BBC
The Saudi Pro League is still in a position to fund a move for Mohamed Salah should the Egypt forward, 33, look to leave Liverpool. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
Turkish giants Galatasaray plan to tempt Salah with a contract offer worth £15m - £16.5m a season. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Real Madrid will rival Manchester United for the signature of Olympiacos and Greece midfielder Christos Mouzakitis, 18. (Sun), external
Tottenham could make a £40m bid for Brighton's Netherlands defender Jan Paul van Hecke, 25. (Teamtalk), external
France striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, 28, has told Crystal Palace he wants to explore a potential departure as early as January. (Teamtalk), external
Leeds are interested in signing AC Milan and Mexico forward Santiago Gimenez, 24, in January. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Wolves will allow 21-year-old Spanish midfielder Fer Lopez to leave the club on loan in January after receiving limited game time. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Brighton are monitoring Aston Villa's 21-year-old Dutch midfielder Lamare Bogarde. (Telegraph - subscription required), external
Newcastle are eyeing a move for Palmeiras' 21-year-old Brazilian midfielder Allan Elias. (Goal), external
Arsenal have been scouting 20-year-old Elche and Spain under-21 midfielder Rodrigo Mendoza. (Sky Sports, external)
Chelsea are working on a deal to sign SF Cascades and Burkina Faso youth midfielder Mohamed Zongo, 16, despite competition from Manchester City and Manchester United. (Mail)
Sky Paper Talk
Premier League
The Saudi Pro League is in a position to fund a move for Mohamed Salah should the Liverpool forward look to move away from Anfield after losing his place in Arne Slot's starting line-up -The Telegraph
Brighton are monitoring Aston Villa midfielder Lamare Bogarde as they assess a succession plan for £100m-rated Carlos Baleba - The Telegraph
Chelsea are working on a deal for highly-rated Burkina Faso youngster Mohamed Zongo ahead of competition from Manchester City and Manchester United - Daily Mail
Tottenham Hotspur's Lewis family owners have given a clear signal that they plan to end the club's long wait to find a lucrative naming rights sponsor for their £1bn stadium, with Alex Scotcher starting as the club's new commercial director in January - The Telegraph
Yoane Wissa is close to a Newcastle United return and could be named in the match-day squad to face Burnley on Saturday - talkSPORT
European football
Trent Alexander-Arnold is facing another lengthy spell on the sidelines at Real Madrid after suffering a fresh injury that will further impact his hopes of gatecrashing England's World Cup squad, with the right-back facing a minimum of two months out - The Times
World Cup
Pubs will be able to pour pints until 1am if England reach the quarters, semis or final of next summer's World Cup - The Sun
Donald Trump is all-but-certain to be handed an inaugural "Fifa Peace Prize" by football supremo Gianni Infantino when the World Cup draw takes place on Friday - The Telegraph
Scottish football
Neil McGuinness reckons Celtic should be looking to raid the MLS market under Wilfried Nancy. The former Hoops star spotter is now technical director at Los Angeles FC after being Nancy's recruitment chief at Columbus Crew - Daily Record
Guardian
Amorim ‘angry and frustrated’ after West Ham’s Magassa denies Manchester United
Soungoutou Magassa (centre) celebrates his late equaliser at Old Trafford. Photograph: Conor Molloy/ProSports/Shutterstock
Jamie Jackson at Old Trafford
Until Soungoutou Magassa’s 83rd-minute equaliser Manchester United seemed to be flowering in the cold of winter on the way to a win that would have been their fifth in eight games.
Instead Jarrod Bowen’s flick-on from Andy Irving’s corner from the right had to be cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui, only for the ball to go straight to Magassa, who drove home a first goal for the Hammers.
United had not been a fluid picture of poetry in motion yet their display featured enough high-octane moves to suggest they are improving and they appeared to have scored the winner through Diogo Dalot. Instead, questions about their solidity remain because West Ham had rarely threatened until their hosts switched off and were punished.
The Irving corner came when Leny Yoro, on as a substitute after being dropped, missed a clearing header. Then Bowen was left unmarked by Bruno Fernandes. As Bowen said: “Not many people pick me up in the air. I’m 5ft 9in or something like that, so not the tallest.”
They were two material errors that can augur sourly for United and which left Ruben Amorim upset. “Angry and frustrated, that’s it,” said the Portuguese. “We are really inconsistent but if you look at the goal [conceded], we have a long ball, we have everything under control, [so] we need to do better.
“The game was in control. We knew it, [so] let’s defend far from the box. We knew set pieces would be a problem with the difference in height in the team but we could do it. We could maintain the ball after the first goal and again we lost two points.”
Amorim was pressed if he had given the players a dressing-room rollicking. “In that regard I am almost always consistent [calm]. I had one [such incident] after Brighton last year [a 3-1 loss]. I will talk to them tomorrow [Friday],” he said.
Ten points and nine places separated the teams at the start. West Ham, in 18th with 11 points after 13 games, were bidding to become only the ninth side to survive with that tally (or lower) at this juncture. United’s 21 points had Amorim’s men only two behind fifth place that may be sufficient for a Champions League berth, which, despite the manager downplaying the notion, is a target.
Jab and counter-jab was the pattern in early exchanges that featured Amad Diallo and Fernandes both going down in the Hammers area and having penalty shouts rejected by the referee Andrew Kitchen.
Amorim’s surprise selection was in central defence where Ayden Heaven, 19, was in for Yoro and a concerning start featured a seventh-minute yellow card and him being turned twice by the 33-year-old Callum Wilson.
Better for United was Diallo’s dart down the right. The wingback’s cross was kneed goalwards by Joshua Zirkzee, Aaron Wan-Bissaka cleared off the line, Matheus Cunha’s overhead stab was repelled before Fernandes sprayed a scissor-kick wide.
While Amorim’s other changes were Cunha for Mason Mount and Mazraoui for Matthijs de Ligt, Lucas Paquetá’s silly sending-off against Liverpool meant Tomas Soucek was drafted in by Nuno Espírito Santo. If he had taken a fall when Diallo clipped him near the break, Kitchen might have awarded a spot-kick.
Before that, the official turned away another United appeal when Wan-Bissaka wrapped a telescopic leg around the ball and Cunha. Then West Ham broke, Bowen’s dribble eluded Fernandes and Heaven, and the captain left fly but the ball, deflecting off Luke Shaw, was gathered by Senne Lammens.
Yoro replaced Heaven for the second half, Amorim accepting that the teen’s selection might backfire. Then came a move of high quality. Mazraoui zoomed forward and fed Zirkzee, whose backheel put Bryan Mbeumo in. He was thwarted but it demonstrated the value of quick ball movement. Zirkzee showed the same on halfway when a sweeping pass right had United motoring forward, claiming a free-kick and then a corner.
West Ham, living off scraps, broke and Magassa fired wide of Lammens, only for United to nose ahead via Dalot. Diallo turned the ball back to Casemiro, he blazed towards goal, the ball pinged off Mateus Fernandes and came to the Portuguese, whose finish was expert.
United were on top and sought to stay there. Mbeumo thundered down the right, while Cunha made inroads down the left. Could Amorim’s unit remain in the ascendancy and finish the job, as they often find so difficult?
But for a brave Casemiro block, Freddie Potts might have pulled West Ham back level with a fierce shot. It was a warning that was not heeded.
Man United (3-4-3): Lammens; Mazraoui, Heaven (Yoro 46), Shaw (Martinez 88); Diallo, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot (Dorgu 68); Mbeumo, Cunha (Ugarte 77), Zirkzee (Mount 78)
Subs not used: Bayindir, Malacia, Mainoo, Lacey
Goal: Dalot 58
Booked: Heaven, Shaw
Manager: Ruben Amorim
West Ham (4-2-3-1): Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Todibo, Diouf; Magassa, Potts (Irving 83); Soucek (Kante 83), Bowen, Fernandes; Wilson (Kilman 87)
Subs not used: Hermansen, Mayers, Walker-Peters, Earthy, Rodriguez, Marshall
Goal: Magassa 83
Booked: Diouf, Wan-Bissaka
Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo
The Athletic
Soungoutou Magassa emerges from the margins to take centre stage at West Ham
West Ham's Soungoutou Magassa is congratulated by Jarrod Bowen after his late equaliser Oli Scarff/Getty Images
By Roshane Thomas
It was a pleasing sight for Soungoutou Magassa seeing his team-mates chase after him after he scored his first goal for West Ham United. The last time he was pursued, it was not under such joyful circumstances.
Magassa, who joined in August from French side Monaco for a fee worth in the region of £17.3million ($23.3m), scored a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw against Manchester United. West Ham remain in the relegation zone on 12 points, and are two points adrift of 17th-placed Leeds United — but have only lost once in their last five Premier League games (a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool).
Magassa, who made his second successive start, was left unmarked as he converted Jarrod Bowen’s flick-on, which was initially cleared off the line by Noussair Mazraoui, from Andy Irving’s corner. The 22-year-old midfielder, named player of the match, struggled to contain his excitement and was embraced by his team-mates. After he kissed the turf, he looked towards the sky and was thankful his prayers had been answered.
His emotions were in huge contrast to the dejection he felt after the 2-0 loss away to Leeds United on October 24. Leading up to that fixture, Magassa was an unused substitute against Brentford and had struggled to influence games against Arsenal, Everton, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur.
He seldom featured under former head coach Graham Potter, who was sacked in September and replaced by Nuno Espirito Santo. Potter’s preferred central midfield options were James Ward-Prowse, Guido Rodriguez and Tomas Soucek. Magassa’s frustrations boiled over against Leeds, having only played 11 minutes. Post-match, he was the first player to head down the tunnel. He did not acknowledge the away enclosure and gesticulated in anger.
A member of West Ham’s non-playing staff ran to console the midfielder. Two months later, it is opposition players who are chasing Magassa. He was everywhere against Manchester United and is developing a promising midfield understanding alongside academy graduate Freddie Potts, 22.
“Magassa is a tough guy and it (the challenges he has faced) is football,” Mateus Fernandes told The Athletic. “One week you don’t play and then the following week, you need to be ready. He did, I’m happy for him and hopefully he can continue like this. He has brought intensity and fight to the team.
“He is strong and had a very good game but now he needs this level of performance in the next game. Even when he didn’t play, he would arrive to the training ground and train like a beast. This is the difference between the good players and the very good players. We need this in our team.”
Soungoutou Magassa was everywhere against Manchester UnitedJustin Setterfield/Getty Images
Magassa had not scored since November 2024 (for Monaco in the Champions League against Benfica). His strike at Old Trafford was the first league goal of his fledgling career.
Team-mates Alphonse Areola, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Jean-Clair Todibo have helped Magassa settle. He is taking English lessons so he can communicate better with his team-mates. The midfielder spoke to ex-West Ham defender Thilo Kehrer in the summer when he was informed of the club’s interest. Kehrer provided a glowing reference, which helped influence his decision.
Post-match, Nuno did not want to single out the midfielder for praise, instead opting to eulogise the effort from all his players. The head coach is aware there are areas of improvement for the team, including the lack of clean sheets and the need to constantly tweak the formation.
Nuno appears to be motivating many in the dressing room. It is fair to say that Potter failed to get the best out of Magassa, while in-form players Potts and Todibo featured sporadically towards the latter stages of Potter’s reign. Callum Wilson, the free summer signing from Newcastle United, is another example. The 33-year-old striker has scored three of his four league goals under Nuno.
The head coach will hope the feel-good factor extends to this Sunday’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion. Nuno has worked hard on the motivational side of things. On November 2, for example, Nuno, with help from the player care team, received childhood pictures from the players’ loved ones which were paraded in the dressing room before the 3-1 home victory against Newcastle United. Leading up to that win, West Ham had not won a game since the 3-0 away victory over Nottingham Forest, then managed by the Portuguese, on August 31.
“It was a turning point for us (the pictures) because after the Leeds game we spoke about many things as a team,” said Fernandes. “We needed to grow up, to learn and we did very well in the next game against Newcastle. The manager showed pictures of us as young kids. He reminded us of the dream (we have) and to enjoy the moment and be the best we can.
“In games against Newcastle and Burnley, we started losing and then scored to turn it around. Even when you’re in a losing position, you need to be able to react and have the belief which stems from the manager. I want us to win games now so we can enjoy the moment even more.”
In the coming days, Nuno will echo Fernandes’ sentiments, with the hope that Magassa plays another starring role.