Wednesday news (includes West ham)

[Alan]

BBC

Real Madrid have decided to sell 25-year-old Brazil forward Vinicius Jr next summer after his reaction to being substituted against Barcelona. (Bild - in German), external

Brazil forward Rodrygo wants to leave Real Madrid in January, with Arsenal and Tottenham interested in the 24-year-old. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Manchester United are willing to let 25-year-old England winger Jadon Sancho, who is on loan at Aston Villa, leave on a free transfer next summer. (Talksport), external

Roma are considering making a move for Manchester United's 24-year-old Netherlands forward Joshua Zirkzee in January. (Calcio Mercato - in Italian), external

Inter Milan's Germany defender Yann Bisseck, 24, is keen on a move to England, with West Ham and Tottenham possible destinations. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Crystal Palace, Inter Milan and Juventus will compete for the signing of Manchester City's 30-year-old Netherlands defender Nathan Ake in January. (Caught Offside), external

Manchester United will step up their pursuit of Nottingham Forest's England midfielder Elliot Anderson in January, with the Red Devils believing the 22-year-old is "very keen" on a move to Old Trafford. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal are not willing to let 26-year-old Norway midfielder Martin Odegaard leave the club amid interest from Barcelona. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Netherlands defender Virgil van Dijk explored the idea of moving to Real Madrid last summer before the 34-year-old signed a new contract with Liverpool (AS - in Spanish), external

Everton will not sell £70m-rated England defender Jarrad Branthwaite in January, despite interest from Manchester United in the 23-year-old. (Teamtalk), external

Former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is one of the names being considered as the next Wolves boss. (ESPN)




Sky Paper Talk

Premier League

Erling Haaland claimed that VAR has given him an advantage against defenders as the Manchester City striker looks on course to break his own goalscoring record this season - Daily Mail

Former Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag reportedly has reservations over taking charge of Wolves after being linked with a return to the Premier League - Daily Mail

Manchester United have a new potential buyer for out-of-favour Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch international has been linked with Sevilla, West Ham and recently Ajax - Daily Mirror

Arsenal are targeting the North London Derby for the return of Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Martinelli - Daily Mirror

Middlesbrough are confident of holding on to Wolves managerial target Rob Edwards - The Times

European football

Barcelona officials want their clash with Athletic Bilbao on November 22 to be their long-awaited first match back at the Camp Nou - Daily Mirror

Barcelona have a £28m purchase option for loanee Marcus Rashford - significantly lower than the £40m Manchester United would demand from other interested parties - Daily Mirror

Wembley Stadium is in the running to be the venue for the 2029 Champions League final but could be preferred the following year to allow Barcelona's Camp Nou to get the nod instead - The Times
Scottish football

Celtic are scrambling to add Callum Osmand to their European squad to face Midtjylland - Scottish Sun





Sport Witness

“It was about money” – Lingering regret over decision to leave West Ham

Pablo Barrera regrets his decision to leave West Ham United for Cruz Azul in 2012.

The 38-year-old has been with Mexican side Querétaro since 2021. He recently confirmed their clash against Mazatlán FC last weekend was his last for the club. On Tuesday, the winger said he’s yet to make a decision on his next step.

Barrera has given an interview to TUDN to review his long career, mainly focusing on West Ham.

The Mexican joined West Ham from UNAM Pumas in July 2010. He played over 1,300 minutes from 21 matches in his debut season. Due to limited playing time, the Hammers sent him on loan to Real Zaragoza in August 2011.

A year later, Barrera left the London club to join Cruz Azul permanently. Since then, he hasn’t returned to Europe. He’s still gutted about his decision to leave West Ham, especially since they had wanted him to stay.

“The only thing I could have changed is pushing harder for my time in Europe. I had three more years on my contract [with West Ham]; that’s the only regret I have, not pushing for those three years,” he said.

“Then I went to Spain for a year with Vasco [Aguirre], but I still had three more years on my contract with West Ham. They told me I could return without any problem, obviously to earn a place, but I made the decision to go to Cruz Azul. That’s the only regret I could have changed.”

Barrera is honest in admitting that finances were the motivation behind his decision to leave West Ham for Cruz Azul.

“The truth is, at that moment it was about money. In the end, I made several offers to Cruz Azul, thinking they wouldn’t accept them, and in the end they said yes. It was mainly for that reason,” Barrera explained.

“That’s the only thing that stuck with me. To this day, my dad talks about it with me. He used to tell me, ‘Stay, stay [in Europe]’.”

West Ham’s Edson Álvarez is currently on loan at Fenerbahçe. Barrera has urged him and Genoa’s Johan Vásquez to prolong their careers in Europe.




Gazzetta.it

Bisseck and Pavlovic are key players for Inter and Milan. But their futures may lie elsewhere.

The two defenders are convincing but for various reasons their future could be far from Milan: English sirens are making waves for the Nerazzurri, Galatasaray is interested in the Rossoneri (but it's unlikely the deal will go through).

Now, no one wants to do without them. Yann Bisseck and Strahinja Pavlovic are finally playing for Inter and AC Milan, respectively. Yet the wave of recent success isn't enough to dispel doubts about their future in Milan. The German defender, after two seasons at Appiano as a backup, seemed destined to leave on the cusp of turning 25. Imagine the Serbian, coming off a lackluster season in the Rossoneri's chaos. He too had plenty of buzz surrounding his departure, with it being considered inevitable.

Bisseck, English sirens

Inter have discovered that the giant who trained at Cologne can be the central defender leading the scoring trio. And now big opportunities are looming for him, but he's eager to test himself in the Premier League. And in recent weeks, rumors have been swirling that he might leave at the end of the season after a proud summer at West Ham, which had even offered €25 million. Even more so now that the game has started again, and the prospect of a move to Tottenham is intriguing the player and his entourage. An English destination in particular appears to be the most attractive. This is why Marotta and Ausilio are busy scouting the defensive market, starting with the most promising players in Serie A.

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.