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As Marca @asmarcatr SPECIAL - BREAKING NEWS: West Ham United made an official offer of €26M to Fenerbahçe for 24-year-old versatile left-back Ferdi Kadıoğlu. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is also a big fan of the player and would love to sign him. #AFC
"West Ham Way Reporting on The West Ham Way Patreon, our Podcast co-host and club insider Ex has provided a comprehensive update on the current state of play, with a new-look backroom team taking shape in what is widely regarded an an exciting chapter for the club. “West Ham have their first recruitment meeting today to plan for new signings with the new manager Julen Lopetegui,” stated Ex. “The team trusted with the rebuild are as follows: Tim Steidten, this man needs no further introduction as his move has been very high profile. He is said to have been very behind the appointment of Julien Lopetegui as he is to have a key role going forward with recruitment and more freedom then he had under Moyes. “Moyes ultimately had the final say on transfers and is said to be one of the mutually agreed reasons he left the club because he didn’t want to hand more power over to Steidten where as the new manager is happy with the arrangement. Steidten has brought in his brother Moritz to the club. Moritz is Tim’s younger brother and was a former player himself in the German leagues. He previously worked for 9 years as a scout for German side Werder Bremen. “It is here that he met Max Hann. Max Hann makes us another part of the team. He is said to have a very modern approach to recruitment and is already driving a number of new initiatives in the club. His title will be head of Technical Recruitment and Analysis and he is said to be very skilled at using data to recruit. He has also been an assistant manager at Darmstadt 98 and Dynamo Dresden. Max is only 28 and has an already very impressive CV that makes him highly rated across Europe in his field. Finally, making up the team is another 28 year old, Dylan Curnell. Dylan has been at the club since June 2018 having moved from Cardiff academy performance analyst. His first role at West Ham was as an under 18s performance analysts before his good work got him promoted to the Head of Academy Analysis. He was part of the successful Academy sides staff in recent years and this work got him the role of First Team Recruitment Analysis and he now becomes the longest serving member of the recruitment team. Dylan is said to be a big West Ham fan as well, which I always think is important to have in each of our backroom teams! “Many of the Academy players who have worked with Dylan always speak very highly of his skills. It appears that the club are very excited about the new recruitment team that they have created and that following a meeting today the club will move quickly to sign some targets. “Two players who could be the first to join the club are ones that we have already revealed on Patreon. We believe talks are progressing with Brazilians Wesley Gassova and Fabricio Bruno with the club hoping to conclude deals soon. “Gassova is an exciting young forward who plays for Corinthians. He is 19 and very highly rated. He will bring a lot of attacking flair to the club. Fabricio Bruno is a more experienced 28 year old centre back. He currently plays for another Brazilian giant in Flamengo and has already played twice this year for the Brazilian national side making his debut against England in March 2024."
I think the Diangana story is pure fabrication but stranger things have hapoened I suppose and U could be proved totally wrong yet agsin :-) But the rumour I like is the 2 Brazilians we are repirtedly closing in on? Gassova the young winger but also the 28 year old CB named Bruno ! Played for Brazil against England a few months back. Dont know if he’s any good and cant remember juch of him against England although Brazil didnt concede which is good I suppose. But what really matters is his name. A ready made terrace chant of “Bruuuuuunooooo”. ;-)
I think the Diangana story is pure fabrication but stranger things have hapoened I suppose and U could be proved totally wrong yet agsin :-) But the rumour I like is the 2 Brazilians we are repirtedly closing in on? Gassova the young winger but also the 28 year old CB named Bruno ! Played for Brazil against England a few months back. Dont know if he’s any good and cant remember juch of him against England although Brazil didnt concede which is good I suppose. But what really matters is his name. A ready made terrace chant of “Bruuuuuunooooo”. ;-)
"According to Sean Whetstone, Lopetegui is set to sit down for a meeting with Tim Steidten, the German’s brother Moritz and the rest of the recruitment team today."
"Erm... who has described Antonio as a left winger? Let it go. Seriously I think we know Scamacca's attributes though, no? Not a conventional centre forward/lone striker that's for sure"
"Story of the Day to get your teeth into:- Sport Witness Insistence player ‘close to signing’ for West Ham after Hammers said to have made offer West Ham United are one of the clubs in the picture to sign West Bromwich Albion’s Grady Diangana in the summer window. The attacking midfielder finished the season with seven goals and eight assists from 38 games and his performances have caught the attention of a few Premier League sides. That’s at least what Africa Foot United are reporting, and add that West Ham could be the West Brom player’s next destination. Diangana has just over a year left on his current deal and his situation with the Baggies has caught the attention of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Brighton & Hove Albion, Leicester City, Lazio and AS Roma. West Ham could take the lead as the report states they have offered £7m plus £3m bonuses to West Brom. It’s further claimed the DR Congo international is ‘close to signing’ for the Hammers. He spent 10 years at West Ham, including four years with their first team, before joining the Championship side in 2020. The deal isn’t completed yet and other interested parties could still take him away from West Brom in the next window."
"Lee Trundle 11:36 Wed May 22 That's a helpful asset. Interesting to see how his heatmap compares with someone I'd describe as a centre forward, like Dominic Solanke, for example. https://www.sofascore.com/player/dominic-solanke/361420"
"dolph I pinpointed the Luton game because it was the one I saw most recently in the flesh and with my own eyes and could observe all his movement without relying on TV cameras. i didn't think I would have to add that it wasn't the only game in which this happened (which it wasn't)...but just to help you here... In a great many of the games I've watched this season, he has spent the majority of his time out wide. There, better?"
"Antonio's season HEATMAP suggests its a bit more than just ""a bit on the left"". https://www.sofascore.com/player/michail-antonio/47772 That suggests he's played the majority of the time there."
"Onsideman Ah I see. So because in one game he played a bit on the left, it means he's not a striker. Presumably this means that Paqueta is a striker then because sometimes he was played there during matches. Gotcha. Really good to know."
"A good manager would have nurtured what talent Antonio has, and used him as a wide man/impact player thus effectively prolonging his career, rather than flogging him to death in the wrong position because there was nobody better to play there. Hopefully loppy will suss this pretty early on. Of course, Antonio might not be happy with any new set up, having been placed on a pedestal for so long by the previous incumbent, but then there’s always the door."
"To elaborate, most recently he spent the majority of the Luton game on the left wing... in the same game, occasionally he played through the middle. You do realise that having a number 9 on your back doesn't automatically make you a centre forward, don't you?"
"Antonio is a wide forward who sometimes is played through the middle becaue we have no one else in the squad who can do that. In no way whatsoever is he a natural centre forward, if that's what anyone is actually suggesting. I've lost count of the number of times he's got to the by-line and crossed for the centre forward to xome onto it before realising that's supposed to be him"
"Antonio for me lacks and has always lacked the finishing to be deemed a natural forward. He was for many years played as a wide player where his strength and speed got him in behind defences and getting crosses in. Moyes , to his credit, saw how his strength and running was a good fit to the quick countering that is essential to Moyesball. Even Arnautovic had impressive strength on the ball and thus was able to play well centrally in a Moyes set up. But Antonio was converted and did a decent job. I still think he has another season in him but back out wide as a impact sub or starting some games for first 60 mins. But technically he, like Soucek and Zouma, Coufal, lack pasding and the control/ first touch to excel in a team that tries to keep the ball, build from the back and play thru or around teams. But we shall see soon enough"