West Ham Online

Sorry chaps, been down with the flu

BBC

Saudi club Al-Hilal are ready to launch a January bid for Liverpool's Egypt winger Mohamed Salah, 33. (Sun), external

Liverpool have already lined up a replacement for Salah - Bournemouth's Ghana international forward Antoine Semenyo, 25. (Express), external

The Reds are understood to be relaxed about the situation regarding Salah, who is also being discussed by MLS side San Diego. (GiveMeSport), external

Tottenham are monitoring 28-year-old France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta's unresolved contract situation at Crystal Palace. (Football Insider), external

England and Crystal Palace midfielder Adam Wharton, 21, plans to play Champions League football at his next club, and currently tops Manchester United's transfer shortlist. (Mirror), external

Liverpool and Barcelona have been told they can sign Brazil midfielder Ederson, 26, for £50m from Italian club Atalanta in the January transfer window. (Football Insider), external

Arsenal are ready to rival Real Madrid in the race to sign 20-year-old Turkey winger Kenan Yildiz in January, amid his stalled contract talks with Juventus. (Goal), external

Roma have emerged as the frontrunners to sign Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, from Manchester United. (Football Insider), external

Newcastle United and West Ham United are among several clubs lining up a move for Chelsea's French centre-back Axel Disasi, 27. (Caught Offside), external

Manchester United have decided against signing Senegalese 17-year-old Mouhamed Dabo as they seek to bolster their midfield. (MEN)




Sky Paper Talk

Salah could be omitted from Liverpool's Champions League trip to Milan to play Inter on Tuesday after his outspoken attack on the club and Arne Slot - The Guardian.

Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has taken aim at Salah for his fiery outburst following the dramatic 3-3 draw against Leeds on Saturday night - Daily Mail.

Salah's Egypt national team boss, Hossam Hassan, has appeared to back the player by posting a picture of himself and the player on Instagram, captioned: "Always a symbol of determination and strength." - The Mirror.

La Liga

Jude Bellingham was left with a nasty cut to his eye during Real Madrid's defeat by Celta Vigo in LaLiga - The Sun.

Cricket

Ben Stokes has warned his team that the England dressing room is no place for "weak men" and accused them of wilting under the intense mental pressure of Ashes cricket - The Telegraph.

THE DAILY RECORD

Wilfried Nancy insists he is 'not about losing or winning' after kicking off his Celtic reign with a 2-1 loss to Hearts - Daily Record.






Guardian

Rutter rescues late point for Brighton against West Ham after Bowen’s opener

John Brewin

Unusually devoid of creativity, Brighton were imprisoned within Nuno Espírito Santo’s tactical cage. Jarrod Bowen, West Ham’s talisman, had executed perfectly his manager’s counter‑attacking strategy. Nuno’s team were fighting their way towards safety, with three points appearing to be heading back to London.

Nuno’s plan was coming together so well that Bowen’s goal had been supplied by Callum Wilson, a substitute on the field for just 51 seconds. Yet the masterplan fell short. The Amex Stadium, home of late goals, staged another, Georginio Rutter squeezing in a stoppage-time equaliser for his first goal of the season to complete the type of madcap scramble commonplace at Brighton.

Before that timely late surge, Brighton had not landed a shot on target. Ambitions of returning to the European stage are being hindered by the inconsistency shown by Aston Villa’s comeback in midweek. West Ham’s horizons are significantly lower. Leeds’s recent form has deepened relegation worries and Rutter’s goal meant the three‑point gap to Daniel Farke’s team had only one chiselled from it. “We did so much to get into the lead,” Bowen said. “But we sat back too far and invited the pressure.”

Nuno, unhappy that a handball by Rutter within the decisive scramble had been passed over by the video assistant referee, said: “We contained them, then we scored, and we tried to close out the game but unfortunately we couldn’t.” At least the West Ham team he inherited – shapeless, hopeless, rudderless – are playing for him.

Amid a horrible swirl of wind and rain that appeared to be keeping spectators from the Amex’s lower tiers, West Ham adopted Nuno’s trademark low block, thwarting their opponents’ speed in transition. Bowen, Lucas Paquetá and Crysencio Summerville were meanwhile asked to chase long balls out of defence. With none of that trio as adept as Wilson at holding up the ball, the passing of Paquetá, back after suspension following his tantrum, was the weapon of choice.

Fabian Hürzeler said of his Brighton team: “We wanted more definitely, but in the end we didn’t deserve more because we didn’t play with energy and intensity in the first half.” Amid the hosts’ slim pickings of the first 45 minutes, the closest they came was Maxim De Cuyper almost emulating Bruno Guimarães in scoring from a corner. Worsening weather played its part in Mats Wieffer missing a more genuine chance, De Cuyper’s cross skidding from the mud beyond reach when any touch would have done.

When Paquetá’s low shot tested Bart Verbruggen for a first proper West Ham attempt, it suggested Nuno’s strategy could pay off. The grimmer that conditions became, the more likely a mistake or deflection would result in a goal. Half-time arrived as respite from wholly missable fare.


Jarrod Bowen celebrates after giving West Ham a second-half lead. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/Reuters

With El Hadji Malick Diouf blocking off the speed of Yankuba Minteh down the flank, Summerville and Bowen began to grow in threat and Verbruggen, left unprotected, was asked to make a brilliant double save from Bowen’s grubber and Summerville’s volley.

Carlos Baleba departed on the hour. Concerns continue over the prized asset’s ability to complete a full 90 minutes, as Hürzeler sought a control of midfield that would not arrive until the fourth official was preparing to display the stoppage time allowance. Minteh blasted wide – his shot selection is often wayward – for his last participation in the game, amid changes from both managers that brought Wilson into West Ham’s forward line, and Brajan Gruda and Charalampos Kostoulas into Brighton’s.

Those alterations immediately preceded West Ham’s goal as Wilson pounced on Jan Paul van Hecke’s mistake to send away Bowen. “We deserved to concede a goal and we reacted well,” Hürzeler said.

Late goals being habitual at the Amex Stadium kept home supporters, previously quiet, expectant that their team could find some way back. “They have scored lots of late goals against us in the past,” Bowen said.

Prior experience failed to preserve the three points. Alphonse Areola, previously all but decommissioned, made a fine save from Kostoulas but, as tired defenders slackened concentration, the Hammers goalkeeper was left unprotected from Rutter’s initial shot, before Van Hecke, calm amid the squall, laid the ball laterally for Rutter to crash in.

The hint of handball and flailing high feet, plus a lengthy VAR wait, gave false hope to West Ham. “A natural position,” according to Stockley Park. “I was confused and scared about the VAR,” Rutter said.

Nuno said: “It’s a handball … I don’t understand,” lamenting his winning strategy being squandered by fortune and fatigue.



The Athletic

Were West Ham unlucky with Brighton equaliser? Was it right call? What are the rules?


Nuno Espirito Santo did not agree with the decision to allow Brighton's goal Gareth Fuller/PA Images via Getty Images

By Roshane Thomas

“It’s hard to take, man, it’s really hard to take.”

Nuno Espirito Santo spoke for himself, his squad and a large section of West Ham United supporters when discussing the events leading up to Brighton’s controversial equaliser in the 91st minute on Sunday.

It was these words that the mournful head coach repeated often in his post-match press conference.

In the build-up to Georginio Rutter’s goal in the 1-1 draw, Charalampos Kostoulas’ acrobatic overhead kick was close to the head of defender Konstantinos Mavropanos.



Kostoulas’ strike then hit Rutter’s right hand. These were the two incidents Nuno complained about.


West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola saved Rutter’s initial strike, but Jan Paul van Hecke pounced on Areola’s save to assist Rutter to finish the job.





The goal stood after checks from referee Simon Hooper and video assistant referee (VAR) Tony Harrington. The potential high boot on Mavropanos was overlooked by VAR because it was not deemed dangerous play.

The rules of the game (Law 12) state: “Playing in a dangerous manner is any action that, while trying to play the ball, threatens injury to someone (including the player themself) and includes preventing a nearby opponent from playing the ball for fear of injury. A scissors or bicycle kick is permissible provided that it is not dangerous to an opponent.”

As for the handball, the Premier League Match Centre posted on X: “The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR — with it deemed that Rutter’s arm was in a natural position and he did not deliberately handle the ball. The contact with the arm was not immediately prior to him scoring.”

The laws of the game state that it is a handball offence if a player scores directly from their hand/arm, even if accidental. Or if they score immediately after the ball has touched their hand/arm, even if accidental. Mitigating factors include the goal not being scored immediately or being scored by a team-mate. As stated by the Match Centre post, Rutter’s goal did not come immediately after contact with the arm as his initial shot was blocked.


Kevin Hodgson/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Second-half West Ham substitutes Freddie Potts and Tomas Soucek protested the decision, but Hopper remained unmoved by their pleas.

Post-match, midfielder Guido Rodriguez and goalkeeping coach Rui Barbosa confronted the referee, but failed to get an explanation. Nuno opted against approaching the referee at full-time but bemoaned his lack of luck with VAR.
Top League Content

“It’s clear (there was a high boot on Mavropanos), I saw it, and everyone else did,” said the head coach. “We cannot understand how they gave the goal. No, no, no (the referee hasn’t explained why). VAR saw it, everybody saw it. It’s hard to take, it’s very hard to take. I think both situations (handball and high boot) should have been checked.

“It’s hard to take, man, it’s really hard to take. Especially after the hard work of the boys, the support of our fans that made us feel like we were in London. Then came one situation, so many people saw it, it’s hard to take. It’s hard to speak when you have a group of players so disappointed.

“We are in a tough position. This game meant a lot to us, the boys worked really hard, and it’s hard to take to go back to London with a point. If Dinos (Mavropanos) stood on the ground, maybe (they would have deemed it dangerous). There’s contact on his head, isn’t it?”

Brighton’s equaliser denied West Ham their third win under Nuno and a first clean sheet under the Portuguese. The draw leaves Nuno’s side in the relegation zone, on 13 points, two adrift of 17th-place Leeds United, with a home game against high-flying Aston Villa on Sunday.

But there were encouraging signs of West Ham’s attack developing under Nuno. Crysencio Summerville’s return from a calf strain offered them more attacking threat. The winger, who missed games against Bournemouth, Liverpool and Manchester United, had two meaningful attempts on goal, with Nuno memorably throwing his blue towel in anger when Summerville’s right-footed curling effort went wide. The attacker, who was brought off in the 72nd minute for Callum Wilson, was only supposed to play an hour but had signalled to first-team coach Mark Robson he wanted to continue.

Lucas Paqueta played well on his return from suspension, Jean-Clair Todibo’s stock continues to climb, and Areola continues to add fresh material to his compilation of highlight reel saves. In the last seven days, West Ham have yielded two points from a possible nine in league games against Liverpool, Manchester United and Brighton.

Post-match, captain Jarrod Bowen was not as candid as Nuno when reflecting on the incidents leading up to their draw, but the England international remains hopeful that improvements will continue.

“I think we’ve seen a lot of handball decisions this season and it’s probably the one grey area in the Premier League in terms of what’s given and what’s not given,” he told the club’s official website.

“I think we trust the referees. We trust the VAR to get involved if they think something needs getting involved with, and they didn’t today, so we have to accept that. We need to show the same work, the same spirit that we’ve shown in the last few weeks, but I think we’ve also got the most important thing, spirit, and that’s going to be massively important coming up into the new year.”




OS

U18s put five past West Brom to end 2025 in style

West Bromwich Albion U18s 1-5 West Ham United U18s, U18 Premier League South, The Fitlife Foods Performance Centre, Saturday 6 December 2025, 12noon GMT
 
West Ham United U18s ended the calendar year in style with a dominant 5-1 win over West Bromwich Albion U18s in the U18 Premier League South, thanks to braces from Joel Kerr and Andre Dike, with Majid Balogun also on the scoresheet.

Our young Hammers were looking to respond after last weekend’s narrow loss to Chelsea, and they made their intentions clear immediately, scoring within the opening two minutes.

Balogun capitalised on an error at the back as West Brom attempted to play out, racing through on goal and finishing calmly on his left foot to make it 1-0.

And just two minutes later, the lead was doubled. Joe Scanlon played a perfectly-timed ball in behind for Kerr, who started centrally, and showed great composure to slot home and put West Ham firmly in control inside the first eight minutes.

Kerr was nearly through again just moments later, as another ball in behind caused problems, but this time West Brom defender George Shaw recovered well to deny a shooting chance.

The home side thought they had pulled one back in the 12th minute after a rehearsed set-piece routine led to a rebound finish, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Despite West Brom’s attempts to respond, it was West Ham who remained ruthless and scored another quick goal. Kerr grabbed his second of the afternoon after Lewis Beckford drove through midfield and slipped him in with a silky pass, which Kerr finished confidently to make it 3–0.

Even with a comfortable lead, the Hammers stayed switched on defensively. Reece Basterfield found space down the left for West Brom, but Reggie Morris recovered brilliantly to block his effort.

Before half-time, the pressure from West Ham’s press created the fourth goal. Conor Brooks, who won possession repeatedly throughout, forced another turnover, leading to a counter-attack. He found Dike, who cut onto his stronger left foot and drilled a composed finish into the bottom-right corner.

The pace in behind remained a constant threat and was on display again when a West Brom corner turned into another counter - this time led by Balogun, but his effort for a second goal skimmed just wide.

Just before the break, the same transition pattern nearly produced a fifth. Brooks again won the ball, with Kerr driving through on goal, but his effort was saved and deflected behind for a corner.

After half-time, West Brom looked to get back into the game. Adam Okorodudu burst through on goal, shifting onto his right foot, but fired off target.

But the Hammers’ front line soon reasserted control. Kerr drove down the left and combined neatly with Beckford, who delivered another well-weighted pass for Dike to slot home his second of the afternoon and make it 5–0.

Beckford continued to influence the game in the second half, drifting into pockets and linking well with Dike. A slick one-two with Dike created a shooting opportunity for Beckford, but the goalkeeper closed the angle well to save.

Defensively, Callum Leacock stood out with several strong recovery runs, repeatedly denying West Brom’s Frazer Billings’ attempts to burst in behind. One of those recoveries eventually led to a Dike chance at the other end. He cut inside onto his left foot and unleashed a powerful strike that rattled the crossbar, denying him a hat-trick.

Substitute Jephthah Medine nearly made an instant impact after coming on after the hour mark. Vinnie Perkins delivered an inch-perfect cross, but he couldn’t convert. Moments later, he had another chance fall his way, but fired off target.

West Brom did eventually grab a consolation when Billings cut inside onto his left foot after a run down the right and finished emphatically.

The convincing victory lifts the U18s above West Brom into the top half of the table, rounding off the year on a strong note as they head into the winter break.

They return to action in the U18 Premier League South on 10 January with an away trip to Brighton.

 
West Bromwich Albion U18s: Lines, Asomugha (Parmar 65), Letlat (C) (Billings 45), Iqbal, Shaw, Jackson, McNeil (Freddie-George 45), Bastafield, Okoroduda ( Olumide 65), Sankohl (Oluwatobiloba 45)

Goal: Billings 80

Booked: Iqbal  
 
West Ham United U18s: Awesu (GK), Perkins, Leacock (C), Montague, Scanlon (Jonyla 60) Morris (Omotoye 60), Brooks, Dike, Kerr (Obi 80), Beckford, Balogun (Medine 70)

Subs not used: Hooper (GK)

Goals: Balogun 2 Kerr 7, 23 Dike 36, 67

Booked: Obi, Brooks


Smith: There is a maturity in this group growing every week

Lead coach Luke Smith praised the Young Hammers for ending the year with an excellent performance.

He said: “We started well and came out with real intent and energy. We scored a couple of early goals through well-taken finishes, and that was a theme throughout the first half.

“In the second half, we felt we could have scored a couple more, and were disappointed to concede, but overall, the group is pleased with the performance.”

He also highlighted the strong individual displays, especially from the front line, and their clinical edge in key moments.

“We were aggressive without the ball and exciting on the break, showing quality and good timing in our fast attacks," Smith said.

“We broke with speed and made good decisions around the goal, around who was in the best position, and we scored some good team goals.

Smith then reflected on the first half of the season as the group heads into the winter break.

He added: “The reflection of the first half of the season would be the progress that the group has shown from the beginning until this point.

“We have been typically quite young throughout the first half of the season, and the progress, the maturity that we see growing in the group each week is a positive for us going into the second half of the season.”



Lilywhite Rose
@Lilywhite_Rose

#thfc Understand U16s Albanian winger Christian Lila has completed a move to West Ham United where he will sign a scholarship.

Barry Silkman in the TG

Barry Silkman interview: Cristiano Ronaldo would be at Barnsley if he came into the game todayFormer midfielder turned football agent and negotiator extraordinaire always ‘had an eye for a player’ and is still cutting deals at 73[url=safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/authors/j/ja-je/jason-burt/]Jason Burt [/url]08 December 2025 6:00am GMT  [img]safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/footbal ... mwidth=640[/img] Barry Silkman, 73, says ‘I’m still young in my outlook, that’s what keeps you young’ Credit: David Rose for the TelegraphWe are sitting in a cafe in a Hertfordshire village when Barry Silkman breaks into song. “Got to write a classic,” he croons. “Got to write it in an attic. Baby, I’m an addict now. An addict for your love.”To be fair, he certainly can hold a tune. Even at 73. But then he was once told – by famed record producer Mickie Most, the man behind The Animals, Lulu and Hot Chocolate (for whom Silkman sang backing vocals) – that he was going to be bigger than Tom Jones.Except Most’s wife apparently took a shine to Silkman and things did not work out with the song – Classic – instead being recorded by the man who wrote it, Adrian Gurvitz. It became a worldwide hit. Unfortunately, Gurvitz never had another one.“His [Most’s] wife tried to get hold of me,” Silkman says before talking in the third person: “It’s not for the Silk. Silk’s never been with a married woman, never been with a woman who’s with someone. So that all fell apart. But I was probably a better singer than a footballer.”Silkman was, nevertheless, a successful enough footballer with his journeyman career across 11 clubs reaching its height when he was signed by Malcolm Allison for Manchester City in 1979. He did not stay long and never quite fulfilled his potential.  [img]safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/footbal ... mwidth=350[/img] Silkman joined Manchester City towards the end of the 1978-79 season Credit: Getty Images/Sefton SamuelsSince then Silkman has been an agent. Not just any agent. He is hugely successful – cutting deals from the 1990s, his first one was Alan Kimble from Cambridge United to Wimbledon, to the present day, arranging Lucas Paquetá’s move to West Ham United – with an autobiography published this year called The Not So Secret Football Agent.In it there are some extraordinary tales and some even more extraordinary name-dropping (George Best, Bobby Moore but, also, from the showbiz world Mick Jagger, Billy Connolly and Billy Ocean), deals that happened and – even more entertainingly – ones that did not.The book famously recalls Kevin Keegan’s decision not to heed Silkman’s advice and sign Zinedine Zidane for Newcastle United for a paltry £1.2m when he was still relatively unknown at Bordeaux.As we chat, there are more public confessions from Silkman as he casually drops a few even bigger ones that got away: such as Cristiano Ronaldo to Chelsea back in 2003.“I did a deal with [Ronaldo’s agent] Jorge Mendes. But Chelsea said no,” he claims. “Cristiano Ronaldo was €3.5m and the deal was everything over that was split 50-50 with the club. He played against Man United pre-season, ruined them and straight after the game they paid €11.5m and Jorge must have stuck four million in his pocket. Good luck to him but I was gutted!”Even so, if he was starting his career nowadays, Silkman argues, Ronaldo would be playing no higher than League One: “If Cristiano Ronaldo was coming into the game today, he would do well to get signed by Barnsley because they’d be saying to him ‘what are you doing? All these stepovers and tricks and flicks? Pass the ball!’  [img]safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/footbal ... mwidth=350[/img] Silkman says Chelsea opted not to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2003 which cleared the path for Manchester United to secure his services for €11.5m Credit: The Telegraph/Russell Cheyne“Coaches don’t want teams to make a mistake. I’ve watched a lot of young coaches. To say it’s c--p is an understatement. What you hear is, ‘pass, pass, pass’. You never hear someone say, ‘Take him on, drop the shoulder, do a trick’.Silkman is hitting his stride. He is close to West Ham and says: “Another problem now is defenders can’t defend. They buy defenders to pass the ball. I remember talking to [chairman] David Sullivan about Graham Potter. And he said ‘he doesn’t want that goalkeeper because his distribution isn’t good’. What planet has he come from? Has he lost the plot, Graham Potter?“Give me a goalkeeper who’s great at crosses, is brave, really quick on his feet and a brilliant shot-stopper. You give me that and I’ve got a goalkeeper. You give me a goalkeeper who’s not a brilliant shot-stopper, not that good in the air, not that brave, not that quick on his feet, but he can pass the ball out. I ain’t got a goalkeeper. I’ve got Franz Beckenbauer.“I was very lucky. I worked with Terry Venables for quite a few years. We had exactly the same thoughts about football. Terry was 30, 40 years ahead of his time. He was the one who said ‘Silky, at the end of the game, how many goals have we scored and how many have we let in?’”Mention of Venables brings us to one of Silkman’s favourite stories – advising him to sell Diego Maradona. But not before he has launched into more criticism of modern football.“What has become really bad in football is that 90 per cent of clubs play with one striker,” he argues.“Take [John] Toshack and Keegan. Where would they play today? [Robbie] Fowler and [Michael] Owen? You’d end up playing Fowler on the right wing, Owen on the left wing and they would both be worth £250,000 and end up playing for Colchester. Meanwhile they were two of the best strikers in the world. The one club I’ve loved watching the last few years, because they play with two up front, is Brentford.”There are two exceptions for Silkman: Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta. Guardiola because he still believes in “individual talents” such as Phil Foden and Arteta because of his commitment to wingers like Bukayo Saka.“The best player I played against would struggle to get a game in today’s football – Glenn Hoddle. Out of every 10 of his passes, I don’t think one of them was less than 25 yards. He’d be hitting 50, 60-yard balls. He was an unbelievable passer.“But the stats have taken over. Data has taken over football. The best thing in football is eyesight. But fewer people with great eyes and great judgment are used in the game. People hide behind the data. They make mistakes and say ‘the data told us that’. What data doesn’t tell you is ‘has that player taken up the best position he could take? Has he made the most dangerous pass he could have made?’“But suddenly long passes are back in. Teams have had to revert to that because they are being closed down much quicker. What do they call it? The high press? I think I’m in a dry cleaners! It’s just closing down from the front!“There are so many things that have gone wrong in football. The only thing that’s far better now is the money. There’s no camaraderie. We got on the coach and played cards; we told jokes. It was the laugh and the craic. Now players get on a team coach, I don’t think they say two words and they get off with their headsets on. Before the game, they all huddle on the halfway line. You shouldn’t have to do that. All the talking should be done in the dressing room, on the coach. They should all be talking to each other.“Years ago every club had three, four, five personalities. At [his former club] Crystal Palace we had John Burridge – lunatic. Rachid Harkouk – lunatic. Me. Kenny Sansom. Phil Holder. David Kemp. All big personalities.  [img]safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/briefs/ ... mwidth=350[/img] Silkman made more than 50 appearances for Crystal Palace after becoming Terry Venables’ first signing in 1976 Credit: Shutterstock“When I played against Frank Worthington he came and pulled my shorts down on the halfway line. You can’t do that now. You can’t even have a laugh and joke on the pitch. The game’s changed. It’s gone with the times. But as a spectacle, for supporters, it doesn’t give them the thrill it used to.“But I get it. It’s now a huge business. When I played it was 80 per cent sport, 20 per cent business. Now it’s 80 per cent business, 20 per cent sport.“And don’t get me started on PSR [profitability and sustainability rules]. Say I buy a shop in Romford High Street. And there’s another three clothes shops down that street and they’re selling Levis and I fill my shop with Versace, Gucci. How can they come along and say ‘no, you can’t do that? Because they can only spend £500,000 on their stock and you spent £8m’. But it’s my money? If it [PSR] got challenged in a court of law they would get rid of it. It’s a restraint of trade. But no one wants to do that.”‘Maradona problem’And breathe. For a couple of seconds, at least. Soon enough Silky is off again. So let’s talk Maradona who Venables inherited when he took over at Barcelona in 1984. “Phone rings and it’s an unknown number and he [Venables] says ‘Silks, TV’ and I say ‘TV, Silks’. And he says ‘Maradona. I’ve got a problem. What do I do with him?’” Silkman recalls.“And I said ‘Why?’ He said ‘I don’t want him in the team, Silks. He just slows everything down that half a yard from how I want to play. I’ve got a player here called Bernd Schuster. He’s unbelievable. I need everything to go through him but because of the fixation with Maradona every player gives the ball to him. I need them to give it to Schuster’.“So, I said ‘well, let him go’. He said ‘I’ve got a problem there. The president loves him, the supporters love him, the players love him’ and I said ‘TV, remember when we always spoke and said you’re only once in a position of strength when you go into your club and that’s when you first walk through the door.“Go to the president, TV, and say ‘Maradona doesn’t suit the way I want to play and I need him out the club. Nothing against him but I want to play through Schuster’. If you don’t do it now you will never be able to do it. He rings me three days later and says ‘the deed’s done’. Turns out he wins the league and Schuster was brilliant.”Getting Paquetá to West HamSilkman was a player with Leyton Orient in the Third Division at the time. But, he says, he has always “had an eye for a player” and has always been a great negotiator. Take signing Paquetá for West Ham from Lyon. “David Sullivan went on holiday and he said ‘Silk, you do everything’ and I just smashed them [Lyon] down and down,” he says.“I used to watch my mum negotiate in the market and as I got into football I just copied what she did. When people say to me ‘what do you do for a living?’ do you know nine times out of 10 I don’t say ‘I’m a football agent’ I say ‘I’m a negotiator’ and they think I work for the Government.  [img]safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/footbal ... mwidth=350[/img] Silkman arranged the Lucas Paquetá transfer to West Ham from Ligue 1 side Lyon in 2022 Credit: Getty Images“But negotiating is what I do best. What you do is get the player on your side, the agent on your side and you smash them [the club] to pieces. You say ‘Ok, if you don’t want to do a deal at that price, it ain’t going to happen’. They then tell the player and he’s already made up his mind and says ‘I want out of here!’ And they [the club] have no option but to come back to the table.“Let’s say you are at a club and negotiating with me and want £40m. I say ‘I will give you £30m plus £5m in bonuses’. They then say ‘ok I will take a guaranteed £35m’. I say ‘ok I will give you £25m with £5m in bonuses’. They’ll say ‘hang on, I’ve just come down £5m!’ and I will say ‘yeah but so have I’. That’s the deal with Paquetá that I did. They wanted £47m. I said ‘it’s £35m plus bonuses’ and some of those bonuses are impossible. They have to get into the Champions League Final. It went on day after day. Dave was like, ‘how’s it going?’ and I said ‘don’t worry, we’ll get there’. And we did.”Silkman says he was the “10th Fifa-licensed agent in the country. There are now about 4,000”. Not that he likes many.“There are some horrendous agents,” he says. “Muhammad Ali said, ‘you can count on one hand how many friends you have had throughout your life’ and I could count on one hand the number of good agents I have come across. And when I say good I mean honest, not devious. It’s a minefield. I’ve come across agents who cheat, lie, nick players.“But the one thing that’s never ruled me is money. I grew up skint. I came into the world with nothing. I’m going to leave with nothing. I’m not money mad. I’m not ‘s---, I’ve got to get £5m before I’m this age’. I don’t need millions. There’s the old saying ‘health is wealth’ and it is.”It begs the question of how he keeps going at his age and how he manages to relate to players more than half a century younger than him?“My previous girlfriend was 25,” Silkman says. “I relate to them because life doesn’t change. I have a young mind, I am very active, I still play football every Sunday in an over-40s team. Most of them could be my sons. I’m 73. I feel 93 but I look 33! I’m still young in my outlook. That’s what keeps you young.“My mum taught me ‘if you can’t do someone any good, don’t do them any harm. But if somebody does you harm go back at them twice as hard’. And that’s what I’ve done.“But I never had any problem in football. When I got kicked to pieces, I loved it. I used to want the ball more, because I’d think ‘he’s terrified of me’.“I’ve had a great life and I’m still having a great life. You’ll win some, you lose some. As a loser, you got to enjoy it as much as being a winner. You get to a certain age in your life and you look back and unless you are a callous b------ you think ‘why did you do that?’“You live the life you sow and I’ve got a great life. I want to look in the mirror, I want to look at you, I want to look happy. I have a stunningly good-looking girlfriend and she says to me ‘you’re the first person I’ve met who even when you have major problems, doesn’t worry’. I am happy.”Bite-size BarryBest deal?Eyal Berkovic [for £1.75m to West Ham in 1996]. I pulled that out of the bag for me and [agent] Pini [Zahavi]. I love GF [Gerry Francis, then Tottenham manager]. He’s a lovely man. But GF had this habit, even as a player, he couldn’t look you in the eye. He used to look at the floor all the time. So Pini called me and said “Silk, I’ve got a problem. Tottenham have come in for Eyal and if he goes there, we don’t get anywhere near the same money as we get for West Ham. How am I going to convince him to go to West Ham?”I said “put him on the phone” and I said “Eyal, I don’t think Gerry wants you” and he says “how will I know?” and I said “if Gerry really wants you he will look you in the eye for the whole conversation”.Later the phone goes and Eyal says “Silky, he doesn’t want me. You were so right he kept looking at the floor. Whatever happens I am signing for Mr Redknapp at West Ham”. Even Harry said “how you pulled it out of the bag, Silk, I do not know”. So that, for me, was a deal that couldn’t really happen, and it happened.Biggest deal that didn’t happen?I went to watch a player called Robert Maaskant. His dad’s Bob Maaskant who was an agent back in the day. He had a company called World Soccer Consult and he asked me to go out and watch his son play. Centre-half. He wanted to bring him to England. No chance. He didn’t want to mark. But this right-back kept catching my eye. He was winning every header. Bang. He got on the end of everything. I said to Bob “who’s that right-back?” and he said he’d never seen him before so I said “I’m telling you he’s a centre-half”. His son said he’d just been bought from non-league for £2,500 and had been put at right-back because the right-backs were injured.I had a deal at the time with Millwall. Any player costing £100,000 or less they would buy him just on my say-so. They made fortunes out of me. So, I said to the president of the Dutch club “do you want to sell the right-back?” and he said “how much?” and I said “£100,000”. So, he said “yes”, I got the paperwork and signed.I went to Millwall and said to [chairman] Reg Burr “you have to sign this player. He’s going to be the best centre-half in this league [the Championship]”. I said “he’s £100,000 – I want £50,000 agent fee. £25,000 to the guy in Holland and £25,000 to me”. The player didn’t have an agent so Bob signed him. Reg said “I will send someone to watch him”. I said “why, it’s £100,000?” and he said “but with your £50,000 it’s £150,000”. I said “Reg, just take the deal”.But he sent his chief scout Bob Pearson and I told him “he will play as a right-back but don’t watch him as a right-back”. Pearson’s report said “don’t buy him. He didn’t cross the halfway line. He didn’t cross, he never overlapped”. I said to Reg “sack him [Pearson]”.  [img]safari-reader://www.telegraph.co.uk/content/dam/footbal ... mwidth=350[/img] Jaap Stam moved to Man United for £10.6m in 1998 after Silkman advised Millwall to sign the former defender for £100,000 Credit: AP Photo/Dave KendallThe player was Jaap Stam. Reg thought his name was Jaap Stamp so nicknamed him “postage”. I had to keep explaining it was “Jaap Stam”. Cut a long story short he eventually got a move to Man United [£10.6m in 1998] and Reg said “please don’t tell me that’s postage?” and I said ‘yeah’. And do you know what he did? He sacked Bob Pearson.A week after Stam signed for Man United a big Harrods van turned up at my house. There were two hampers – one with masses of flowers for my wife, the other with chocolates and six bottles of Moët champagne. It was from World Soccer Consult saying “thank you for the advice”.Any others?Thierry Henry. Could have got him for £500,000 when he was a kid at Monaco as it was only compensation. I tried to get Harry [Redknapp] to buy him at West Ham and he scored a hat-trick in the game and Harry was convinced something had to be wrong with him. He stayed, signed a contract, went to Juventus and they messed up and played him on the left wing. And then went to Arsenal.Then there was George Weah. I was bringing him on a free. No one wanted him. Five different clubs. They also said “he can’t be any good if he’s free”.Worst deal?Marco Boogers to West Ham [£850,000 in 1995 from Sparta Rotterdam, played three games]. He never settled. Lived in a car, lived in a caravan. His family wouldn’t move over. Back then it was far harder to get players here and keep them happy. When you bring a player over, you’re bringing the player, his wife, children. Have to find the right area to live, the right school. If your family don’t settle, you’re in trouble. And Marco’s family came here and within a week they were gone. He was in a caravan because he knew he wasn’t staying. Lovely lad as well and he would have scored goals.Strangest demand?He’s married, so I won’t name the player. But I had a meeting and there was a girl there and he said “I will sign if you can get that girl to my hotel tonight” and I said “I’ll tell you what I’ll do – you sign and I’ll get her there. I promise she’ll be at your hotel”. He signed and I took her there, introduced her and said “now you’ve met her, don’t say I didn’t bring her” and then got her back in the car and took her home. He was laughing after that and said “you’ve probably saved my marriage”.