Jorgen Strand Larsen gives defiant response to £50m Newcastle transfer bid

JORGEN Strand Larsen was sprung from the bench to transform Wolves’ fortunes a day after the club turned down a fortune to let him go.

Towering striker Larsen was the subject of a £50m bid from Newcastle on Monday that Wolves swiftly rebuffed – though head coach Vitor Pereira is braced for another offer and admits “every player has their price.”

And the super sub scored twice in as many minutes last night to turn what seemed destined to be an early cup exit into a win that inflicts more woe on struggling West Ham.

Rodrigo Gomes put Vitor Pereira’s men ahead but the Hammers showed signs of improvement as Tomas Soucek levelled before Lucas Paqueta, also recalled to the Brazil squad yesterday, headed them in front.

It looked like some much-needed relief was on the way for Graham Potter’s Irons except their late collapse now makes it ELEVEN goals shipped in their first three games of the campaign.

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And after captain Jarrod Bowen was locked in a verbal confrontation with a travelling supporter at full-time, for which he later apologised on social media, under-pressure Potter said: “I don’t know what was said. Everybody's hurting, rightly so because we've not had the results we'd like.

“That's normal. Jarrod is a fantastic captain and servant for the club. It was just an exchange of views by people who care about the club.”

Still, Potter took “a lot of positives from the game” and praised his players for “giving everything” because “the performance level was a lot closer to what we want.”

Gomes’ opener came from a needless penalty concession as Guido Rodriguez, never blessed with speed, lazily impeded Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s run in from the left.

Hee-chan Hwang’s attempt clattered off the left-sided post with Alphonse Areola committing the wrong way and Gomes was first to the rebound, ahead of Soucek and Nayef Aguerd, to finish.

Soucek may have punched the pitch with frustration after failing to halt Gomes but he needed just four minutes of the second period to earn redemption by arriving at the back post to power home Kyle Walker-Peters’ delivery.

Parity filled the Hammers with belief and sucked it out of the hosts. Temporarily, anyway.

And while Paqueta’s header to make it 2-1 was brilliantly timed, he should never have been allowed such time and space to meet Bowen’s inswinging cross with Agbadou and Yerson Mosquera failing to close a yawning gap.

Except then came Larsen’s cameo. His first arrived after a dismal effort from Areola to keep out Andre’s long-range attempt, Larsen converting the rebound despite being off-balance.

And the winner was another powerful header as he soared into the air to drive home Jackson Tchatchoua’s centre.

“He's a player with character,” Pereira added of Larsen. “I imagine his mind in this moment, listening and reading a lot of things, but he kept the commitment to help the team.

“Until now Jorgen is our player but we’ll see what happens, I understand football.”

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