Words from his boss

Raul Jimenez has been told to join Manchester United over Juventus if he decides to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Mexico international has been linked with a number of clubs across Europe, but most notably with Wolves' Premier League rivals United and Serie A champions Juventus.

Jimenez, 29, is enjoying the best season of his career with 24 goals in all competitions, including 15 in the Premier League.

And Mexico manager Gerardo Martino believes United is a better fit for Jimenez than Juventus.

"Looking at it from the outside today I cannot see a specialist No.9 like Raul at United," Martino said on ESPN show Futbol Picante.

"There are many forwards like [Marcus] Rashford, [Anthony] Martial and the boy who now plays as right-winger, [Mason] Greenwood, but since Romelu Lukaku left I can't see a pure number nine like Raul.

"At Juventus, he will have more of a fight because [Cristiano] Ronaldo shares the inside of the pitch with whoever plays alongside him, with [Paulo] Dybala or with [Gonzalo] Higuain and maybe he has a tougher fight there."

'Concrete offer'

Reims have confirmed they have received a 'concrete offer' from an unnamed Premier League club for Axel Disasi.

Last month L'Equipe reported that Wolves had stolen a march on their English rivals Arsenal, with a €15m tabled for the central defender.

And now the French club have confirmed Disasi will be leaving the club, with interest from both sides of the Channel.

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Speaking to But Football, Reims president Jean-Pierre Calliot has revealed he has been given permission to leave the Ligue 1 side, with an aim of playing in a European competition central to his decision.

Calliot has confirmed that Monaco and St Etienne are in the running for his signing as well as a team from England.

“He has a release certificate. His profile interests a lot of clubs. Today, three clubs are quite advanced on the file. I do not know if it will be one of these three that he will choose. But it’s likely to move fast enough."

Red alert

Zinedine Zidane has claimed that James Rodriguez asked to be left out of the Real Madrid’s match with Atletico Bilbao.

Reports have suggested the 28-year-old, who has been linked with Wolves, Manchester United and Everton, refused to travel with the Real squad.

Los Blancos won the game thanks to a late penalty from Sergio Ramos to move closer to the league title – but Rodriguez wasn’t even in attendance.

Zidane confirmed after Sunday’s game that it was Rodriguez’s decision not to travel. “He wanted to be left out because of his own reasons," the legendary French coach said.

“The reasons are between us and I’m not going to tell you anymore.”

Rodriguez’s time at the Bernabeu seems to be coming to an end having played just 14 times this season – with regular reports of a breakdown in his relationship with Zidane.

Liverpool advice for Adama

Adama Traore has been told not to leave Wolverhampton Wanderers in the next transfer window.

Traore has enjoyed an excellent season with Wolves, scoring six times and recording 14 assists across all competitions. His partnership with Raul Jimenez has yielded 10 Premier League goals, making them the league's most potent duo.

The Spaniard's form under Nuno Espirito Santo has drummed up plenty of interest with Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City and Bayern Munich all linked with a move for him over the past few months.

It's Liverpool's interest which is reportedly the strongest with Jurgen Klopp said to be keen on taking Traore to Anfield ahead of next season.

But one former red, club legend Steve Nicol, doesn't think Traore should move to Merseyside.

Liverpool's front three of Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are all still in their prime, which is why Nicol believes Traore, 24, should stay at Molineux for now.

Podence plea

Wolverhampton Wanderers will appeal to the Premier League for special dispensation in order to play Daniel Podence on Wednesday.

The January signing, who has played just 42  minutes in the league since arriving from Olympiakos, was left out of the Wolves squad that was beaten 2-0 by Arsenal at the weekend.

Nuno Espirito Santo revealed after the game, that the player had been back to Portugal for a personal issue and would therefore need to follow to quarantine rules after arriving back in the UK.

"Daniel had to travel to Portugal to take care of something really important," he said. "Personal issue that he had to solve. The moment that he returned we had to follow the guidelines of the government. He’s tested already. He’s tested negative but he has to stay in his home.”

The Telegraph report that Podence was back in England last Monday and with the government now relaxing quarantine rules for sporting events, Wolves hope to have him available this week.