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WOLVES MANAGER TARGETS CUT-PRICE SERIE A KEEPER CHRISTOS MANDAS

Wolves are eyeing a January move for Lazio goalkeeper Christos Mandas. The Greek international, valued at around £10-12m, could be available as Wolves plan for a younger long-term option between the posts.

Wolves Manager Targets Cut-Price Serie A Keeper Christos Mandas
Wolves Prepare Low Bid for Christos Mandas

Christos Mandas, who plays goalie for Lazio, could be bought in January for about £10 to £12 million.

Lazio had a bad summer and was then told they couldn't buy any new players. If they are allowed to get new players, they will likely do so in January. The team feels sure they can sign new players, but they need to fix their money problems first to get the ban lifted.


Lazio is okay with letting Christos Mandas go.


Mandas has a deal until 2029, but since he hasn't played in Serie A this year, he is okay with leaving.

He played 20 times last year after joining Lazio from OFI Crete in the summer of 2023, but now he is not as important as Ivan Provedel. The old Lazio coach, Marco Baroni, liked Mandas, but the old Chelsea coach, Maurizio Sarri, has only had him sit on the bench.

The team wants to find a younger goalie in 2026 because Jose Sa, Sam Johnstone, and Dan Bentley are all 32 years old. This might not be as important as getting a new player in the middle of the field or another player to attack.

Valencia and Galatasaray were also interested in Mandas during the summer, and they might be again. Since Mandas has played twice for Greece and could be a great deal this winter, more teams might talk to Lazio in January.

BOLOGNA BEATS UDINESE, NOW SHARING LEAD WITH SERIE A ELITE

Bologna moved level with Inter and Roma at the Serie A summit with a 3-0 win at Udinese. Tommaso Pobega scored twice despite a rare penalty miss from top scorer Riccardo Orsolini.

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Bologna Joins Giants Inter, Roma At Top of Serie A

Following their 3-0 victory over Udinese on Saturday, Bologna equalled the 24 points of Inter Milan and Roma at the top of Serie A, even though Riccardo Orsolini uncharacteristically missed a penalty.

The league's top scorer, Orsolini, made up for his penalty miss by assisting Tommaso Pobega's first of two goals.

Roma is scheduled to play Cremonese on Sunday, not long before Inter faces Milan in the city's highly anticipated derby match.

Milan is just two points behind the top three teams, equaling Napoli's score; Napoli played Atalanta later on Saturday.

After a 1-1 draw against Fiorentina, the bottom-ranked team, Juventus held 20 points.

Bologna found it hard to get past Udinese's defence but was presented with an excellent opportunity just before halftime when Kingsley Ehizibue, a defender for Udinese, used his elbow to block Pobega's shot.

Nevertheless, Maduka Okoye stopped Orsolini's penalty kick, despite Orsolini having converted 15 of his previous 16 attempts.

Orsolini believed he had atoned for his miss a few minutes later, but his potential goal was disallowed due to an offside.

Bologna broke the scoreless tie in the 54th minute. Orsolini controlled a pass across the field and cut inside before passing it to Pobega, who shot it into the bottom left corner.

Udinese's situation worsened six minutes later when Pobega intercepted a poor pass from Okoye and scored his second goal.

Udinese failed to learn from their mistake and got into another problematic situation while attempting to play the ball out from the back during stoppage time, enabling Federico Bernardeschi to easily score into an unguarded net.

Juventus was held to its third consecutive draw, having difficulties against Fiorentina and an energised Moise Kean.

Kean, 25, who began his professional career at Juventus, was returning from a leg injury; he was Fiorentina's most dangerous player in the first half, even hitting the crossbar.

With a strong 25-yard shot from Filip Kostic, Juventus took the lead in the sixth minute of added time.

The significant amount of added time resulted from a stoppage in play because of racist chants directed at Dusan Vlahovic, the former Fiorentina forward from Serbia; there was also an extensive video review that reversed a penalty initially given to Juventus.

Fiorentina evened the score almost immediately after halftime when two former Juventus players combined, with Kean assisting Rolando Mandragora, who scored with a long-range shot into the upper far corner.

Elsewhere, Genoa, led by Daniele De Rossi, drew 3-3 with Cagliari in a match between teams trying to avoid relegation. Genoa now has the same number of points as Parma, which is in 17th place, and is three points behind Cagliari.

LUCIANO SPALLETTI BACKS VLAHOVIC, SLAMS JUVENTUS' PREDICTABLE PLAY AFTER DRAW

Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti demanded his team "raise our level" after a disappointing 1-1 draw with Fiorentina. The coach criticised predictable play and technical errors, insisting on improvement.

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Spalletti Defends Vlahovic

Following Juventus' draw with Fiorentina, Luciano Spalletti openly expressed his disappointment, emphasizing that his team needs to "improve their game" to achieve their goals this season.

At the Franchi stadium, Juve were tied 1-1, which, although prolonging their undefeated streak, once more revealed ongoing problems with ball control and judgment.

Spalletti confessed that the game wasn't up to par with what he anticipates from a squad aiming to contend for the Serie A title.

Quoting IlBianconero, he stated, "Our plays were too easy to guess in the first half, and we committed far too many errors in our technique."

"We just cannot allow ourselves to make those mistakes, because we need to perform at a higher standard. It was a tough game against a team looking to bounce back. Vanoli brings passion and intensity to his team, which we know well. However, we are expected to accomplish more, and we absolutely have to step up our game."


Juventus coach Spalletti backs Vlahovic after Fiorentina draw


Spalletti maintained that his aspirations for Juventus are steadfast. "As I've mentioned before, striving for the Scudetto should be our aim, which is not the same as saying we are already contenders. I am confident that we can perform better than we did today. The quiet atmosphere in the locker room tells me that the players were also unsatisfied, and I appreciate that. Now, we must showcase a higher level of play."

He also observed that the squad had difficulty involving Kenan Yildiz in the game. "We didn't utilize him enough. Too often, we held onto the ball around the defense when we should have skipped a pass and played it forward. Yildiz initially stayed in the center before moving to the left, but we need to involve him more

Spalletti concluded by denouncing the abusive chants directed at Vlahovic: "Dusan is responding appropriately, but as a society, we must stop attending stadiums to engage in activities unrelated to sports. The more this occurs, the more we undermine the world's greatest sport."

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