Tuesday News (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Manchester United are ready to submit a bid of £33.3m (40m euros) for Barcelona's 21-year-old Spain left-back Alejandro Balde in the summer. (El Nacional - in Spanish)

Newcastle are planning a £33.3m (40m euros) summer bid for PSV Eindhoven's 21-year-old Belgium forward Johan Bakayoko. (Tuttosport - in Italian)

Newcastle are also set to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid to the free transfer signing of 18-year-old Spain Under-19 winger Antonio Cordero, whose Malaga contract expires this summer. (Mail)

Manchester United and Chelsea are interested in Ipswich's 22-year-old English striker Liam Delap. (Football Insider)

Chelsea are also keen on Copenhagen's 19-year-old Sweden Under-21 winger Roony Bardghji. (TBR Football)

Fiorentina are considering offering Moise Kean a new contract containing an increased release clause following Premier League interest in the 24-year-old Italy striker, including from Tottenham and Arsenal. (Corriere dello Sport via Calciomercato - in Italian)

Chelsea are monitoring Sporting's 19-year-old Portugal Under-21 midfielder Dario Essugo, who is on loan at Las Palmas. (Fabrizio Romano)

Bournemouth's 19-year-old Netherlands-born Spain Under-21 defender Dean Huijsen is also interesting Chelsea. (Teamtalk)

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has been told he must decide before May if he wants to become the coach of Brazil. (OK Dario - in Spanish )

Arsenal expect to sign Espanyol's 23-year-old Spanish goalkeeper Joan Garcia this summer. (Football Insider)

Manchester United want Athletic Bilbao sporting director Mikel Gonzalez to replace Dan Ashworth at Old Trafford. (El Chiringuito via Football Espana)




Sky Paper Talk

THE ATHLETIC

Joao Felix says he would be open to remaining with Milan beyond his half-season loan at the club.

Leeds United have suffered a setback in defence with backup option Max Wober set to be absent for around six weeks.

Alessandro Nesta has been rehired as Monza head coach, seven weeks after he was sacked by the Serie A side.

Brian Priske has been sacked as Feyenoord head coach two days before their Champions League play-off first leg against AC Milan.

Adana Demirspor's club president has resigned after his team abandoned their Turkish Super Lig match against Galatasaray on Sunday.

THE SUN

Wayne Rooney has landed his first job since being axed by Plymouth Argyle.

Luke Littler laughed off the social media haters "sat at home charging their phones" after being KO'd from the Players Championship.

Legendary strongman Geoff Capes left a huge amount to his family in his will, documents reveal.

Tottenham's injury crisis is statistically 25 per cent worse than any top-flight side competing in Europe this season.

Jorginho has reportedly agreed terms with Flamengo for a free transfer from Arsenal.

DAILY EXPRESS

William Saliba failed to quash reports of a move to Real Madrid when an Arsenal fan pleaded with the defender to remain at the Emirates Stadium

Luke Littler mocked his critics by claiming he still "made a few quid" despite a dismal exit from the Players Championship.

Manchester United have agreed to loan Casemiro to Flamengo until the end of the season while covering most of his salary, according to reports.

DAILY MAIL

Parents have been left astonished after a man kicked a young boy at a youth football match, sparking a large-scale brawl between adults captured in a viral video.

Newcastle are set to beat Barcelona and Real Madrid to the signing of Malaga winger Antonio Cordero.

New Zealand Rugby has taken legal action against Manchester United co-owners Ineos - claiming Sir Jim Ratcliffe's company has reneged on a multi-million-pound sponsorship deal.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic are reportedly intent on continuing their partnership until at least this year's Wimbledon Championships.

DAILY STAR

Jose Mourinho showed his true colours and gave a fan the moment of a lifetime by stopping the Fenerbahce team bus and inviting him on.

Five people including four women footballers have been killed after taking shelter under a tree during a storm and being struck by lightning.

DAILY MIRROR

Ruben Amorim stuck to his word by not raiding Sporting Lisbon in January - but the Manchester United boss is plotting moves to land some of his former players in the summer.

Arsenal are being linked with a surprise summer move for Moise Kean.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Ange Postecoglou has given his shattered Tottenham Hotspur players two days off as he attempts to hit the reset button on the club's season.

Kemi Badenoch has described football's incoming regulator "a waste of money" as the Conservatives abandoned support for "bonkers" curbs on the English game.

THE TIMES

Ange Postecoglou hopes to have Destiny Udogie, James Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario back for the game against Manchester United on Sunday as he looks to prove he can revive his Tottenham Hotspur team once their injury crisis subsides.

England will break with tradition this year and play four autumn Tests after the British & Irish Lions tour.

DAILY RECORD

Tony Docherty has admitted Dundee are taking every precaution with Scott Fraser because they are desperate to get him fit and firing for the run-in.

Alexander Jensen reckons going direct has made Aberdeen more dangerous and has finally given them the elusive cutting edge.

Steve Clarke's son has offered an apology after taking a swipe at Rangers which put the Scotland manager in an "awkward position".

SCOTTISH SUN

Celtic have shown a huge rise in profits of player sales and overall revenue after releasing their interim financial figures for the first half of the football season and the club's financial year.

Former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard is the favourite to replace Philippe Clement in the Ibrox hot-seat.




C&H

Forget £40 mill Højlund, this Steidten target is very ‘new era’ West Ham

Seeming to be on top of the brief now after just six weeks at the helm, Graham Potter clearly has a sense of the direction he plans to go in when major rebuilding is required this summer. With his preferred choice as head of recruitment Kyle Macalualy in place and suggestions that a Director of Football will follow this season, Potter was candid in this weekend’s Iron Cast podcast, as Gonzo suggested yesterday, referring to working on Tim Steidten’s scouting work, revisiting his targets and bringing in players already identified by the Bundesliga expert.

From December’s rumours came one strong link with Jonathan Burkardt, Mainz striker and one-time target of Eintract Frankfurt who baulked at the idea of paying €20 million for him in December, as reported at the time by onefootball.com.

Their own report confirmed “Frankfurt are interested in brining the new German international across the Main river in the summer, while West Ham were also linked with a move for Burkardt in January.”

Ultimately Burkhardt was injured at the end of the year and Mainz were able to keep him for the remainder of the season- but the scouts will be out checking him over.

Forget the links with strikers costing mega-millions like Jonathan David or Manchester United dud Rasmus Højlund – West Ham have neither the Champions League pulling power nor the £40 million plus-budget for such an ambitious acquisition and every time I see reports of hugely expensive players coming to Stratford in the summer I mentally roll my eyes. Someone of Burkhardt’s pedigree, youth, relative low cost and potential growth make him a far more likely summer signing at West Ham United.




Football Talk

West Ham remain keen on signing Real Sociedad’s Brais Mendez

West Ham United reportedly remain keen on signing Real Sociedad star Brais Mendez, as per Spanish outlet Fichajes.

The Spaniard has been linked with a move to the London Stadium in recent times and it was previously reported that the Hammers’ former manager Julen Lopetegui was willing to hire his compatriot to bolster the engine room.

However, the East London club relieved him of his duties having endured a difficult first half of this season and Graham Potter has been appointed as the new manager.

So, following that, it was thought that West Ham would cool their interest in purchasing Mendez but it appears they are still interested in him. Fichajes claim that Potter’s side have been keeping a close eye on the midfielder’s development before making a potential swoop.

La Real have no intention of letting their star man leave but, the opportunity of playing in the Premier League could tempt Mendes to move away from Reale Arena.
Mendez to West Ham

The 28-year-old is valued at around £29m by Transfermarkt and has a contract until 2028 with Imanol Alguacil’s side. Therefore, they are expected to demand a big fee if they are forced to cash-in on him.

Mendez is a left-footed versatile midfielder as he likes to play in the box-to-box role but is also comfortable in the CAM position. He is excellent at taking set-pieces, can play threading passes between the lines, has an eye for scoring goals and also works hard without possession.

West Ham currently have Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse, Tomas Soucek, Edson Álvarez, Lucas Paqueta, Carlos Soler and Andy Irving as the options to deploy in the engine room.

However, Rodriguez has seemingly fallen in the pecking order under Potter, while Soler has joined the club on a loan deal and could return to his parent club PSG at the end of this season.

Moreover, Alvarez was the subject of attention for other clubs in the January window so he could leave next summer and Irving doesn’t have much experience of top-flight football.

Therefore, signing a new midfielder would be the right decision and Mendez could be a shrewd acquisition if they purchase him as he has showcased his qualities in a top league like La Liga.

[Heavi995]

Cheers Alan

[Heavi995]

Cheers Alan

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[Russ of the BML]

Ta Al.

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.