is Palace, who are still on the search for a Roy Hodgson replacement after Nuno Espirito Santo’s swift return to the Premier League collapsed earlier this week.

But Bent is concerned that Howe, who was once tipped for one of the top Premier League jobs by Pep Guardiola, doesn’t fit the bill at Palace, who’re likely to be working on a tight budget this summer, with a considerable rebuild required at Selhurst Park following several first-team players being released, plenty of which are experienced faces.

The former Palace frontman told The Transfer Tavern:

“I see him as one of the top up-and-coming managers, although he’s been on the scene for six or seven years now.

“The Celtic job didn’t work. Crystal Palace maybe isn’t the right job –  the style of football, the budget and top players like Zaha leaving, although he might be able to start again and refresh the side.”

Writing on Twitter, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee has shared news regarding West Ham left-back Arthur Masuaku, with the Congolese ace now looking likely to miss the rest of the season.

Indeed, as per the source, the 27-year-old is unlikely to feature again before the end of 2020/21 despite only recently coming back from knee surgery. Responding to a query from a supporter, Ex wrote: “He is likely to be out for the rest of the season now. His knee hasn’t recovered well from the operation he had and fluid had to be drained from it.”

Masuaku missed a large portion of the season – 20 games to be exact (Transfermarkt) – in order to resolve an issue with his knee which had been bothering him for years. However, due to fluid build-up around the area, his return at Wolves last month has been quickly followed by another spell on the sidelines.

Ex has told followers not to expect the defender to play again this season and many West Ham fans are seething at this news on social media.

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While some profess their heartache at Masuaku’s latest injury blow, others are in disbelief that he is on the treatment table yet again.

Check out a flavour of their verdicts from social media below.

West Ham fans seethe as ExWHUemployee shares news

“Needs to go and be replaced with a more robust player this summer, almost as bad as Carroll/Wilshere.”

Credit: @josh_whu

“I swear this happens to a lot of our players after surgery. Who are these absolute butchers that we let operate on our players?”

Credit: @SamInStockwell

“Never been sure of him if I was honest..has flashes but reminds me of Said ..unreliable? That’s a question. Not a statement”

Credit: @Ralph28244587

“Another player rushed back from injury then?”

Credit: @Jack_disley

“It is so WHU. He was showing arguably his best form in a system that suited him. Gets injured and I am sure the original assessment was 2-3 months but ends up being season ending.”

Credit: @IanDeakin16

“Arthur injured a lot, decent player at LWB but if he needs to be sold to fund a LB I think we should do it.”

Credit: @Stuuu_0628

“Genuinely crushed by the Arthur news”

Credit: @stephenlott

In other news: Many West Ham fans were buzzing over this journalist’s ‘brilliant’ update – find out more here.

Paul Stewart has exclusively told Football FanCast that several fringe players could leave Tottenham this window, with Harry Winks and Erik Lamela just two of seven name mentioned as potentially being the start a summer of departures in north London.

Both Winks and Lamela have played a bit-part role for Spurs this season, with the latter failing to start a Premier League game in the last two months, while the former’s first in that period came on the final day against Leicester.

The former is tied down to a long-term contract, but the Argentine’s deal expires in 2022, which could force the club to cash-in on him to avoid him leaving for nothing in 12 months time.

But Winks and Lamela aren’t the only two that could possibly depart, with up to 10 first-team players already linked away after Tottenham’s failure to qualify for the Champions League, with Danny Rose out of contract and Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius expected to return to their parent clubs Real Madrid and Benfica.

And Stewart believes that his former club have plenty of value in their squad and could free up more than £100m by selling certain that aren’t needed.

He told Football FanCast:

“There’s four of five fringe players that you could sell and grab £100m-£150m.

“There will be players that won’t be there. Lamela won’t be there, Winksy could be surplus to requirements – Lo Celso, Bergwijn, even Dele Alli, if you’re looking to move somebody on.

“There is no doubt who we need to move on, and when you look at the back-four – Sanchez and Doherty.”

West Ham United have been dealt a fresh blow in their pursuit to sign Tammy Abraham this summer…

What’s the word?

According to the Evening Standard, Italian giants AC Milan are set to offer the 23-year-old striker a way out of Chelsea at the end of the season, dealing a setback towards the Hammers’ chances of securing him.

It is widely believed that the England international is David Moyes’ top target to fill that attacking void ahead of next season, as per the ever-reliable ExWHUemployee.

However, the Irons face a likely transfer tussle to secure him as Milan are not the only team keen on signing him. Aston Villa and Newcastle United have also been mooted with interest over the weekend, via ESPN.

Moyes won’t be happy

This latest development won’t come as good news to Moyes, especially if the £36m-rated forward is genuinely his top transfer target this summer.

It does seem that Abraham will be leaving Stamford Bridge in the near future, as the Evening Standard reports that Thomas Tuchel is eyeing a new striker of which Romelu Lukaku and Erling Haaland feature as targets.

That makes Abraham a very appealing target, given he’s done no wrong to warrant his recent omission from the Blues’ starting line-up.

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The 6 foot 3 beast, who earns around £57k-per-week in west London, remains their joint top-goalscorer in the Premier League on six goals, whilst he has delivered 12 goals across all competitions this term, three more than any West Ham star.

Despite a lack of game time, he’s still built on his impressive 2019/20 exploits, where he found the net 18 times across 42 top-flight and Champions League appearances under Frank Lampard.

Alex McLeish even recently dubbed him a “phenomenal player” in an interview with Football Insider, so it really is a surprise to see him struggle for minutes.

It’s no secret that the Hammers desperately need attacking options, as they cannot rely on the injury-prone Michail Antonio to lead the line by himself in what is likely to be a huge season next year.

After selling Sebastien Haller in January, Moyes was left with only one senior striker and he’s only been able to feature 21 times in the Premier League this term, missing their last three games through injury.

Abraham’s experience and proven goalscoring record in England very much does make him a viable target, and quite rightly, he sits high on Moyes’ priorities.

But interest from teams of Milan’s calibre are hugely worrying. The 58-year-old Scot won’t be happy if he misses out on the 23-year-old this summer.

AND in other news, Moyes heading for West Ham transfer mistake over £9m-rated flop he once dubbed “unplayable”…

After all the drama that came out of the training ground bust-up between Matt Ritchie and Steve Bruce a few weeks ago, it’s fair to say that things have worked out fairly well since then for Newcastle.

Reports back in early March suggested that the two were involved in a heated confrontation, with the Scotland international even going as far as calling the Magpies manager a “coward”.

Fast forward a couple of months later, and things on the pitch are going far more swimmingly, with Ritchie instrumental in a superb 4-2 win over Leicester in the Premier League on Friday night.

The left wing-back was his usual snarling self, bombing up and down the flank and not being afraid to dish it out either to his teammates or the opposition.

As per Sofascore, Ritchie completed two of his three attempted dribbles on the night, which was a number only bettered by Allan Saint-Maximin (five). He also had the most touches and crosses of any Newcastle player – that’s not to mention the absolutely superb delivery from the corner which Paul Dummett headed the visitors’ second goal.

The vocal leadership was also something which was clear to see, with the Magpie 24/7 fan channel tweeting that he “didn’t stop shouting all night” and that “the difference he’s made to this team since that Brighton defeat isn’t commended enough.”

Writing in his post-match player ratings for the Shields Gazette, Liam Kennedy gave him an eight, saying: “A typical all-action display down the left. And, for a change, didn’t look open defensively. Two more assists to add to his tally for the campaign.”

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While many of the plaudits will naturally go towards the goalscorers on the night, Ritchie deserves plenty of credit for the way he set the tone with his intensity and energy.

He may not have been wearing the captain’s armband, but the £45,000-a-week machine was the leader the Magpies needed, and arguably Bruce’s real hero on the night.

Barry Fry has told Football FanCast that West Ham United will keep getting better after their magnificent season this term.

David Moyes’ side are currently fifth in the Premier League table, just two points behind fourth-placed Chelsea.

The Hammers have a relatively soft run-in too, as they play only two clubs who are currently above them in the league, in Leicester City and Chelsea.

There is a very real opportunity, then, for the club to gatecrash the top four and potentially gain qualification for the Champions League.

Even if they don’t, qualification for the Europa League would also be a remarkable achievement, given that the club finished 16th last season, just five points clear of the relegation zone.

Fry thinks they have done brilliant work this season but he has also backed Moyes to keep improving, and keep taking West Ham within touching distance of the Champions League, much like he did during his time at Everton.

He told FFC in an exclusive interview: “I think wherever West Ham finish this season, it will be there highest finish for a long, long, long time.

“And I think if you look at the team now, and you look at what Moyes has done in a year, I think he will be knocking on the door to get in the top four over the next two or three years, even if he doesn’t do it this year.

“But wherever they finish this year, it’s magnificent progress. Because, in the last couple of years, they’ve really been biting their nails to the last minute about whether they’ll survive in the Premier League or not.

“They’ve done more than survive this year. They’ve really impressed a lot of people in football and David will make them better.”

Celtic’s hunt to bring a new manager to the Bhoys dugout already feels like a tired and drawn-out affair.

Parkhead witnessed Neil Lennon leave the job a number of weeks ago but we are still no closer to discovering who his replacement could be.

What’s the word?

Eddie Howe is the undoubted favourite for the role at the minute. He was in advanced talks with the Hoops hierarchy but things have stalled for the time being.

That’s because of a number of reasons. Howe doesn’t want to return to management until the summer while issues are lingering over the backroom staff he wants to bring with him.

One source suggests that Celtic have said no to his requests, one of which could be to bring Richard Hughes to the club instead of Fergal Harkin.

However, a new reason has come to light. Speaking to Transfer Tavern, Peterborough director of football Barry Fry said: “He’ll have to do a lot of work, because Celtic on and off the field are in a little bit of disarray at the minute. You know what I mean?”

Fry continued: “There’s a lot of players unhappy. I think there’ll be a lot of comings and goings at Celtic in the summer and I’m not sure that’s Eddie Howe’s thing. I think he’ll want a Premier League job to be quite honest.”

Fry has plenty of contacts within the game, mainly in the Premier League and English football, so his words should be taken with more than a pinch of salt.

More twists to come

With Howe waiting until the summer to take up a new job, perhaps he’ll look to see the impact Dominic McKay has when he arrives at the club.

McKay is due to replace Peter Lawwell as Celtic’s CEO and his main task when he walks through the door will be to address the playing squad.

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This could lead to plenty of twists in terms of staff upheaval. Of course, both Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer are linked with exits while they need to address the future of Karamoko Dembele too.

If McKay can get some of those players so stay then it may turn out that Howe does want to come to Glasgow. After all, a Celtic team without Edouard and Ajer would be even tougher to manage.

A move to the Premier League seems safer for the 43-year-old but if he really wants to test and prove himself, Celtic is the place to do that.

Lucien Favre has emerged as an alternative for the former Cherries boss and could be more suited to the current situation at Paradise.

He took over at Borussia Dortmund in 2018 when the club were rather lost in a transitional stage of their history. When he first took on the role in Germany, he said: “Training Borussia Dortmund is an appealing task that I am taking on gladly. We will now build a new team together.”

The Swiss coach didn’t win a trophy with Dortmund but he did reignite a lost spark; winning 61.82% of his matches before being given the boot.

That was a big improvement on the man who managed the Bundesliga outfit before him; Peter Stoger. He won just 41.67% of his games so Favre was clearly adept at rebuilding a team.

Bearing in mind Fry’s comments, perhaps the biggest twist of them all could occur in the coming weeks; forgetting about Howe and moving on to other targets.

AND in other news, Forget Dembele: Celtic could save millions by unleashing rarely-seen “tricky” 18 y/o…

Gary Mabbutt has exclusively told Football FanCast that he believes Tottenham’s season could still be a successful one.

Despite losing the north London derby to Arsenal and then crashing out of the Europa League following an embarrassing exit to Dinamo Zagreb three days later, Jose Mourinho’s team are just three points off the Champions League places and have a Carabao Cup final against Manchester City next month.

That three-point gap from fourth-placed Chelsea came courtesy of a comfortable win over Aston Villa on Sunday, which ended a wretched week for Tottenham on a high.

Following those two poor results, Mourinho has come under some serious flack, although it might still turn out to be an excellent season for his team – with Spurs just 90 minutes away from ending their 13-year wait for trophy.

And Mabbutt, who won tasted FA Cup and UEFA Cup glory during his playing days at White Hart Lane, is optimistic about the remainder of the campaign.

He told Football FanCast:

“In the league we have won four out of our last five games, that’s a pretty good run. Yes, it was disappointing going out to Zagreb in the Europa League, but we are sixth in the table. Everyone seems to be throwing away points left right and centre, it’s a bizarre situation. 

“But there is an opportunity there for us to finish the season in a top-four place, and of course we are in the Carabao Cup final.

“So at the end of the season after the setbacks we have had, suddenly the team and the manager could come out with silverware in the trophy cabinet and a top-four finish, which is still more than possible.”

It’s such a strange situation for Tottenham present. Whilst it currently appears all doom and gloom following the Zagreb result, finishing in the top-four and winning a trophy would represent their best season for many a year.

Aston Villa and Leicester City are both interested in Rangers defender Filip Helander.

That’s according to Swedish outlet Sportbladet, cited by the Daily Record, who claimed that the Scottish champions could replace Helander with Elfsborg’s Joseph Okumu.

Helander a Rangers regular

Helander, valued at just £1.8m by Transfermarkt, is under contract at Ibrox until 2023.

The Sweden international has made 27 appearances under Steven Gerrard this season, and it seems as if his performances have caught the eyes of Dean Smith and Brendan Rodgers.

Transfer Tavern take

It’s not the first time Villa have been linked with the towering centre-back. Former Villa manager Steve Bruce was reportedly keen on Helander back in the 2018 January window during the player’s time with Bologna.

It seems as if the club have reignited their interest three years on, and statistically Helander has outperformed both Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa this season. As per WhoScored, the Swede has averaged a match rating of 7.11 in the Scottish Premiership, higher than Mings’ 6.88 and Konsa’s 6.82. Helander has also won more aerial duels per game with 4.3, compared to Mings 2.8 and Konsa’s 2.6.

Based on those figures, the 27-year-old could be well worth the Villans’ time in seeking a potential move south of the border.

In other news: Many AVFC fans react to Villa-linked star’s social media activity, find out more here. 

Speaking to Football Insider, former Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper and Sky Sports regular Paul Robinson has touted a north London exit for Cameron Carter-Vickers at the end of the season to pave way for new signings – coming after the same outlet revealed that Daniel Levy is not planning to renew the defender’s contract.

Carter-Vickers, who made his senior debut for the Lilywhites at 18-years-old in the EFL Cup five years ago, has been sent out on loan to Swansea City, Ipswich Town, Sheffield United, Stoke City and Luton Town since then.

Bournemouth are the latest club to take him on a temporary stint away from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with the USA international shining under new Cherries boss Jonathan Woodgate.

Robinson touts Tottenham exit for Carter-Vickers

Despite this, Robinson expects there is no way back for the 23-year-old at Spurs – coming after it was recently revealed by Football Insider that there are no plans to offer him a contract extension.

“I think Carter-Vickers will leave Spurs this summer and I think he will be among others,” explained the ex-Lilywhite.

“The summer is fast approaching and it is a big window for Spurs. There has been a lot of upheaval over the past 12 months and I think this summer will be really important.

“Jose Mourinho has time to assess his squad and look at who he will clear out to make room for new faces. I think there will be a lot of movement in and out at Spurs in the next window.

“Yes, they have a very strong squad but there are a few he would like to move out and that will pave the way for new signings.”

Transfer Tavern take

Described as a ‘fantastic player’ by former teammate Sonny Bradley during his stint at Luton (Luton Today), an exit does seem inevitable for Carter-Vickers given his deal is up come the end of this campaign.

Jan Vertonghen also called him an ‘absolute beast’, and Tottenham fans may be left wondering what might have been if he thrives elsewhere.

In other news: talkSPORT pundit lifts the lid on this ‘amazing’ starlet in ‘good news for Spurs’, find out more here.