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Rob Edwards picked up his first point in charge of Wolverhampton Wanderers with a 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Tuesday night.

Ladislav Krejčí’s equaliser just before the break was enough to secure just a third Premier League point of the campaign for the Old Gold, who have entered 2026 without a single win under their belt.

Wolves are 15 points away from safety, with half of the season left to play, and it looks increasingly likely that they will be playing Championship football next season.

Why Rob Edwards' future at Wolves is in doubt

The Premier League strugglers appointed Edwards to replace Vitor Pereira in November, and the English tactician lost his first seven games in charge before the draw with United this week.

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Reporter Graeme Bailey recently claimed that the board have considered parting ways with the former Middlesbrough boss already, and have had contact with potential replacements.

The journalist named Hearts boss Derek McInnes, Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy, and former Wolves tactician Gary O’Neill as three managers who are of interest to the club, as they weigh up what to do with Edwards.

No decision on his future appears to be imminent, though, particularly after Tuesday night’s result, and that means that the Englishman still has time to turn things around and prove that he is the right man for the job in the long haul.

One of the ways in which Edwards could look to save his job at the Molineux stadium could be to ruthlessly sell one of the team’s current high-profile assets.

The Wolves star who Edwards must sell in January

TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crooks claims that Crystal Palace and West Ham United are both interested in a deal to sign Jorgen Strand Larsen from Wolves this month.

This comes just months after the Old Gold rejected a £50m offer from Newcastle United in the summer, as they were adamant that they wanted to keep hold of their star forward.

That offer and subsequent rejection, though, came after the Norway international plundered an eye-catching 14 goals from 10.27 xG in 37 Premier League matches during his debut season in the division, per Sofascore.

The 25-year-old star’s form has dropped off a cliff in the current campaign, with just one Premier League goal to his name so far, and it may be the right time for the Old Gold to cash in on him.

Pundit Darren Bent claimed last month that Strand Larsen is “doing absolutely nothing” up front and that he is getting bullied by defenders, and it is hard to argue with that assessment.

The Norwegian flop has lost a staggering 73% of his ground duels, scored no non-penalty goals, and is yet to create a ‘big chance’ or assist a goal for his teammates, per Sofascore, which shows that he has struggled in and out of possession for Wolves.

Strand Larsen (Premier League)

24/25

25/26

Appearances

35

17

xG

10.27

2.68

Goals

14

1

Minutes per goal

186

1,263

Big chances created

6

0

Assists

4

0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Strand Larsen has not been anywhere near as effective as he was in his first season in England, which may leave the club regretting the fact that they did not cash in when £50m was offered by Newcastle.

Edwards now must convince the board to sell the striker this month, amid interest from Palace and Newcastle, because it could provide him with funds to bring in his own players.

Strand Larsen was reportedly booed by some of his own supporters when he came off the bench against Manchester United, which speaks to the relationship that he has with the fanbase at the moment.

Subscribe to our newsletter for Wolves transfer insight Gain fuller Wolves coverage – subscribe to our newsletter for focused analysis on transfer scenarios, managerial decisions and the ramifications of a potential Strand Larsen sale, giving clear context around the club’s future choices.

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Therefore, selling a player who appears to have lost goodwill with a section of the fanbase could buy some time for Edwards, instead of allowing the toxicity to build and build.

On top of that, the English boss could urge the board to use any funds from a sale of Strand Larsen to invest in new players with the Championship in mind.

If Edwards, given the dire situation Wolves are in, can successfully build a narrative with the fanbase that he is making signings and building towards an instant return to the Premier League next season, it may take some of the pressure off short-term results in the top-flight, saving his job in the process.

Related Wolves eyeing January move for ex-Nottingham Forest striker with 31 goals in 2025

He’s been in superb form this calendar year.

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Selling Strand Larsen to Palace or West Ham is the first step towards building that narrative around building for the future, though, which is why that is the first move that should be made.

	Greg Shipperd is in line to coach the Delhi franchise in the Indian Premier League © Getty Images

Victoria’s coach Greg Shipperd could join his Western Australia counterpart Tom Moody in taking charge of an Indian Premier League (IPL) team after he was approached by the Delhi franchise. Moody has already signed with the Mohali side and Shipperd is keen to be involved provided Cricket Victoria has no objection.The appointments will create an interesting situation should either Mohali or Delhi reach the Champions League, which is to feature the top two domestic Twenty20 sides from India, Australia, England and South Africa. Western Australia and Victoria have already qualified but Shipperd and Moody have both said that if the conflict occurs they will guide their Australian state rather than their IPL team.”Clearly, my first priority is with Cricket Victoria as my employer,” Shipperd told the Age. “In the event of coaching both teams to a final, I would be looking after the Victorians and have a process behind the scenes in place to deal with the other side, which they are comfortable with.”Shipperd said he was surprised at the interest from Delhi, however his Twenty20 coaching record is unparalleled. In three years of the Australian domestic competition Victoria have won all three titles and have only lost one match. He is looking forward to the chance to test his management skills with a different group of players.”It would be a wonderful coaching opportunity to be involved with, to have four or five different international players in the team playing what is the red-hot form of the game at the moment,” Shipperd said. “It’s on-the-job training and hopefully bringing some positive spin-off to Victorian cricket down the track.”John Buchanan is also strongly tipped to coach the Kolkata franchise, although the only definite Australian signing at the moment is Moody as Shipperd’s appointment is not confirmed. Moody says surrounding himself with the world’s leading players will be a terrific experience.”Having to mould a team with stars from around the world into a competitive unit against other extremely talented teams will be a great challenge and one that I am very much looking forward to,” Moody said. “In addition to this, I will be exposed to the marketing and promotional expertise that will go into staging a world-class event.”

It will be a blast from the past for Brian Lara when he crosses paths with Niall O’Brien (above) © Getty Images

Friday’s clash between West Indies and Ireland at Sabina Park will be a rematch of sorts for two star players of either side, Niall O’Brien, the Ireland wicketkeeper and Brian Lara, the West Indies captain. The pair crossed paths three years ago in a one-day match at Belfast during an incident involving a disputed catch.In June 2004, West Indies stopped over in Ireland to play two one-dayers en route to England for their Test tour. During the second match, O’Brien was upset that Lara refused to walk after edging the ball to him, leading to a stand-off between the two. However, Lara didn’t last long, making just 1 as West Indies suffered an upset defeat despite posting 292. The two have apparently made peace since that incident, and O’Brien said he was looking forward to another challenge with Lara.”Lara was funny,” O’Brien told AFP. “We had that disagreement at Stormont and then two days later I turned up to play against him for Kent. I don’t think he could believe his eyes. I think he’d seen enough of me. I talked to Dwayne Bravo recently and he said ‘Brian said to say hello’. I’m looking forward to seeing him in Jamaica.”O’Brien added that his reaction against Lara had much to do with his aggressive instincts. He shot to fame when he starred in his side’s surprise victory over Pakistan last Saturday, scoring 72 in a tense three-wicket win which toppled Pakistan out of the World Cup.”I’m a fiery character,” he said. “I play aggressive cricket. That’s part of my game. If I wasn’t you’d be taking away 50% of the player I am.”With Ireland making a surprise entry into the Super Eights, captain Trent Johnston was hopeful that their new-found confidence would rub off against West Indies for their final league match.”We’ll take on the West Indies with confidence and give a good performance,” said Johnston. “We will give it 100% and be very competitive.”

The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium © Getty Images

The Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua has been given the thumbs up for World Cup games by the International Cricket Council (ICC), according to local organisers. The ICC’s Venue Tour team gave the venue of six matches in the Super Eight stages of next year’s tournament an ‘A’ grade approval.”From what we have seen here today, a tremendous amount of work has been done since we were last here in March and I can tell you that Antigua and Barbuda will for the first time get the highest ranking,” said Don Lockerbie, the ICC’s World Cup Chief Operations Officer and Venue Development Director. “We are very pleased with the work we have seen here, they are on schedule. The Chinese partners and their Antiguan counterparts are working not only fast but they are producing good quality work.”Lockerbie hit back at criticism that the new stadium would lack the character of the Antigua Recreation Ground by saying that the walls on the east and west sides would provide an inviting atmosphere. “We are working closely with the grounds staff at all three sites and, as you can imagine, they all have different work styles,” he said. “However, we need the pitches to be consistent and play in a similar manner. We are not asking that all the pitches at all the venues play the same but the practice pitches should not be so different from the venue pitch.”

Scotland overcame a major attack of nerves to seal their first National League win of the season against Warwickshire. Scotland were 70 for 1, chasing 114, when Heath Streak and Neil Carter ripped through the batting. They still needed six to win when the last pair came together, but Paul Hoffmann finished the match with a six over extra-cover. Hoffmann had earlier taken 3 for 19 as Scotland ran through Warwickshire in just 33 overs, with Dougie Brown top-scoring with 23 not out.Durham pulled off a thrilling one-run win against Kent at Tunbridge Wells, after the home side were cruising to victory. Set 189 to win, after a stuttering Durham batting effort, Kent were 170 for 3 after Andrew Hall and Matthew Walker added 97 for the third wicket. But the middle and lower order collapsed against the nagging accuracy of Ashley Noffke and Nathan Astle – Durham’s new overseas pair – and the tail could not scrambled the necessary runs.

Sir Garry Sobers: ‘Complacency is the only conclusion I can come to’© Getty Images

The West Indians’ humiliation at the hands of England has stirred Sir Garry Sobers into criticising the team’s preparation – but he defended Brian Lara’s position as captain.Sobers, one of the finest allrounders of all time, said that West Indies have paid for not taking England seriously enough and not treating them with respect. “I think we underestimated England,” he told BBC radio. “We returned home after performing so well on tour to South Africa and thought we would do well at home. We hadn’t heard much about England’s bowlers so we underestimated them. Complacency is the only conclusion I can come to for these results.”But with no shortage of pundits and former players rounding on West Indies, Sobers was at pains to point out that they were not a bad side. “[They are] a good team, make no mistake about that. I think they have a lot of ability. They came back from South Africa after scoring over 300 runs every time they batted. That’s a very good sign of the calibre of the players we have.”And Sobers refused to add his voice to those calling for Lara to be sacked. “Brian’s contribution has been tremendous. His record in South Africa and Zimbabwe was very good, and he came back as the world’s No. 1 batsman,” he argued. “The captaincy didn’t affect his form in South Africa. He shouldn’t be replaced … who is there to replace him anyway? We haven’t reached the standard yet where we can afford to replace him.”Lara himself would not be drawn into the subject of captaincy. “I’m devastated and it’s very hard to put my feelings into words,” he admitted. “We have to re-group and put our emotions back together. The guys are in shock. We need to get it together and get going in Antigua.”

Essex star overseas player Andy Flower has confirmed that he will beavailable to play for the County for all of the 2003 season. The Zimbabweanwicketkeeper batsman will join the Essex team for part of their pre-seasontour to Cape Town, and be available for the opening first class match of theseason against Cambridge University on 12th April.Essex Chief Executive David East commented:

LONDON – England today recalled batsman Mark Ramprakash as an injurycover for left-hander Graham Thorpe in a 14-man squad named for thefirst Ashes cricket Test against Australia starting at Edgbaston onThursday.Thorpe, England’s most successful batsman during the winter in Pakistanand Sri Lanka and in the two Tests against Pakistan, is very doubtfulfor the game because of a lingering calf muscle injury.England will be strengthened by the availability of skipper NasserHussain, who has recovered from a broken thumb, allrounder Craig White,left-arm spinner Ashley Giles and maybe Thorpe, who missed theTri-Nations one-day series.While Hussain missed the second Test defeat against Pakistan at OldTrafford and then the one-dayers, White and Giles both missed thetwo-Test series and the one-dayers due to long-suffering injuries.Giles, England’s series-winning bowler in Pakistan last year, has beenhampered by a sore Achilles tendon.Also causing a headache for the selectors is Michael Vaughan’s knee cystwhich ruled him out of the last one-dayer against Australia at The Oval.”We currently have injury concerns about three players, Michael Vaughan,Ashley Giles and Graham Thorpe,” said chairman of selectors DavidGraveney.”Graham is the most serious concern at present and we will need to checkthe fitness of all three players at Edgbaston.”While the selectors did consider the worst case scenario in relation toinjuries, we have decided to call up only one extra player as cover atthis stage. We will review the situation, however, once the players areat Edgbaston and their injuries have been assessed by (physiotherapist)Dean Conway.”Mark Ramprakash is an experienced test player with a good recordagainst Australia and he has been in excellent form for his county thisseason. We feel he represents the best option as a cover player giventhe doubts about Graham’s fitness.”Ramprakash, 31, played the last of his 42 Tests against the West Indiesat Lord’s last year before losing his place with scores of 18, 0, 0 and2 in the first two Tests when he opened the batting.But in eight Tests against Australia, the right-hander, who moved thisseason from Middlesex to Surrey, has scored 615 runs at an average of43.93 inclusive of six half centuries.In all he has scored 1,796 runs at an average of 26.41 with a solitarycentury against the West Indies at Barbados in 1998 when he score 154runs.England has failed to beat Australia in the last seven Ashes seriessince winning it under Mike Gatting’s captaincy in the 1986-87 series inAustralia. Despite winning four series in a row, it was held 1-1 byPakistan and confidence going into the Ashes tests is low after a poorperformance in the one-dayers when the team lost all six games againstAustralia and Pakistan.England squad: Nasser Hussain (captain), Michael Atherton, MarcusTrescothick, Michael Vaughan, Graham Thorpe, Alec Stewart, Ian Ward,Craig White, Mark Ramprakash, Dominic Cork, Ashley Giles, Andy Caddick,Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard.

Newcastle United saw many players come and go from the club during Mike Ashley’s tumultuous reign in charge of the Magpies.

However, one player who was mentioned with a move to St James’ Park but didn’t end up joining the Tyneside club that many fans may now be wishing had signed on the dotted line is Mohamed Salah.

Back in 2011, the then-19-year-old Egyptian apparently expected to see himself make the move to Newcastle on loan after impressing in the Under-20 World Cup.

On the potential move to Tyneside, Salah said: “Newcastle will soon make an official offer to sign me for one season. I don’t think Contractors will refuse to let me play in the English Premier League. It’s a dream for any player to play in one of the strongest league competitions in the world.”

As many Toon fans will be aware, the winger didn’t end up joining the club and instead made the move to Basel in the 2012 summer transfer window.

In 2017, after having spells with Chelsea, Fiorentina and Roma once his stint in Switzerland came to an end, the attacker joined his current club Liverpool in a deal worth a reported £34m.

Since joining the Merseyside club, the 29-year-old has gone on to become a certified superstar by racking up 153 goals and 57 assists in 239 appearances across all competitions, prior to the Reds’ Premier League match against Watford this afternoon.

Labelled a “ridiculous” player in terms of his attacking output by Rio Ferdinand, and a “physical monster” by Jurgen Klopp, the £90m-rated winger has won the Premier League, Champions League and an assortment of individual awards throughout his career.

To further highlight how much of a standout player the Egypt international has become in England, he is currently listed as the highest-rated player in the Premier League based on his performances this season according to WhoScored, with an overall rating of 7.71/10.

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Taking all this into account, as if the Newcastle fans needed any more excuses to dislike Ashley, not securing a deal which would have seen Salah join the Magpies has turned out to be a major howler from the club, and one over which they will now be having nightmares.

In other news: NUFC can finally replace Cabaye with “phenomenal” £34m gem, he has “magical powers”…

The Indian Board has identified bowlers in the domestic circuit with suspect bowling actions, and is compiling a list of the same, and is likely to send them to the National Cricket Academy (NCA) to rectify their actions.According to a report in the , 13 bowlers were deemed to have suspect actions during the 2007-08 Ranji Trophy season, when they were seen on video cameras installed to aid the umpires’ coaches.”While going through the video footage for assessing the umpires’ performance, S Venkataraghavan [the BCCI’s director of umpires and former India captain] has noticed some bowlers with suspect actions,” Ratnakar Shetty, the board’s chief administrative officer, told the newspaper.”The list is being compiled and if it is felt that these bowlers require assistance, they will be sent for correcting their action to the NCA,” he said.Surprisingly, some of the bowlers identified are representing their zonal teams in the ongoing Duleep Trophy, but Shetty said: “The main problem is that they haven’t yet been formally reported by the umpires, so we cannot stop them from playing. But after the final assessment of the footage of all the matches, if it is felt that their actions need to corrected, they will have to go through the procedure.”The last bowler to be identified with a suspect action was Rajesh Sharma, the Punjab offspinner, whose career was temporarily put on hold in the 2006-07 season. Sharma eventually joined the Indian Cricket League last year and took three wickets in two games for the Chandigarh Lions.