Friday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Paris St-Germain are leading the race to sign Egypt forward Mohamed Salah and will look to tempt the 32-year-old, whose Liverpool contract expires at the end of the season, with a three-year deal. (Sun)

Liverpool have identified Borussia Dortmund forward Karim Adeyemi as a potential successor to Salah, and are ready to make a £41m bid for the 22-year-old German. (Bild - in German)

Real Madrid have already made contact with England defender Trent Alexander-Arnold, 25, as they attempt to lure him away from Liverpool at the end of the season. (Relevo - in Spanish)

Thomas Tuchel and Massimiliano Allegri feature high on Manchester United's shortlist as they consider sacking manager Erik ten Hag. (Teamtalk)

Manchester United are preparing a bid of about £34m for Benfica's 25-year-old Turkey winger Kerem Akturkoglu. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

Liverpool are read to offload Japan's Wataru Endo, 31, in January as they look to bring in a younger defensive midfielder. (Football Insider)

Newcastle United are likely to revisit their pursuit of England centre-back Marc Guehi in January, with the expectation that Crystal Palace will be more willing to sell the 24-year-old. (Mail - subscription required)

Chelsea remain interested in Colombia forward Jhon Duran, but Aston Villa want in excess of £80m for the in-form 20-year-old. (Teamtalk)

Barcelona and Juventus are monitoring the situation of Argentina winger Alejandro Garnacho, 20, with Manchester United believed to value the player at £50m. (Sun)

Fenerbahce boss Jose Mourinho is a contender to replace Sean Dyche as Everton manager once Dan Friedkin's takeover of the club is completed. (Football Insider)

Atletico Madrid have identified Chelsea and England defender Ben Chilwell, 27, as their latest transfer target. (Teamtalk)

Newcastle United are among the frontrunners to sign 24-year-old Canada forward Jonathan David from Lille. (GiveMeSport)

Norway striker Erling Haaland, 24, is set to sign a new contract with Manchester City but wants a £100m release clause added. (Teamtalk)

Barcelona are making the signing of Haaland in the 2025 summer window their priority. (Sport - in Spanish)

Sir Jim Ratcliffe will be in attendance for Manchester United's Premier League match at Aston Villa on Sunday as speculation over manager Erik ten Hag's future increases. (Mirror)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MIRROR

Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is flying in for the upcoming Premier League clash against Aston Villa, as speculation grows around Erik ten Hag's future at Old Trafford.

   Jadon Sancho has been given fresh hope regarding his England future by interim boss Lee Carsley.

Dele Alli has suffered another setback on his return to football after Everton boss Sean Dyche admitted he has had a "slight muscle strain".

THE SUN

Erik ten Hag's job is still on the line ahead of Sunday's clash at Aston Villa despite the last-gasp 3-3 draw at Porto on Thursday night.

Barcelona and Juventus are targeting a shock £50m swoop for Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho.

Paris Saint-Germain have stepped up their bid to sign Liverpool star Mohamed Salah on a three-year deal, with the Egyptian set to snub a move to Saudi Arabia.

DAILY MAIL

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been charged with misconduct by the FA after he displayed 'improper' behaviour in the aftermath of his side's defeat to Fulham.

Newcastle are likely to revisit a deal for Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi in January, with the expectation that the Eagles will be more willing to sell.

The Magpies will also make a decision early next year on the redevelopment of St James' Park or whether to build a new stadium.

Fresh doubts regarding Gary Lineker's future as BBC Match of the Day host have emerged which could suggest his time on the show is coming to an end.

Footage has emerged of an irate Luis Enrique slamming Kylian Mbappe during a technical meeting prior to the Frenchman's departure from PSG.

DAILY MIRROR

Pep Guardiola's comment regarding Kalvin Phillips' weight led to the England midfielder becoming "peed off" with other clubs.

THE GUARDIAN

England all-rounder Chris Woakes has admitted he needs to get better overseas ahead of the tour in Pakistan.

England's Charlie Dean has admitted the team are soaking cricket balls in water in order to replicate the conditions they will face in the Women's T20 World Cup.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Premiership clubs have blocked an initial Rugby Football Union (RFU) proposal to allow Phil Morrow to retain his role as Saracens' performance director after being appointed England's head of performance.

THE ATHLETIC

Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev has suffered a "significant" knee injury during the recent 1-1 draw with Norwich City and is set for an extended period on the sidelines.

West Ham United striker Niclas Fullkrug will miss the upcoming clash with Ipswich due to a calf injury.

Newcastle will make a decision regarding the future of St James' Park Stadium in early 2025.

THE GUARDIAN

FIFA has said it will undertake further investigations into the possibility of "discrimination" by Israeli football authorities, the governing body has confirmed, following claims made by the Palestinian FA (PFA) earlier this year.

DAILY EXPRESS

Manchester United have issued an official apology after fans were left stranded at the airport ahead of the Europa League clash against Porto.

SCOTTISH SUN

Duncan Ferguson is to work for free at crisis club Caley Thistle after volunteering to give up his wage to help save the club.




The Athletic

The honeymoon’s over Julen. Time to start winning some matches.

By Roshane Thomas

For Julen Lopetegui, this weekend’s game against Ipswich Town needs to be a much-needed turning point.

Either that, or the lurching turbulence continues.

Last Saturday, that turbulence manifested in West Ham United’s head coach and Mohammed Kudus having a frank exchange of words during half-time against Brentford. The 1-1 draw was another underwhelming performance, with Lopetegui’s playing style leaving little to be encouraged by and the result extending West Ham’s winless run.

Given the slow start to the season, the pressure is now on for tomorrow’s home match against Ipswich. This season, Lopetegui’s side have won once in the league, lost three and drawn twice. It is not what West Ham’s hierarchy would have expected given the £120million investment on nine players this summer.

Yet Lopetegui retains the board’s full support. In May he signed a two-year deal, with a one-year option, and the board believes he has abundant qualities to improve West Ham in the long-term.

It is worth mentioning that of the eight managers David Sullivan has hired since becoming co-owner in January 2010, Avram Grant, Slaven Bilic and Manuel Pellegrini are the only ones he has jettisoned midway through their contracts. How Sullivan will approach Lopetegui’s tenure if bad performances continue is yet to be seen.

Saturday is Lopetegui’s chance to show he’s the man to fix the poor start. However, Ipswich Town arrive at the London Stadium full of confidence. They are one position (15th) below West Ham (14th), but they are unbeaten in their last four games — former West Ham loanee Kalvin Phillips having played in all of them.

West Ham’s previous home fixture was an unpleasant encounter. The players were booed off the field following the 3-0 defeat by Chelsea, and they have conceded six goals since that defeat. There is disquiet among supporters for several reasons: the incident with Kudus; conceding first in five of their six league matches; the attacking struggles of Kudus, captain Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta; and Crysencio Summerville’s slow integration into the XI.

There is also the issue of Niclas Fullkrug’s delayed return from a calf injury. The 31-year-old sustained the knock while on international duty with Germany and has made just three league appearances, all as a substitute, since joining from Borussia Dortmund for £27million this summer.

“We would like Fullkrug to be fit now, but he is having little problems — they are not very important ones, but it’s true we lost him from the first international break to the second one,” said Lopetegui. “Hopefully, he is going to be ready for the next matches.”

The absence of Fullkrug is made starker by the form of West Ham’s previous transfer target Jhon Duran, who scored the winner against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

West Ham’s loan offer for the 20-year-old Aston Villa striker was rejected in January and a £30million+ offer, which included academy prospect Lewis Orford, was turned down in July. Duran’s desire was made clear when he mimicked a Hammers gesture during an Instagram live, but West Ham fell short.

Pursuing a deal for Fullkrug, who turns 32 in February, has done little for West Ham’s long-term future. For all the praise technical director Tim Steidten has received, the combined £52million spent on Fullkrug and Luis Guilherme should have been used for Duran. Having missed out on Duran, and with Fullkrug yet to get going, West Ham have only scored six league goals, five fewer than this stage last season.

Bowen and Michail Antonio have rotated the lone striker role in Fullkrug’s absence, while Guilherme is yet to play a single minute under Lopetegui since joining from Palmeiras. Bowen has registered two goals in eight appearances this season. His loss of form saw him left out of Lee Carsley’s England squad.

Lopetegui turned down interest from clubs in the Saudi Pro League and Europe to join West Ham. In his first press conference, as he sat alongside Steidten, he spoke passionately about his goals. Jack Sullivan, son of majority shareholder David, and Lopetegui’s entourage were in attendance. There was a charm and sincerity about the way he conveyed his ambitions.

But that feel-good factor has ebbed since the season opener against Aston Villa. In last week’s press conference, ahead of the 1-1 draw against Brentford, the stern look on Lopetegui’s face showed he was not best pleased about questions over his abilities.

“We are thinking how to improve the team, to be able to play better and develop our skills to win matches,” he said. “This is our work and this is the high pressure I can feel every day as a coach. I think the Premier League has 38 matches and we’ll talk in May.”

Lopetegui is under no illusions he has to sharpen up West Ham defensively and improve their offensive efficiency. He may take solace from fellow counterpart Andoni Iraola, the Bournemouth manager, also having a slow start. Iraola only won once in his first 11 games as manager after his appointment in June 2023. But his side turned it around as they went unbeaten in their next seven fixtures — winning six — and exceeded expectations to finish 12th. Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta also endured difficulties in the early stages of his managerial spell.

“They (Arteta and Iraola) were able to show what they can do,” said Lopetegui. “The most important thing in football is time to develop and be consistent. But in the meantime you have to win and we are aware of that. The only solution that I know is to work harder and to let that rub off on the players.”

Lopetegui wants fans to reserve judgement until May, but whether he will still be at the helm then is another matter.









 

[Texas Iron]

Lopetegui flapping already….

Cheers…

[Mex Martillo]

North Bank » 04 Oct 2024 11:30

[Mex Martillo]

Yep, time to start winning Lopetegui

[North Bank]

Thanks Alan