Up-and-down day for Afobe
JORDAN HENDERSON was told by Gareth Southgate he would not be England’s captain in Russia four days before the biggest game of his life.
It may not seem the best of timing by the England manager but, typically, the Liverpool midfielder did not have a problem with it.
He wished new skipper Harry Kane all the best and re-focused on the Champions League final.
Henderson insisted, whether he had the armband or not, he would always be a leader.
“The manager rang me on the Tuesday in the week leading up to the final,” said Henderson yesterday.
“I wasn’t thinking about it because of the final and that’s where my focus was. When the WOLVES are poised to sell striker Benik Afobe to Stoke just five days after paying £10 million to sign him from Bournemouth.
Afobe completed a permanent switch to Molineux last Friday after spending last season on loan with the Championship winners.
But Wolves are already in advanced talks over a £12m sale after deciding to make a quick profit on the 25-year-old.
Stoke manager Gary Rowett is keen to add both Afobe and Matej Vydra to his squad to help his new club overcome the lack of goals that led to them being relegated from the Premier League. Vydra was last season’s Championship top scorer under Rowett at Derby. Afobe scored six goals in 16 appearances on loan at Wolves. And he seemed set for a crack at the Premier League after helping Nuno Espirito Santo’s men to promotion.
But it now appears Wolves activated their £10m option to sign him permanently knowing they could make an easy profit of around £2m. Stoke are also keen on West Brom’s James McClean as a replacement for Egypt winger Ramadan Sobhi, who is expected to join Huddersfield.