Tuesday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Inter Milan and Barcelona are plotting a swoop for Chelsea and Argentina midfielder Enzo Fernandez, 23, whose future at Stamford Bridge looks increasingly unclear. (Sun)

Arsenal have identified Newcastle forward Alexander Isak, 25, as their top transfer target, although the Magpies would demand a fee of about £100m for the Sweden international. (Teamtalk)

Manchester United are keen on Sporting winger Geovany Quenda, 17, with the Portugal Under-21 international also interesting Manchester City, Liverpool and Juventus. (Teamtalk)

Sacked Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag did not want to buy Netherlands forward Joshua Zirkzee from Bologna in the summer and was furious when the £36.5m signing arrived for training a stone overweight. (Sun)

Tottenham are interested in Netherlands midfielder Tijjani Reijnders, 26, but do not think they will be able to prise him away from AC Milan in January. (Football Insider)

Chelsea will not consider selling defender Benoit Badiashile, 23, with the France defender considered part of their long-term plans. (Fabrizio Romano)

Bayern Munich are considering a move for Eintracht Frankfurt forward Omar Marmoush, with Liverpool also interested in the 25-year-old Egypt international. (Sky Germany)

Nottingham Forest would like to take Bayern Munich winger Mathys Tel, 19, on loan but the France Under-21 international has no plans of leaving Bavaria this winter. (Sky Germany)

Former Chelsea and Everton boss Frank Lampard has emerged as a surprise candidate to take over from under-pressure manager Ivan Juric if Roma decide to part ways with the Croat. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian)

Tottenham are to trigger a one-year option on the contract of 32-year-old South Korea forward Son Heung-min. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Manchester United will give new head coach Ruben Amorim a say before making contract decisions on players approaching the end of their deals. (ESPN)

Aston Villa are close to agreeing a bumper new contract with English forward Morgan Rogers, 22. (Football Insider)

Edu is set to take up a role with the network of clubs controlled by the Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis after resigning as Arsenal's sporting director. (Times - subscription required)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta will have a major say in how the club replace Edu as sporting director. (Telegraph - subscription required)




Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN

Inter Milan and Barcelona are prepared to make an audacious swoop for Enzo Fernandez - whose future at Chelsea is growing increasingly unclear.

Real Madrid's first-team locker room from the iconic Santiago Bernabeu Stadium will be auctioned off.

Tottenham star Pedro Porro will donate part of his salary to help with the clean-up of flood-hit Valencia.

Chelsea legend Michael Essien has taken the next step on his journey into football management by completing his UEFA course.

Joshua Zirkzee arrived at Manchester United a stone overweight - and Erik ten Hag didn't even want him.

John Textor is eyeing a shock move for Watford if he sells his stake in Crystal Palace.

Frank Warren has given Anthony Joshua two days to take up his offer of a February rematch with Daniel Dubois.

DAILY MIRROR

Naby Keita issued an apology on Werder Bremen's WhatsApp chat after he refused to play for the team.

Frank Lampard could follow in the footsteps of Jose Mourinho after emerging as a surprise contender for the Roma job.

DAILY MAIL

Mason Mount has returned to full training at Manchester United following his latest injury lay-off.

Chelsea hope Cole Palmer will be passed fit to face Arsenal in their upcoming Premier League showdown, though face an anxious wait to see what damage was done at Old Trafford on Sunday.

Kylian Mbappe has been identified as the biggest problem in Real Madrid's current struggles by manager Carlo Ancelotti, according to reports.

Robert Lewandowski's wife Anna Lewandowska took to Instagram on Monday to share footage of significant flood water in and around the luxury home she shares with the Barcelona striker.

DAILY EXPRESS

Thousands of Arsenal fans have been banned from drinking alcohol for their Champions League away tie against Inter Milan.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Arsenal sporting director Edu resigned on Monday following a double-your-money offer from Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis, with Mikel Arteta to have a major say on how Arsenal replace him.

Ipswich chief executive Mark Ashton revealed he would now vote against keeping VAR following the decisions that saw him text messaging referees chief Howard Webb mid-match in frustration.

Cole Palmer is expected to have a scan on the injury that left him limping out of Old Trafford, with Chelsea hoping he suffered a lucky escape.

Tottenham are set to trigger a one-year option to extend the contract of club captain Heung-Min Son.

THE TIMES

The British and Irish Lions have discussed playing a match in Las Vegas en route to their 2029 tour to New Zealand as rugby looks to cash in on the American market.

DAILY RECORD

Celtic's Nicolas Kuhn is reportedly on the radar of several clubs in the Premier League.

Andy Halliday has strongly defended his decision not to celebrate his goal for Motherwell in their League Cup semi-final against his old club Rangers.

Scott Arfield has leapt to the defence of his former Rangers captain James Tavernier and believes that the players around the full-back need to do more to shoulder the burden at Ibrox.

SCOTTISH SUN

Hearts have banked a fresh £7m loan from one of their directors.



C&H

West Ham Power Struggle: Tim Steidten Could be Set for Shock Exit Amid Tensions

Steidten has come under pressure in recent weeks following the signings of Niclas Füllkrug and Luis Guilherme, though neither is believed to be the deciding factor.

It remains unclear whether Steidten’s reported departure is of his own choosing or a club decision, but it’s fair to say that all is not rosy in the West Ham garden.

Steidten is understood to have a fractured relationship with head coach Julen Lopetegui and has distanced himself from the Spaniard’s appointment. This follows a falling out with former manager David Moyes last season when Steidten was banned from the dressing room and training ground by the previous Hammers boss.

A recent interview with Jack Sullivan suggested Steidten may have been put in place by co-owner Daniel Křetínský, who is said to have conducted the initial interview process. It’s unclear if this has created a two-tier system behind the scenes, with Steidten answering to Křetínský while Lopetegui reports to David Sullivan.

However, sources from the training ground indicate a level of disharmony behind the scenes, with Steidten becoming increasingly detached from the playing squad.




Sport Witness

€25m transfer fee from West Ham would help club ‘in every way’ – Losing player a painful necessity

In May, West Ham United were linked with a move for Ibrahim Maza. The story then went quiet over the summer window, before the Hammers were again dragged in during September.

At that time, the London club were thrown in with the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford when it came to clubs interested in the 18-year-old Hertha Berlin player.

The Hammers have been dragged back in to the picture for the attacker, via claims in the English media this week.

Bild have picked up on those claims and whilst the German newspaper make absolutely no attempt to back the rumour up, they do give Hertha Berlin’s take on the situation.

Hertha Berlin are currently eighth in Bundesliga 2, which obviously isn’t where they want to be. Bild explain that losing Maza would be a ‘bitter’ blow for the German club, but it would help them ‘in every way’ off the pitch if they could sell him to West Ham for the rumoured €25m.

Such a figure would make Maza the second biggest exit ever for Hertha Berlin, which would suggest the fee looks on the large side.

The player has scored four goals and provided two assists so far this season, playing in an attacking midfield role. Maza is clearly a long way from being at the level West Ham need, so the fee would be very questionable and it’s likely a loan would be needed to get him up to speed.

Given all of that, the rumour is almost certainly exaggerated, but the German media make it clear a deal is there to be done should West Ham or anyone else truly desire it.

 

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[RootsRadical]

We are such a cluster fuck, always one step forward two steps back.
Common denominator is Sullivan!