Tuesday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Arsenal are ready to spend £83m (100m euros) on West Ham attacking midfielder Mohammed Kudus with the 24-year-old Ghana international keen to join the Gunners to play European football. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

Tottenham are set to rebuff Real Madrid's renewed interest in 26-year-old Argentina defender Cristian Romero. (Football Insider)

Manchester United are considering offloading 23-year-old Netherlands striker Joshua Zirkzee in January with clubs in Serie A monitoring developments. (Calciomercato - in Italian)

Juventus are frontrunners in the battle to sign Canada striker Jonathan David, 24, from Lille with Manchester United, Liverpool and Inter Milan also interested. (Footmercato - in French)

Manchester City have set their sights on AC Milan and France goalkeeper Mike Maignan, 29. (Fichajes - in Spanish)

Borussia Dortmund are considering a January move for Sunderland's 19-year-old English midfielder Jobe Bellingham. (Alan Nixon via Newcastle Chronicle)

Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies is open to a reunion with former boss Hansi Flick at Barcelona despite interest in the 24-year-old Canada international from Real Madrid and Manchester United. (Teamtalk)

France midfielder Paul Pogba, 31, is close to reaching an agreement to terminate his contract with Juventus and sign for another club as a free agent once his ban concludes. (Sky Sports)

Germany winger Leroy Sane is keen to sign a contract at Bayern Munich but the 28-year-old is still some way from reaching agreement over a deal. (Florian Plettenberg)

Former Spain defender Sergio Ramos, 38, will not make a return to Real Madrid but they will sign a centre-back in January, with Bayer Leverkusen's Germany defender Jonathan Tah, 28, having emerged as a new candidate. (Diario AS - in Spanish)

Scouts from home and abroad are following developments with Kiano Dyer at Chelsea as the English midfielder, 17, approaches the final year of his current contract. (Mail)

England are poised to hold more talks during the international break over trying to add Chelsea goalkeeping coach Henrique Hilario to incoming head coach Thomas Tuchel’s backroom staff. (Telegraph - subscription required)

David Moyes is eyeing a return to Premier League management with Crystal Palace, Wolves, Southampton and Leicester all potentially interested. (Talksport)

Frank Lampard is a candidate for the vacant manager's job at Championship side Coventry City. (Sky Sports)




Sky Paper Talk

THE SUN

Manchester United have reportedly enquired about Chelsea forward Christopher Nkunku.

David Moyes has been linked with a Premier League return with four teams potentially interested.

Mason Mount is set to play a key role under Ruben Amorim at Manchester United.

Lamine Yamal's Barcelona team-mate Raphinha surprised him with a £10,000 solid gold iPhone to celebrate his Ballon D'or Koba trophy win.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Mike Phillips, the former Wales scrum-half, has launched an X-rated verbal attack on head coach Warren Gatland following Wales' first home defeat by Fiji on Sunday.

Russell Martin and Swansea City have settled their multi-million pound legal dispute over his defection to Southampton.

Hundreds of women are planning a protest at England's Nations League game against the Republic of Ireland over the banning of a teenage female footballer who asked a "bearded" transgender opponent: "Are you a man?"

England are expected to hold more talks during the international break over trying to add Chelsea goalkeeping coach Hilário to incoming head coach Thomas Tuchel's backroom staff.

THE TIMES

Next year's ICC Champions Trophy has been plunged into turmoil after India confirmed to the international governing body that they will not travel to Pakistan, the host nation.

Tommy Freeman has claimed that an improved England side will "properly go after" South Africa on Saturday by trying to rattle the world champions with a display of ferocious intensity.

THE GUARDIAN

Andy Robertson has said he had a point to prove in Liverpool's win over Aston Villa having been "written off" for the first time in his storied Anfield career.
DAILY MIRROR

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard has been called up for international duty by Norway, opening up a potential conflict between club and country.

DAILY MAIL

Pep Guardiola's heated exchange with Brighton defender Jan Paul van Hecke was the subject of plenty of intrigue on Saturday evening - and an expert lip-reader has now revealed the Manchester City manager's jibes about 'crying' and being a 'baby'.

Martin Offiah believes an England Ashes victory next year would provide a major shot in the arm for rugby league in this country - and help the sport grow bigger than rugby union.

DAILY RECORD

Johan Mjallby thinks Celtic will demand a fee in the region of £30m if they are to sell Nicolas Kuhn in January. It comes after reports suggest that the in-form winger is being tracked by Premier League sides Fulham and Brentford.





The Hard Tackle

Real Madrid contemplating Nayef Aguerd swoop

Real Madrid might launch the offensive in January to sign 28-year-old Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd, currently on loan at Real Sociedad from West Ham United.

According to a report by Spanish outlet Fichajes, Nayef Aguerd is the subject of interest from Real Madrid. The reigning La Liga champions are scouring the market for a centre-back heading into the summer transfer window after Eder Militao picked up a season-ending knee injury. The Moroccan international has thus emerged as a target. However, Los Blancos will have to break the loan deal between Real Sociedad and West Ham United to land him.
Nayef Aguerd and his rollercoaster career

Nayef Aguerd has found a stable footing since joining Real Sociedad from West Ham United on a season-long loan deal in the summer transfer window. The East London club signed him in a deal worth £30 million from Stade Rennais in July 2022. However, he blew hot and cold in his first two seasons with West Ham, struggling to nail down his spot in the starting lineup.

Meanwhile, the 28-year-old has made his mark at Real Sociedad this season, emerging as a rare bright spot in an underwhelming 2024/25 campaign thus far for La Real. Aguerd has amassed over 1,000 minutes of game time in 12 appearances in all competitions, becoming a mainstay at the back for the Basque outfit.

The Moroccan defender’s progress at Real Sociedad has not gone unnoticed, and another spell in La Liga might be on the cards for him. The report by Fichajes has claimed that Aguerd has emerged as a target for Real Madrid, with Los Blancos mulling over securing his services in the January transfer window.

Will Real Madrid sign Aguerd?

Real Madrid’s interest in Nayef Aguerd is surprising yet understandable. While the African centre-back does not have the quality to become the undisputed first-choice centre-back for Real Madrid, the reigning La Liga champions need a new central defender after losing Eder Militao to a season-ending knee injury this past weekend.

In addition, David Alaba is no closer to returning from a long-term knee issue, thus necessitating the arrival of a new centre-back. So, several central defenders, including Jarrad Branthwaite, have emerged on Real Madrid’s radar. However, Aguerd is a more realistic target, considering Everton might not entertain bids in the January transfer window.

Meanwhile, signing Aguerd from West Ham will be complicated, as the Hammers first need to terminate his loan deal with Real Sociedad before accepting an offer from Real Madrid. So, it will be interesting to see if a convoluted arrangement sees the light of day. La Real will not have a say in the matter as they do not have an option or obligation to secure his services.




Caught Offside

Exclusive: Lopetegui still demanding signings with West Ham keen on 24-year-old Premier League ace

Julen Lopetegui’s job appears to be hanging by a thread at West Ham, but that hasn’t stopped the Spaniard from demanding even more signings in January.

West Ham players remain unhappy with the Spaniard, the 0-0 draw against Everton at the weekend keeping the Hammers down in 14th position in the Premier League.

Their poor form since Lopetegui took over has even seen one elite manager tipped to take over at the London Stadium should the West Ham board decide that enough is enough.
Lopetegui chasing Brighton and Hove Albion ace

If David Sullivan goes against the grain and decides to give his manager a while longer to implement his strategies, one player that Lopetegui wants is 24-year-old Brighton and Hove Albion ace, Tariq Lamptey.

CaughtOffside sources have indicated that Lamptey could consider leaving Brighton at the end of the season but, given that his contract ends in June 2025 (transfermarkt), a decision may be made by the Seagulls themselves as early as January.

Lamptey has shown no sign of extending his current deal, and sources understand that this is because the right-back is unhappy with how things have panned out under Fabian Hurzeler.

The Ghanaian international is certainly looking to move, though CaughtOffside sources note that the East Londoners could face competition for his services.

Premier League clubs Everton, Nottingham Forest and Brentford have already expressed interest in signing him, without taking things further at this stage.

The former Chelsea academy player has been with Brighton since 2021, and whilst it’s understood his preference is to stay in the Premier League, foreign clubs such as Juventus are also showing interest.

Clearly, a decision needs to be made soon, and ultimately Hurzeler will be the one to decide whether Lamptey can be considered as surplus to requirements as early as the first month of 2025.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[norwaytips]

Thanks Alan. Appreciated. 

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.

And I agree with CanningTownWA » 12 Nov 2024 12:22

[CanningTownWA]

I have always rated Lamptey but he is very injury prone and I think we have higher priorities than a new right back when we have just bought AWB.