Sunday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester City are willing to sell captain Kyle Walker, 34, for about £15m next summer. The England full-back is a target for Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli. (Daily Star), external

Manchester City and Liverpool are showing interest in Brighton's Argentine forward Facundo Buonanotte, 19, who is on loan at Leicester City. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Bournemouth will demand "big money" if they are to consider selling Hungary full-back Milos Kerkez, 20, who is interesting Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United. (Football Insider), external

Liverpool have targeted Borussia Dortmund's Germany defender Nico Schlotterbeck, 24, as a replacement for Virgil van Dijk should the Dutchman leave the club next summer. (Caught Offside), external

Manchester United may re-sign left-back Alvaro Fernandez, 21, who only joined Benfica on a permanent deal in the summer and is being monitored by Liverpool and Real Madrid. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal have been given encouragement should they want to land Bournemouth striker Antoine Semenyo, 24, after he said he was a Gunners fan and wants to play Champions League football. (Football 365), external

Barcelona have opened contract talks over new deals for defender Ronald Araujo, 25 - a target for Manchester United and Chelsea - and midfielder Frenkie de Jong, 27, who is also wanted by the Red Devils. (90 min), external

France midfielder Paul Pogba, 31, looks unlikely to play again for Juventus once his doping ban ends in March after a club director said the squad was complete without him. (DAZN, via ESPN), external

New England manager Thomas Tuchel will earn a £3m bonus if he can lead England to victory at the 2026 World Cup. (The Sun), external

England captain Harry Kane played under Tuchel at Bayern Munich and the 31-year-old has welcomed the Football Association's appointment of the German. (Sky Sports Germany) , external

Newcastle United have triggered an option to extend 32-year-old English defender Dan Burn's contract beyond the end of the 2024-25 season. (Athletic - subscription required)




Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN ON SUNDAY

New England boss Thomas Tuchel will be in line for a £3m bonus if he wins the next World Cup.

Andy Carroll has sent his cult status with new club Bordeaux soaring after scoring his fifth goal in three games for the French side.

Kyle Walker is the latest high-profile name on the Saudi wish list - and may line up alongside Ivan Toney next season.

MAIL ON SUNDAY

Mohammed Kudus could be hit with a longer ban after being sent off for violent conduct against Tottenham.

Erik ten Hag looks set to survive another day as Manchester United manager as his side came from behind to secure a much-needed victory against Brentford.

Brighton forward Danny Welbeck had to be stretched off the pitch at St James' Park following what appeared to be a serious injury.

Pep Guardiola would quit football before following his great rival Jurgen Klopp down the executive route, promising that the role of manager is the only one he'd consider.

 SUNDAY MIRROR

Pep Guardiola has hailed Sir Alex Ferguson as football's greatest-ever manager - and insisted he has no intention of staying at Manchester City just to surpass the former Manchester United boss.

Jurgen Klopp has been slammed by fans of one his former clubs, Mainz, after taking up a new role with the Red Bull group.

Caoimhin Kelleher reckons his performances for Liverpool last season may have priced him out of the move away from Anfield.

SUNDAY TIMES

Pep Guardiola has given the clearest indication yet that he is likely to extend his tenure as Manchester City manager after saying he is still in love with his job.

STAR ON SUNDAY

Manchester City are willing to sell Kyle Walker next summer for around £15m.

THE ATHLETIC

Brighton & Hove Albion will await the results of a scan after Danny Welbeck was taken off on a stretcher with what appeared to be a back injury during the win over Newcastle United.

SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

Pep Guardiola has dropped the biggest hint yet that he will stay in charge of Manchester City beyond the end of this season. The City manager is currently leaning towards accepting an offer of a one-year extension to his current deal, which is due to expire in the summer.

SUNDAY RECORD

Sir Chris Hoy, the Olympic cycling icon, has disclosed that he has a life expectancy of "two to four years" after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Philippe Clement insists plans are in place to ensure Rangers make sicknote signings a thing of the past.

SCOTTISH SUN ON SUNDAY

Brendan Rodgers is remaining coy on whether Aberdeen are genuine title contenders this year.



Guardian

Tottenham dismantle feeble West Ham after bouncing back from early scare

Jacob Steinberg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Ange Postecoglou was there to see another defensive implosion, but this time he was not the coach who will have to deal with the fallout. For Tottenham, there was merely glee in becoming the latest side to expose a multitude of flaws in Julen Lopetegui’s so-called revolution at West Ham.

The idea of Lopetegui as a tactical mastermind was never harder to take seriously than during a game in which his plodding, identity-free team were obliterated by three goals in the space of eight second-half minutes. The implosion was astonishing, any semblance of shape or organisation disappearing as Son Heung-min and the outstanding Dejan Kulusevski ran riot for Spurs, and it is in no way premature to wonder if West Ham have replaced David Moyes with the right coach.

It is nothing short of a mess at the moment, even after much investment in the squad last summer. The gaps in midfield and defence are vast, while the resilience that characterised West Ham under Moyes has evaporated. Their indiscipline without the ball was staggering and, if there was fight, it was restricted to the moment when the red mist fell over Mohammed Kudus during the dying stages, a red card an inevitability after the winger took it upon himself to try to floor anyone wearing a Spurs shirt.

Lopetegui did not defend Kudus, who can expect an extended layoff after pushing Micky van de Ven and Pape Matar Sarr in the face, and he was downbeat about West Ham’s response to Yves Bissouma making it 2-1 in the 52nd minute. “The team has to manage these moments,” the Spaniard said. “We have to be competitive.”

Fortunate to lose only 4-1, West Ham were anything but combative. There was some early optimism, Kudus making it 1-0, but the lead never felt secure and Lopetegui did not react to a crucial half-time change from Postecoglou.

Spurs, fizzing with vibrancy and creativity, had an extra edge after responding to West Ham’s midfield physicality by replacing James Maddison with Sarr’s energy.

That made this a good day for Postecoglou, who had questions to answer about his gung-ho methods after losing from 2-0 up against Brighton.

“We had to work pretty hard,” the Australian said. “It was a bit of an arm wrestle. It was disappointing to concede but we worked our way back and got our reward. Our football was excellent.”

Spurs pushed from the start, Brennan Johnson volleying wide and Son going close after returning from injury, although they still looked vulnerable at the back. West Ham probed down the right, Jarrod Bowen worrying Destiny Udogie and laying on chances for Kudus. Guglielmo Vicario saved the first but Kudus took the second.

It was obviously not going to be the end of the scoring. Spurs roared back, Johnson and Pedro Porro almost equalising, and West Ham’s structure began to creak. They wanted to be expressive but lacked the poise to deal with the Spurs press and were exposed when another move broke down. Maddison had time to run at a backtracking defence and feed Kulusevski, who cut inside from the right, skipped past Guido Rodríguez and pulled a shot back across goal, surprising Alphonse Areola, who was able only to get a weak hand to the ball and watch it spin over the line after hitting both posts.

Overwhelmed, West Ham needed to readjust and give Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo more protection. But is there a slower midfield trio in the league than Tomas Soucek, Lucas Paquetá and Rodríguez? And why did Lopetegui wait until West Ham were 4-1 down before he finally made the triple substitution that was on the cards after Bissouma’s goal?

In fairness Spurs were exhilarating. They were in front when Son played a pass behind Wan-Bissaka, who watched Udogie turn and tee up Bissouma for an easy finish.

They were rampant, soon surging forward again, Kulusevski’s flick setting up Son for a shot that Todibo deflected in off Areola for an own goal.

Todibo’s misery continued, Son bamboozling him with a couple of stepovers before firing a low shot past Areola, and all that was left was for Kudus to lose his head after clashing with Van de Ven. West Ham ended in deserved disgrace.
 

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.