WHO Poll
Q: 2023/24 Hopes & aspirations for this season
a. As Champions of Europe there's no reason we shouldn't be pushing for a top 7 spot & a run in the Cups
24%
  
b. Last season was a trophy winning one and there's only one way to go after that, I expect a dull mid table bore fest of a season
17%
  
c. Buy some f***ing players or we're in a battle to stay up & that's as good as it gets
18%
  
d. Moyes out
38%
  
e. New season you say, woohoo time to get the new kit and wear it it to the pub for all the big games, the wags down there call me Mr West Ham
3%
  



Alan 1:47 Tue May 9
Tuesday newspapers (includes West Ham)
BBC

Paris St-Germain football adviser Luis Campos has spoken to Jose Mourinho's agent about the possibility of the Roma manager taking over this summer. (RMC Sport - in French)

Argentina forward Lionel Messi, whose contract with PSG ends in the summer, has not reached an agreement to join Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal. The 35-year-old is expected to make a decision on his future once the French season ends on 3 June. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish)

Chelsea are looking to offload United States forward Christian Pulisic, 24, at the end of the season and could use him as a makeweight to encourage Napoli to sell 24-year-old Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen. (Mail)

Borussia Dortmund's England midfielder Jude Bellingham, 19, will reject the offer of a one-year contract extension to 2026 and a significantly improved salary of 14m euros (£12.2m). (Bild - in German)

Barcelona have set an asking price of 80m euros (£70m) for 26-year-old Brazil winger Raphinha, who is wanted by Newcastle United and Chelsea.(Sport - in Spanish)

Bayer Leverkusen have renewed their interest in Arsenal's Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka, 30, after failing to sign him last summer. (Mirror)

West Ham are resigned to losing 24-year-old England midfielder Declan Rice this summer if they receive an appropriate offer. (Mail)

West Ham are not interested in a player being used as part of any offer for Rice and want their £100m valuation met. (Football Insider)

Marseille's France midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, 24, is an option for West Ham as a potential replacement for Rice. (Athletic - subscription)

Eintracht Frankfurt will not sell France forward Randal Kolo Muani, 24, for less than 90m euros (£79m). (90 Min)

Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise, 21, is attracting the attention of Paris St-Germain, who are ready to make a summer bid for the France Under-21 international. (Mail)

Aston Villa, Leeds United and West Ham have been linked with Lyon's 26-year-old French forward Moussa Dembele. (Birmingham Mail)

Spain keeper David de Gea, 32, has been given no assurances he will remain Manchester United's first choice next season, even though he is close to agreeing a new contract. (Telegraph)

Newcastle United sporting director Dan Ashworth and scout Mick Tait have watched Blackburn Rovers' 18-year-old English midfielder Adam Wharton. (Mail)

Crystal Palace, Fulham and West Ham are among the European clubs interested in 28-year-old Bournemouth and Colombia midfielder Jefferson Lerma, who is out of contract this summer. (Teamtalk)

England midfielder James Ward-Prowse, 28, says there is no truth in reports suggesting Southampton will let him leave if they are relegated. (Hampshire Live)




Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN

Granit Xhaka has been offered the chance to return to Germany's Bundesliga by Bayer Leverkusen.

Christian Eriksen has urged his Manchester United team-mates not to start playing the blame game with their season in danger of capitulating.

Manchester United are reportedly set to offer £13m more than Kim Min-Jae's release clause in order to land one of Napoli's Serie A heroes.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

West Ham United have not yet ruled out starting next season with David Moyes as the club's manager - and winning the Europa Conference League would give his case to stay on a huge boost.

David De Gea has been given no assurances he will remain Manchester United's No 1 goalkeeper next season, even though he is edging closer to agreeing a new contract with the club.

The DP World Tour is this week poised to hit the LIV Golf rebels with unprecedented fines of up to £500,000 and, as a result, more big names including Ryder Cup greats are expected to resign their memberships.

Sale Sharks will offer Luke Cowan-Dickie a route back into the Premiership if his deal with Montpellier breaks down, director of rugby Alex Sanderson has revealed.

The Madrid Open is at the centre of a fresh sexism row, just days after the event was criticised for dressing 'ball girls' in "feminising" outfits.

THE TIMES

Wout Weghorst is hopeful he has a future at Manchester United beyond the end of the season after positive talks with the club.

DAILY MAIL

Chelsea-bound Mauricio Pochettino wants a new goalkeeper, midfielder and striker to kick-start his reign at Stamford Bridge but will need to trim the Blues' bloated squad before he can bring any new players in.

Brentford technical director Lee Dykes has emerged as a contender for a senior role at Tottenham following the resignation of Fabio Paratici.

West Ham are resigned to losing Declan Rice this summer if an appropriate offer arrives for their £100m-rated captain.

Napoli and Juventus have expressed interest in signing Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic.

Lionel Messi is prepared to wait until the end of the season before deciding his next step.

The FA and Metropolitan Police are concerned that the Europa Conference League final could present a public order risk if West Ham qualify for the showpiece occasion at the 20,800-capacity Eden Arena amidst fears of thousands of ticketless supporters descending on Prague.

Cristiano Ronaldo pushed a member of the opposition's backroom staff away after they tried to take a selfie with him following Al Nassr's 1-1 draw with Al Khaleej.

Barcelona fans will be denied entry to Espanyol's RCDE Stadium on Sunday if they wear any items that represent the club's famous colours.

Blackpool have interviewed Narcis Pelach for the vacant head coach position at the club.

Crystal Palace winger Michael Olise is wanted by European giants PSG.

Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard is said to be 'seriously considering retiring' when his contract with Los Blancos expires.

Newcastle United have added Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams to their lengthy list of targets but Bayer Leverkusen's Moussa Diaby is off it.

Aston Villa-bound Mateu Alemany is trying to wrap up a new contract for Ousmane Dembele before he leaves Barcelona.

QPR goalkeeper Seny Dieng is wanted by French club Reims.

Southampton have checked on USA international striker Haji Wright.

Leeds United have beaten off competition from Rangers to tee up a £150,000 deal for Hamilton Academical's 16-year-old midfield prospect Josh McDonald.

Manchester United gave a trial to Salford City winger Kelly N'Mai last week.






C&H

West Ham’s wage bill analysed player by player

By Simon Leyland

According to the website Spotrac, we appear to have a staggering 80 million pounds per year wage bill !

What I found interesting was that there seems to be no obvious barometer of ability versus compensation.

Look at Declan Rice languishing towards the bottom on 60k per week against the aged Ings on £125k per week. Or even our second choice goalkeeper being the joint third highest paid player in the club.

Just imagine the fire sale we would have had to do, if the unthinkable happened and we got relegated. There would be no way we could have serviced such a large wage bill in the Championship.

Annual salary Weekly salary

Lucas Paqueta £7,800,000 £150,000

Danny Ings £6,500,000 £125,000

Alphonse Areola £6,240,000 £120,000

Kurt Zouma £6,240,000 £120,000

Emerson Palmieri £4,940,000 £95,000

Gianluca Scamacca £4,680,000 £90,000

Michail Antonio £4,420,000 £85,000

Thilo Kehrer £4,160,000 £80,000

Manuel Lanzini £3,640,000 £70,000

Angelo Ogbonna £3,640,000 £70,000

Pablo Fornals £3,500,000 £67,308

Tomas Soucek £3,500,000 £67,308

Maxwel Cornet £3,380,000 £65,000

Lukasz Fabianski £3,380,000 £65,000

Jared Bowen £3,120,000 £60,000

Declan Rice £3,120,000 £60,000

Saïd Benrahma £2,860,000 £55,000

Nayef Aguerd £2,600,000 £50,000

Aaron Cresswell £2,600,000 £50,000

Vladimir Coufal £1,820,000 £35,000

Flynn Downes £1,300,000 £25,000

Ben Johnson £1,040,000 £20,000




Telegraph


West Ham open to David Moyes staying – but Europa Conference League could be crucial

Graham Potter, Paulo Fonseca and Ange Postecoglou in the running if David Moyes leaves this summer

By Matt Law, Football News Correspondent

West Ham United have not yet ruled out starting next season with David Moyes as the club's manager – and winning the Europa Conference League would give his case to stay on a huge boost.

West Ham effectively sealed their survival in the Premier League by beating Manchester United on Sunday and are now preparing for the first leg of their Conference League semi-final against AZ Alkmaar on Thursday night.

Moyes has been on the brink of being sacked on more than one occasion this season and yet could end it with a trophy and qualification for the Europa League, which would have to be rated as a success.

West Ham's last trophy success was the old Intertoto Cup in 1999, with the club also winning the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1965.

While a section of supporters have called for Moyes to go, it would be a huge decision for the West Ham board to sack the Scotsman on the back of winning a trophy and qualifying for Europe again.

There is already recognition behind the scenes for the fact Moyes has twice qualified for Europe with West Ham, making him one of the club's most successful modern-day managers, and that this season has not been a write-off thanks to the Conference League run.

Failure to get past Alkmaar would no doubt put more pressure on Moyes, but sources have not yet ruled out the prospect of him starting next season as West Ham manager.

West Ham have considered their options should they decide to make a change with Lille manager Paulo Fonseca keen to position himself into contention and vice-chairman Karren Brady bizarrely making her admiration for Celtic's Ange Postecoglou clear in her column for the Sun. West Ham are also among the clubs ready to make a check on Graham Potter, who was sacked by Chelsea, if they opt to replace Moyes.

Meanwhile, West Ham are hoping to beat competition from a host of Premier League rivals, including Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, to sign Republic of Ireland youth prospect Joe O'Brien-Whitmarsh.

The 17-year-old midfielder is currently playing for Cork City and has already had a trial at West Ham a couple of years ago, with the club keeping a close eye on his progress ever since.

West Ham thrashed Arsenal in the final of this season's FA Youth Cup, which the club hope will boost their pulling power when competing for the best young talent.




EUFA.com

Lucas Paquetá on West Ham's European journey, a tough upbringing and dancing

Attacking midfielder Lucas Paquetá tells UEFA.com that he wants to make history for West Ham.

Lucas Paquetá has made quite the impact in his first season at West Ham. The 25-year-old Brazilian made the move to London from Lyon last summer and has become an instant hit, registering five goals and five assists in all competitions so far.

As the Hammers prepare for a UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final encounter with AZ Alkmaar, Paquetá talked to UEFA.com about his ambitions at the club, his challenges growing up and his uplifting celebrations.

On settling in at West Ham

I am adapting well and I am gaining a good understanding with my team-mates. It's important to have this rapport and, when you change teams, it takes time to establish it. I'm happy to be able to assist and score, and I'm sure we'll do everything to win this semi-final, because it's our chance to get a trophy and make history for the club.

On his childhood

My nickname is 'Paquetá' because I grew up on an island in Rio de Janeiro by the same name. To go to training I travelled on the first ferry every day and came back at midnight with my grandfather, barely scraping by. I think all that made me a stronger human, and it helped me focus on what I want.

Leaving an island where the chances of achieving anything are so small because it's so far away shows that you must really want something. I believe I learned from that, and all the effort made me become someone stronger for the challenges that came afterwards.

On growth issues

It was one of the most difficult moments of my career so far. I suffered from a delay in the growth of my bones, so I couldn't play with the 15-year-olds anymore, who were tall and strong. I started doing several treatments on the side, but it took a long time and was a struggle. But I think God planned it. I eventually grew and I was able to match their strength.

On facing West Ham with Lyon last season

The first impression I got of the club was seeing the crowd and how they supported West Ham in the Europa League game. They really gave it their all and fought together, and the fans supported them until the very end. It definitely gives the players more belief, and I think that's how they felt.
On dancing celebration

Dancing has been my trademark since I was a kid. I've always liked to score a goal and then dance - it's the happiest moment of the match. People have a special fondness for seeing me dance and celebrating the goals, and I'm very grateful for that. I always have to thank God for the goals and for the matches, along with my children, my wife, and my parents.





Replies - Newest Posts First (Show In Chronological Order)

jack flash 11:06 Wed May 10
Re: Tuesday newspapers (includes West Ham)
Whoever was responsible for signing Ings for what we paid for him and the wages that he's on, should be sacked on the spot!

He's not worth anything like that at his age and will never fit in to the style of football we play

Villa royally mugged us off

Jasnik 8:04 Tue May 9
Re: Tuesday newspapers (includes West Ham)
Look at Declan Rice languishing towards the bottom on 60k per week -- that is because he would not renew his contract.

Texas Iron 7:59 Tue May 9
Re: Tuesday newspapers (includes West Ham)
CHEERS...

Banjo 3:20 Tue May 9
Re: Tuesday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Thanks Alan 1:48 Tue May 9

The article showing the players salaries was interesting. Areola's salary doesn't reflect his appearances, seems like a lot of money on a second keeper.

Thanks Alan 1:48 Tue May 9
Re: Tuesday newspapers (includes West Ham)
Thanks Alan





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