Arsenal want to sign Bayern Munich and Germany midfielder Joshua Kimmich, 30, on a free transfer this summer. (Sky Sports), external
The Gunners have registered concrete interest in signing Kimmich, with a deal to sign Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi, 26, from Real Sociedad understood to be close. (Metro), external
Liverpool and Barcelona are among the other clubs interested in Kimmich. (Sun), external
Aston Villa have joined Arsenal in the race to sign Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic, 25, who is increasingly likely to leave Juventus in the summer. (TeamTalk), external
Liverpool are planning to sign a new centre-back and a right-back in the summer transfer window, regardless of the future of Netherlands' defender Virgil van Dijk, 33, and with England international Trent Alexander-Arnold, 26, expected to leave for Real Madrid. (Football Insider), external
Liverpool could be open to letting Colombia winger Luis Diaz leave for around 70m euro (£57.7m) in the summer, with Atletico Madrid keen on the 28-year-old. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Chelsea are not planning to sign a goalkeeper during the summer transfer window, despite recent scrutiny of Spaniard Robert Sanchez, 27, and Danish keeper Filip Jorgensen, 22. (Times - subscription required), external
Arsenal could decide to target RB Leipzig's 21-year-old Slovenia forward Benjamin Sesko as a more affordable alternative to Newcastle United's Alexander Isak, potentially paving the way for Liverpool to sign Sweden striker Isak, 25, from their Premier League rivals. (Liverpool Echo)
Newcastle are not planning to listen to offers for 22-year-old England full-back Tino Livramento amid interest from Manchester City. (Football Insider), external
Manchester United and Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 33, is one of AC Milan's key transfer targets this summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Arsenal could face competition from AC Milan for Wolves and Algeria left-back Rayan Ait-Nouri, 23. (CaughtOffside), external
Everton are not expected to sign Leeds United's English winger Jack Harrison, 28, on a permanent deal following his loan spell. (Football Insider)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MAIL
Bayern Munich chief Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has confirmed they will try to sign Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz this summer - with the Bundesliga giants set to battle Manchester City for 'the best player in Germany'.
Manchester United have reportedly approached the University of Manchester for assistance with predicting injuries to new signings.
Former Arsenal favourite Tomas Rosicky has spoken out about potentially returning to his old club to take up the vacant sporting director position.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has revealed he would like to see Russia return to play in the World Cup in the future.
THE SUN
Arsenal and Liverpool are set for a tug-of-war over Bayern Munich midfielder Joshua Kimmich.
Toenail offsides are set to be eradicated in a proposed shake-up of football's laws.
THE ATHLETIC
Manchester United pair Matthijs de Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee have been left out of the Dutch squad for next month's Nations League quarter-finals.
FIFA boss Gianni Infantino has defended himself from suggestions he is jeopardising the sport's traditional independence from politics by getting too close to US President Donald Trump in the build-up to this summer's Club World Cup and next year's World Cup.
Brighton & Hove Albion made a £73.3m profit for the 2023-24 season, their first playing in a European club competition.
The Ukrainian FA says Russia's return to international football would 'ignore the suffering of thousands'.
THE TIMES
Kevin Thelwell is set to leave his role as Everton's director of football when his contract expires at the end of the season as part of the restructuring that the new owner, The Friedkin Group, is overseeing.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino has defended the decision to take the 2034 World Cup to Saudi Arabia, claiming it is "a very positive step for football".
Chelsea are not planning to sign a goalkeeper during the summer transfer window, despite recent scrutiny of both Robert Sánchez and Filip Jorgensen.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Brendon McCullum said Jos Buttler had suffered from England prioritising Test cricket after he resigned as white-ball captain.
Controversial tackle-height change has reduced head contacts, according to RFU data, with figures suggesting a radical new rule for the community game is having a positive effect as the number of red cards also reduced.
THE INDEPENDENT
Bill Beaumont, the interim chairman of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), has urged clubs to vote against a no-confidence motion in embattled chief executive Bill Sweeney or risk sending English rugby into a state of "paralysis".
DAILY RECORD
Queen's Park have launched a bid to sign Leon King on loan from Rangers with the 21-year-old struggling for game time at Rangers this season.
Total football Analysis
Graham Potter West Ham United Tactics To Defeat Van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City – Tactical Analysis
We were treated to another exciting period of midweek Premier League action, with the London Stadium playing host to the final match on Thursday night.
West Ham United welcomed Leicester City‘s visit in a match in which both sides were desperate to collect all three points.
Graham Potter’s Hammers have experienced mixed results thus far but would’ve felt as confident as ever off the back of a hard-fought victory against Arsenal.
With West Ham once again putting a dent into Mikel Arteta’s title aspirations, the focus for Ruud van Nistelrooy was unfortunately on the opposite end of the table, with the Foxes heading towards an almost inevitable relegation.
Unfortunately for Leicester, there were no surprises on the night.
West Ham controlled the match to earn a deserved 2-0 win—the first time West Ham have achieved back-to-back Premier League victories all season.
While Potter’s side will find optimism in their tactical principles evolving, once again, defensive mistakes allowed West Ham to breach Leicester’s defence in the first half.
Our tactical analysis will highlight how both sides set up to minimise each other’s attacking threat, with special consideration for how Potter’s 5-3-2 formation could adapt and shift in possession.
West Ham United Vs Leicester City Lineups & Formations
Graham Potter named an unchanged XI from his match-winning team, which defeated Arsenal.
Once again, they lined up in the 5-3-2 formation from the outset.
Alphonse Areola retained his place in goal for West Ham, protected by an immediate defensive trio of Aaron Cresswell, Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo.
Oliver Scarles and Aaron Wan-Bissaka were then deployed as wing-backs in more advanced positions in possession, with a clear defensive focus to remain compact and combative when West Ham were without the ball.
Potter then lined up with a midfield comprised of Tomáš Souček, Edson Álvarez and James Ward-Prowse, who all performed varied roles which looked to add balance and creativity to West Ham’s efforts in the middle third.
This then left Mohammed Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, two natural wingers who could offer their talents in both the wider areas and through the centre of the pitch, as a strike partnership.
Leicester’s Van Nistelrooy was looking to bounce back from an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Brentford, continuing with the 4-2-3-1 formation from previous matches.
Mads Hermansen started in goal for the Foxes, with a defensive line of Victor Kristiansen and James Justin as the two fullbacks and Jannik Vestergaard and Wout Faes as the central defensive partnership.
Boubakary Soumaré and Wilfried Ndidi formed Leicester’s double pivot, with Bilal El Khannouss deployed as more of an advanced midfielder to support their attacking efforts.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Facundo Buonanotte provided the width for Leicester in and out of possession, with Premier League legend Jamie Vardy leading the line.
In fact, Leicester looked to switch their tactical approach with different personnel in the second half, with Stephy Mavididi and Harry Winks coming off the bench to aid their ball progression and influence in the final third.
Leicester’s Mixed Defensive Fortunes
With Leicester facing an almost insurmountable task of staying in the Premier League this season, it was imperative that they arrived at the London Stadium ready to be organised and combative enough to nullify West Ham’s attacking threat under Graham Potter’s tactics.
In the early stages, Leicester frustrated West Ham by setting them up off the ball, with the Foxes seemingly targeting the Hammers’ most progressive passer on the night.
Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side lined up in more of a 4-4-2 when they were pressing West Ham in the first half, with El Khannouss stepping up to support Vardy in the first line of pressure.
But instead of a traditional press, where the two ‘strikers’ would press the opposing centre-backs, Vardy and El Khannouss would consistently drop in slightly to double up on Ward-Prowse.
By negating the influence of West Ham’s deepest-lying midfielder in these early moments, the Hammers resorted to ball progression targeted towards the flanks, with direct passes into Scarles’s feet opening up in the middle third.
However, despite Leicester’s rigid block and the wide midfielders often unable to stretch wide enough to apply pressure to Scarles and the supporting Cresswell, West Ham’s final third options were often overwhelmed due to a lack of space through the centre.
To give Ruud van Nistelrooy tactics some credit on a disappointing night overall, they appeared to be effective and compact in their defensive style when dropping into a mid-to-low block.
They really minimised the space in which Bowen and Kudus could operate when dropping between the lines to collect the ball, further emphasising West Ham’s struggles to break down their opposition recently.
West Ham’s Attacking Breakthrough
How Leicester defended in the early stages meant that West Ham needed to be creative and progressive in their passing sequences.
This matched up nicely with some advantageous moments where the fluidity of the West Ham midfield allowed some positional rotations for James Ward-Prowse to dictate play from the deeper role.
In the following example, we see one of the first moments in which West Ham utilised Ward-Prowse’s passing range to find Bowen’s movement through the half-space.
It was an effective strategy that incorporated multiple West Ham players.
We can also see how Souček used his physical dominance to screen the defensive movement from Soumaré and open up the passing lane into Bowen.
But crucially for Leicester, they maintained their defensive energy to halt Bowen in his tracks when the English forward could receive the ball in these more advanced areas, with Kristiansen quick to step up and guide Bowen into more Leicester bodies.
Even so, it may come as little surprise to learn that Bowen’s attacking influence was one of the main reasons for West Ham’s opening goal, particularly how he could create space with some wider movement.
Kristiansen’s touch-tight approach to marking Bowen was undone when West Ham could utilise Wan-Bissaka to create an overload on the right wing.
The following example showcases how Bowen could generate a huge gap for Souček to advance through the channel, allowing the Czech midfielder to become a vital box presence in the final third.
When looking at the underlying metrics from this Premier League season, Souček’s 3.83 attacking penalty area touches per 90 rank him within the 87th percentile of all midfielders.
Combined with his 3.59 successful aerial duels per 90, Potter would no doubt relish the opportunity to give Souček more influence inside the box.
Souček did, in fact, score West Ham’s opener with an inspired poacher’s finish after a smart Hermansen save.
A lapse in defensive concentration allowed West Ham’s key attacking threats to be unmarked inside the box.
But probably the most important feature of the goal would be Cresswell‘s positioning as West Ham’s left centre-back—incredibly advanced to retain possession in the attacking third and recycle play with some devastating crosses.
West Ham’s Press & Intensity
Potter used his outside central defenders as key progressive outlets throughout the match, partially because Leicester had initially offered that crucial time and space in the initial build-up phase.
As play progressed, Todibo, in particular, had numerous opportunities to advance through the channel to combine with Wan-Bissaka and try to stretch the Leicester block.
Whilst deploying their right centre-back so high was perhaps a risky decision, Wan-Bissaka’s natural defensive tendencies meant that the English right-back could often shift centrally to bolster West Ham’s backline against a transition-heavy opponent.
But unlike Leicester, West Ham’s high-octane pressing effort allowed them to have even more possession by forcing multiple mistakes in the Leicester build-up.
Bowen and Kudus would consistently press high to cut off key passing outlets when Hermansen started out with possession, leading to the inevitable choice for the Leicester goalkeeper to launch his passes high and long into a packed middle third.
Even though he may have lost a step compared to previous seasons, Vardy was unable to really affect the game with his running in behind.
Leicester was never really given enough midfield freedom to regain control and play accurate, direct passes over the top of West Ham’s defence.
This was partly due to West Ham’s effective and coordinated counter-pressing strategy, which allowed them to quickly regain possession once they had an errant touch or misplaced pass deep in Leicester territory.
West Ham’s overall cooperation when out of possession saw their three-man midfield line often allow one player to jump to the Leicester holding midfielder, with the rest shifting across efficiently to apply pressure down the flank that Leicester opted to attack down.
Conclusion
It was a comfortable victory in the end for the hosts, who will be looking to expand upon their recent spell of positive results to finish the season on a high.
Things look much more dismal for Leicester fans, who needed to see their side snatch an unlikely win, especially considering the difficult run of fixtures on the horizon.
While Leicester mitigated West Ham’s attacking impact in a goalless second half, they could not weather the storm of claret and blue possession in the opening stages.
It was particularly impressive to witness West Ham’s energy and commitment without the ball, with the Hammers seemingly feeding off this boosted morale due to Potter’s appointment.
In what is now a ‘free hit’ of a season for the Irons, they will hope that the former Chelsea manager can further embed his tactical principles and help them reach the recent heights of European football.
OS
Akpata rocket seals another shutout victory for U21s
Derby County U21s 0-1 West Ham United U21s
Premier League 2, Proctor Cars Stadium, Friday 28 February 2025, 7pm GMT
West Ham United U21s extended their remarkable winning streak in Premier League 2 to seven matches with a 1-0 victory over Derby County U21s at Proctor Cars Stadium. Another really solid defensive display meant Tyron Akpata’s incredible strike before half-time proved to be the difference.
The young Hammers were tested early on as Derby looked to impose themselves with a direct approach, launching long balls forward in search of an opening. The hosts’ first real chance came in the eighth minute when Tristan Gill directed a header wide from a free-kick, while Airidas Golambeckis was on hand shortly after to make a crucial intervention, preventing Lennon Wheeldon from getting a shot away from close range inside the box.
West Ham soon settled into the contest and began carving out chances of their own. Josh Briggs’ teasing cross was met by Dan Rigge in the 15th minute, but his effort from the penalty spot drifted wide. Moments later, Josh Ajala came even closer, clipping the top of the crossbar with a curling effort after being played through by Rigge.
Derby continued to pose a threat, with Cruz Allen forcing a sharp save from Lanre Awesu at his near post just before the half-hour mark.
The defining moment of the match arrived in the 41st minute. Another dangerous cross from Kamarai Swyer found Sean Moore who laid the ball off to Akpata on the edge of the area. The midfielder struck a sensational first-time effort, curling it into the top corner to give West Ham the lead.
With confidence high, the Hammers took their advantage into the second half and remained disciplined at the back. Awesu was called into action again just before the hour mark, making a fine reflex save to deny Owen Eames’ diving header from close range.
As the game entered its final stages, the young Hammers looked to double their lead. Ezra Mayers won possession high up the pitch and fed Rigge, whose shot was well held by Derby goalkeeper Harry Evans.
Despite Derby also pushing forward late on, there was no way through. West Ham’s backline remained compact and resolute, letting nothing through. With their eighth clean sheet in 16 Premier League 2 games, the young Hammers mathematically secured a post-season play-off place with four games to spare, moving six points clear of Southampton in fourth place having played a game less.
Derby County U21s: Evans ©, Turley, Moloney (Osayande 81), D. Robinson, K. Robinson, Gill, Gordon (Ilesanmi 64), Allen, Wheeldon, Perry, Eames (Agustien 64)
Subs not used: Price (GK), Stepien-Iwumene
Booked: Perry
West Ham United U21s: Awesu, Briggs, Mayers ©, Fearon, Golambeckis, Brown, Swyer, Akpata, Ajala (Landers 82), Rigge, Moore
Subs not used: Hooper (GK), Kamara, Oyebade
Goal: Akpata 41
Booked: Mayers, Brown, Briggs
Robson: It's no coincidence that we've got another clean sheet
Adapting their play style to the difficult pitch conditions, lead coach Mark Robson’s side, who boast the best defensive record in the division, had to work really hard for their eighth clean sheet of the campaign.
“It was a real tough one tonight because the pitch was really poor. The preparation for the game was based around not taking any risks due to the pitch condition. It was really difficult to get some free-flowing football in there. We asked the midfield to stay in and not venture out and keep us really compact because there's going to be mistakes made for sure because of the state of the pitch. And we did it really well. We defended brilliantly. We forced them into mistakes by getting after them higher up the pitch, which we would expect on the pitch. It was really hard to kick it sometimes.
“It's no coincidence that we've got another clean sheet and we're really, really pleased with that. Of course, the pitch forces you to play a certain way.
“We made sure that we had a lot of runners in behind. That was a big part of our game plan today, just to eliminate the poor pitch factor. We did it really well. I thought the boys made some really good decisions. It was a massive learning curve for them.”
With regular captain Kaelan Casey and vice-captain Lewis Orford unavailable, second-year scholar Ezra Mayers was handed the armband for the first time at U21 level.
“It was an opportunity to just say to Ez [Mayers], ‘you lead the boys tonight’. With Kaelan [Casey] and Lewis [Orford] not with us tonight, it was an opportunity for him to skipper the team. He goes about his job just really well. He leads by example in the way he plays. I thought he did that really well tonight, as did everybody. Big credit to young Lanre [Awesu], I thought he did really well, and Luis Brown who stepped in tonight. A really pleasing win for the boys. I'm delighted for them because they keep the run going. Let's hope we can continue it between now and the end of the season.”
