|
BBC
Norway forward Erling Braut Haaland, 20, does not have a release clause in his contract, says Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke. (Bild - in German)
Juventus' chief football officer Fabio Paratici has spoken of his admiration for 27-year-old Manchester United and France midfielder Paul Pogba, who has been linked with a return to the Italian champions. (Mirror)
Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says he wants Austria defender David Alaba to stay at the club, but the decision lies with the 28-year-old. (Bild - in German)
Real Madrid are interested in signing Alaba when his contract expires next summer. (Diario AS - in Spanish)
Barcelona could move for Tottenham Hotspur's French midfielder Tanguy Ndombele, 23, next summer. (Fabrizio Romano)
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has suggested 19-year-old French centre-back William Saliba could leave on loan in January. (Mail)
Ajax and Mexico defender Edson Alvarez, 23, says he wants to one day join Manchester City. (Voetbalzone, via Goal)
Manchester United missed out on the signing of Bayer Leverkusen's French winger Moussa Diaby, 21, in the summer transfer window. (Bild, via Mail)
United forward Mason Greenwood, 19, is expected to return to the England squad on Thursday. (Guardian)
Talks between Spain defender Sergio Ramos, 34, and his club Real Madrid over a new contract have started. (ESPN)
The Premier League will hold talks with broadcasters as to whether it should continue with the pay-per-view system following a meeting of all 20 clubs on Thursday. (Telegraph - subscription required)
Former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor says a new contract for Scotland midfielder John McGinn, 26, will be the next major deal announced by the club. (Football Insider)
Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani says he is open to a multi-club ownership model, similar to that of Red Bull and City Football Group, the parent company of Manchester City. (Yorkshire Evening Post)
Sport Witness
Sister of West Ham player comes out in his defence – Set to meet club to speak about future
On Wednesday, we covered articles from Portuguese newspapers which were talking about Felipe Anderson’s absence from the Champions League this week.
The West Ham loanee was left out of Porto’s squad which faced Marseille, and it turned out there was no surprise from the local press, given his poor form since joining the Dragons.
Since then, Felipe Anderson’s sister has sent a statement to Portuguese outlets in which she claims that only she can be trusted to speak about the player’s career from now on.
It’s a little hard to understand why would she do it at this time, but it seems like an attempt to defend her brother from the criticism he’s been getting in his first weeks at Porto.
“Felipe was brought to Portugal by agents who are no longer part of his career. Only I, Juliana Gomes, can speak officially on his behalf. I will have a meeting with the club to inform them of this new panorama and also to try to understand if we can do something for Felipe to do as quickly as possible what he came to do in Portugal, which is to play his football and help Porto,” (via Record).
“As Sérgio Conceição himself publicly clarified, Felipe Anderson didn’t receive many chances to play until now solely and exclusively due to the coach’s options. I guarantee that he has been working hard and that he didn’t have any kind of extra-field or personal problem. I want to reinforce that Felipe is very focused and will continue to fight for his space with the same good conduct that has always guided his career.”
Out of David Moyes’ West Ham plans for the season, Felipe Anderson was loaned to Porto in the final days of the transfer window. He was heavily criticised for losing a challenge which resulted in a Sporting equaliser in his first game for the club.
Since then, he only had a chance to play a few minutes in a league game last weekend, and still couldn’t impress.
This is Futbol
The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas has recently discussed previous transfer interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Real Betis in West Ham United’s Michail Antonio.
During the 2019/20 Premier League campaign, the 30-year-old Englishman made only 24 appearances for the Hammers, however, he managed to bag 10 goals (per WhoScored).
Furthermore, over those 24 outings, the attacker managed to earn an impressive 7.29/10 average rating making him their best-performing player.
With the player’s current deal with the Irons set to expire at the end of the current campaign, The Athletic reported during the summer that there had been some previous transfer interest in Antonio.
In the latest episode of The Athletic’s U Irons podcast, Thomas discussed that transfer interest in Antonio and explained how the forward remained loyal to the club.
He said: “I reported in July that there was previous interest from Wolverhampton Wanderers and Real [Betis], the La Liga club.
“Antonio was loyal, he was loyal. He didn’t try and force a move; he was happy at West Ham. Again, it just adds more reasons to why he does deserve a long-term deal at the club.
“[He has] been loyal, been playing great, got called up to the England squad on two occasions – unfortunate to miss out on a cap because of a hamstring injury.”
TIF Thoughts on what Roshane Thomas said about the previous transfer interest in Michail Antonio…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say regarding the previous transfer interest in Antonio, he believes the loyalty which he has previously shown is a reason why he deserves a long-term contact now.
With his current deal set to expire at the end of June next year, hopefully, a new contract is sorted out before too much longer.
Having been the club’s best-performing player last season, he has also repeated the feat so far this term with a 7.25/10 average rating, so, it is clear to see what an impressive player he is for West Ham.
The 4th Official
West Ham United Eyeing A Move For Real Madrid Forward: What Will He Bring To East London?
In a recent print edition, The Daily Mirror (01/11, p61) has mentioned that West Ham United are eyeing a January move for Real Madrid centre-forward Luka Jovic as they intend to sign him on loan with a view of a permanent transfer at the end of this campaign. However, it is understood that the Hammers could face fierce competition from Leicester City in pursuit of the Serbian striker when the transfer window reopens later this winter (via HITC).
Jovic’s Underwhelming Career At The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium So Far
The 22-year-old has endured a nightmare spell at the Spanish capital since his big switch from Eintracht Frankfurt last year. Jovic has participated in four matches for Zinedine Zidane’s side but is still waiting to open his goal-scoring account for this campaign.
The Serbian sensation has struggled to influence the game in the final third as he is currently averaging 1.7 shots, 0.7 key passes and 0.7 dribbles per game in La Liga this season. At least he has been relatively accurate with his link-up play in and around the opposition penalty box after completing 82.4% of his attempted passes in top-flight football (stats via whoscored)
The lack of game time has derailed Jovic’s development recently, which is why he must consider going out on loan in January in search of more playing minutes this season. Maybe he will welcome a move to the Premier League where he might be able to make a fresh start and rediscover his old form from his Bundesliga days.
What Will The Serbian Marksman Bring To The London Stadium?
Jovic is a moderately paced forward who is a composed dribbler with the ball and can get into some dangerous areas in the attacking third. During his time in Germany, he proved that he can be a prolific goal-scorer but has struggled to give a good account of himself under the stewardship of Zidane so far.
The eight-time Serbian international packs a lot of power with his shot attempts and has got the strength to hold the ball up by outmuscling his marker inside the opposition penalty box. However, his recent lack of productivity for Los Blancos will be a significant cause for concern for any of his potential suitors, including the Hammers.
The last thing that David Moyes can afford right now is to sign another underperforming striker after Sebastien Haller failed to set the world alight since joining the London outfit last year. At the same time, Michail Antonio needs more competition and help up top, which is why the Hammers would be wise to bring Jovic to East London this winter. The Serbian goal-getter is more than capable of giving Antonio a run for his money and could potentially strike up a lethal attacking partnership with him at the London Stadium.
Sport Witness
Attempt to sell player to West Ham was ‘hatched’ by club’s DoF and agency – Needed to bring cash in
A few weeks ago, we covered claims from Duje Caleta-Car, who explained he’d turned down a big offer from the Premier League, most likely from West Ham, to play Champions League football with Marseille.
Fast forward to three games into the competition, and the Ligue 1 side have yet to score a goal or pick up a point.
With his dream slowly turning into a nightmare, the Croatian could be asking himself if he made the right choice, especially with his performances taking a downturn in recent weeks.
L’Equipe look at his situation, and explain the West Ham offer that arrived late in the transfer window was ‘hatched’ by Pablo Longoria, Marseille’s director of football, and Stellar Group, his agency.
Ordered to sell some players, the Ligue 1 club’s chief reached out to the usual suspects when it comes to selling French based players to the Premier League, and the Hammers bit.
Instead of succumbing to the money on this side of the Channel, he tried to live out his dream in the south of France.
However, that hasn’t paid off yet and is unlikely to do so, with little to no hope of his club making it past the group stages at this point.
Two days ago, BT in Denmark reported ‘talented’ centre-back Frederik Alves is close to joining West Ham United from Danish side Silkeborg IF.
The report also had a picture of the 20-year-old along with his agent Christian Bysted at the Stratford Hotel in London.
BT explained the defender was in the English capital to undergo his medical with the Hammers, and will join West Ham in January.
On November 4th, Silkeborg confirmed the Denmark U21 international will change clubs in January, but their statement didn’t mention where he will move next, amid claims of interest from the Premier League side.
Local newspaper Midtjyllands Avis also claims the defender will be joining David Moyes’ side in the winter market.
They managed to speak to Silkeborg director Kent Madsen on Alves changing club in the next window.
“He is sold with what I would call a very small reservation. He must be able to obtain a residence and work permit in the country he is going to. We consider it a formality, but I can say that it is due to Brexit. That is why we have not announced the [name of the] buying club, but Brexit has an impact on it. As we see it, it is a theoretical risk,” Madsen told Midtjyllands Avis.
Even though the Danish club’s chief didn’t not specifically mention Alves will join West Ham, talking about Brexit has made it clear the player will be moving to the UK at the start of the next year.
|
