BBC
Manchester City's Norway winger Oscar Bobb could join Borussia Dortmund on loan until the end of the season, while Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Newcastle are among the clubs also interested in the 22-year-old. (Mail - subscription required), external
Liverpool remain interested in signing Crystal Palace's England defender Marc Guehi next summer, but he will prioritise a move to Real Madrid, who are also keen on the 25-year-old. (AS - in Spanish), external
Juventus are interested in West Ham's 31-year-old Argentina midfielder Guido Rodriguez. (Sky in Italy), external
Tottenham could move for Monaco's 23-year-old France midfielder Maghnes Akliouche in January. (Mail - subscription required), external
Roma want to sign a new defender and are eyeing two Premier League players, including Tottenham's 23-year-old Romania international Radu Dragusin and Chelsea's 27-year-old France centre-back Axel Disasi. (Sky in Italy), external
Juventus have little hope of signing Newcastle's Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali in January, but aim to step up their pursuit of the 25-year-old in the summer. (La Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external
Manchester City are confident of beating Manchester United to the signing of Nottingham Forest's England midfielder, Elliot Anderson, 23. (Teamtalk), external
Fenerbahce have made a verbal offer to sign 28-year-old AC Milan and France forward, Christopher Nkunku. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external
Real Madrid have entered the race for Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck, 26, with the Bundesliga club valuing the German at around £60m. (Sport - in Spanish), external
Juventus are considering a move to bring Liverpool's 28-year-old Italy winger Federico Chiesa back to the club. (La Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external
AC Milan's 20-year-old Italian full-back Davide Bartesaghi is one of a number of players being monitored by Arsenal before the January transfer window. (CaughtOffside), external
Leeds' hopes of signing Nottingham Forest's English midfielder James McAtee have taken a blow, with the 23-year-old also linked with a move abroad. (Football Insider), external
Fulham are likely to make another bid for PSV Eindhoven's 22-year-old United States striker Ricardo Pepi. (Ben Jacobs)
Sky Paper Talk
TRANSFERS
West Ham are preparing a bid for Wolves striker Jorgen Strand Larsen - The Guardian
Oscar Bobb could be on his way to Borussia Dortmund after the Bundesliga club opened talks with Man City about a loan deal - Daily Mail.
Man Utd may have to wait until the summer to land Wolves' Joao Gomes - Daily Express
Tottenham are interested in Monaco midfielder Maghnes Akliouche - Daily Mail
Arsenal could go into the loan market to add strength in depth to their squad to aid their trophy bids - Daily Mirror
Fulham are preparing a second bid for Ricardo Pepi after their initial £26m bid for the PSV Eindhoven forward was rejected - Daily Mail.
Juventus are keen on bringing Liverpool's Federico Chiesa back to the club - La Gazzetta dello Sport
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL
Celtic are keen on landing Bournemouth defender Julian Araujo but could face competition from Mexican side Club America - Scottish Sun
Rangers are in talks about extending the contract of John Souttar, whose current deal expires at the end of the season - Scottish Sun
Guardian
Veltman earns Brighton draw at West Ham after Welbeck spot-kick drama
Ben Bloom at The London Stadium
So December – the busiest month on the Premier League calendar – comes and goes without a single victory for West Ham or Brighton; 12 matches played between them, but only occasional draws to show for their endeavours.
Not that this meeting of the winless was short on entertainment. As only the second ever Premier League game to see three first-half penalties awarded, there was drama aplenty for anyone without a vested interest.
But this draw – with twice as many goals as the one at the Amex Stadium early this month – does little to help either side. While Brighton are becoming increasingly well acquainted with the bottom half of the table, West Ham fans fear relegation more with each passing week.
Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have now gone eight Premier League games since their last victory and they were clinging on to a point after twice seeing their lead disappear when Danny Welbeck and Joël Veltman cancelled out goals from Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paquetá.
With Nottingham Forest losing, it felt like a chance missed to move within two points of the last safe spot.
“We need fight,” said Bowen, the captain. “We need a bit of emotion with the situation we are in. It is the first time that I’ve properly seen it.”
The performance only hammered home Nuno’s assertion that the upcoming transfer window would be very important for the club’s future. Two more goals conceded means only Wolves have a worse defensive record in the top flight this season, and the centre-back Jean-Clair Todibo hobbled off injured.
At the other end of the pitch, Nuno’s weekly striker roulette meant a first start for Callum Wilson in five games. His decision then to take the former Newcastle man off with half an hour remaining prompted boos around the London Stadium, but options are scarce.
He might soon have the services of Jørgen Strand Larsen to call upon, with West Ham preparing their opening offer for the Wolves striker. Whether that extends to his £40m asking price remains to be seen.
The disparity in resources between the teams was evident in the respective strength they were able to call upon from the bench. While Brighton brought on Kaoru Mitoma and Georginio Rutter, Nuno had to make do with the inexperienced duo of Ezra Mayers and Mohamadou Kanté.
Jarrod Bowen slots home West Ham’s opener in the 10th minute. Photograph: John Sibley/Action Images/Reuters
“That’s the reality,” said the West Ham manager. He will be desperate for reinforcements next month.
Slow starts on their travels have dogged Brighton all season, and Bowen put West Ham ahead after 10 minutes when slotting calmly past Bart Verbruggen.
Then came the flurry of penalties, starting with a quickfire double for Welbeck. He dispatched the first, awarded for a poor Maximilian Kilman slide tackle on Yankuba Minteh, into the bottom corner. Perhaps overeager to change approach after Paquetá had comically rugby-tackled Lewis Dunk for the second, Welbeck followed up with a Panenka that hit the bar.
As the clock ticked into first-half added time, Michael Salisbury was then called to the pitchside monitor to review Dunk halting Wilson’s goalbound shot with what he judged to be the upper part of an outstretched arm. Paquetá stroked the resulting penalty into the bottom corner.
“No one can say that’s a clear hand,” bemoaned Fabian Hürzeler. “The VAR footage is not clear enough, therefore it’s just a guess. We are the best league in the world so to make a decision just on a guess is not right.”
Brighton restored parity just after the hour when Alphonse Areola slapped a corner straight to Veltman, who controlled and volleyed home from close range.
The visitors pushed hard in the final stages for the three points, with Areola producing fine saves to keep out dangerous efforts from Mitoma and Rutter, and Konstantinos Mavropanos heading away from under his own bar.
By the final whistle, Jan Paul van Hecke was the only starting Brighton outfielder not to have attempted a shot. But the visitors could not find a winner.
The Athletic
West Ham fans have lost patience with their board – their manager could be next
West Ham fans protest against the club's owners during the match against Brighton Bradley Collyer/Getty Images
By Nick Miller
By West Ham’s recent standards, a 2-2 draw is a relatively positive result.
After three defeats in a row, a point is gratefully received. Two goals were scored. Thanks to results elsewhere, a little ground is gained on the teams ahead of them. Brighton are a confusing team, but they were just below the Champions League places a few weeks ago.
Reasons to be cheerful, then?
Not so much. The boos rang out at the final whistle. Nobody was celebrating the point. And that’s because the fans in the London Stadium weren’t reacting to the result.
They were reacting to the performance, which was merely poor rather than the dreadful it has been, but featured numerous attempts to throw anything positive away, not least conceding two penalties.
They were reacting to the substitutions, in particular Callum Wilson’s removal after an hour which neatly coincided with Brighton gaining full control of the match, their own wayward finishing and a few fine saves by Alphonse Areola keeping them from a winner.
But mostly they were reacting to, well, this season. They’re still in the relegation zone. They still haven’t won in eight games. They still have owners that many fans appear to despise. They still have a manager, Nuno Espirito Santo, in whom patience appears to be rapidly disappearing.
So in that context, a point isn’t anything to get excited about. You don’t expect a man to thank you for handing him a small cup of water if you’ve been punching him in the face.
Before the game, a video was played on the big screen to remember the West Ham fans and people associated with the club who died in 2025. It was pretty touching and well put together. The fans present were then asked to turn on the lights on their phone, as an added tribute to those who had passed. But the sombre mood was spoiled rather when they played, at ear-splitting volume, the late-90s techno hit Sandstorm by Darude over the PA.
This feels like a club that can’t get anything right at the moment.
Stratford station, a little more than 90 minutes before kick-off. West Ham fans are trudging towards the London Stadium, and trudge is very much the word. A single voice pipes up above the shuffling: “IIIIIIIIIIIIRONS!” In happier times, that might have been a rallying cry. These are not happier times. Nobody joins in.
Dean, claret woolly hat protecting him from the cold December night, gives The Athletic a curious look when asked who’s more to blame for the team’s current plight: the owners or the manager. “The owners, mate. It’s the owners.” It’s a little like he’s been asked whether the reason a car isn’t moving is because of the engine being on fire or the radio not working.
To an extent, Nuno is protected because of the magnitude of hatred towards David Sullivan and the rest of the West Ham hierarchy. There were protests against the ownership in September, October and November, and you would think there will be more to come. The fans recognise that you could fuse together Alex Ferguson, Pep Guardiola and Carlo Ancelotti to form some sort of super manager, and they still wouldn’t get results unless things change upstairs.
Which is not to say people are happy with Nuno. Dean puffs his cheeks out when pressed on the manager. “It isn’t really his fault, but he picks some weird teams.” His friend Jason is of a similar mind. “I feel a bit sorry for him, but things aren’t getting better. Unless something big changes, we’re going down.”
An unscientific survey of other West Ham fans suggests they think Nuno is playing a bad hand badly. He’s working with a strange squad cobbled together to suit three previous contrasting managers, morale within the team seems to be at an all-time low, and in the stands it’s even worse.
And yet team selection is sometimes eccentric. He seems to be making tactical blunders, such as removing Wilson against Brighton, which meant West Ham had no attacking focal point for the final third of the game and thus invited pressure. There is a perception — almost certainly unfair — that he isn’t engaged in the job. Some doubt whether he should have even taken the job without the backroom staff he had at previous clubs.
Callum Wilson reacts to being substitutedPaul Harding/Getty Images
There remains some patience because of the situation above him and the fact that only David Moyes has really made any sense of West Ham in the past decade or so, but it feels like that is receding.
“Whatever he was going to do, it was going to take a while,” says another fan, Ben, “but now what we need is something quite urgent. And I’m just not sure that is going to happen.”
Nobody was expecting Nuno to turn West Ham into Champions League contenders. They might have expected a tighter defence, though: one of the reasons you appoint Nuno is to make things more solid, but he has been involved in one West Ham clean sheet this season, the problem being that he was Nottingham Forest manager at the time, with Graham Potter’s Hammers winning 3-0 at the City Ground back in September. In the 14 games he’s been in his current job, West Ham haven’t kept the opposition out once.
He doesn’t particularly have the tools he did at Forest. There, he had a settled, solid back four. Here, not so much. There, he had Morgan Gibbs-White to create from No 10. Here, he has that in theory, but Lucas Paqueta has been off the pace for months.
There, he had lightning-fast wingers for counter-attacks. Here, he has the inconsistent Crysencio Summerville and not many other sources of real pace. There, he had a goalscoring target man in Chris Wood. Here, he has to deal with the perennial West Ham No 9 curse, some ancient hoodoo that decrees no decent centre-forward will cross the threshold.
But if a manager’s job is to make the best of what’s available to him, Nuno isn’t doing that job. Things are bad, and there isn’t much to suggest they’re going to get better any time soon.
If the levels of blame can be plotted on a moving graph, like the sort that track opinion polls throughout an election campaign, the ‘blame Nuno’ line is getting closer to the ‘blame the owners’ line.
West Ham’s next two games are against two of Nuno’s former clubs, Wolves and Forest. More pertinent than who used to manage them is that they’re two of the other current bottom four. If results don’t come against them, the lines on that graph might come close to meeting.
Sport Witness
West Ham offer just €5m for 13-goal striker – Less than half reported bid
By Naveen Ullal
West Ham United are tempting Viktoria Plzeň’s Rafiu Durosinmi over a move in the winter market, according to Czech source iSport.
The striker has scored 13 goals from 30 matches in all competitions, and his displays have caught West Ham’s attention.
This was initially reported in the UK. It was stated that West Ham have sent an offer of £12m [€13.8m] to Viktoria Plzeň.
This is relayed by iSport, who then provide their own updates on the Hammers’ pursuit of the 22-year-old.
West Ham have indeed tabled a bid, and it has arrived at the Czech club. The fee proposed is ‘significantly lower’ than what was reported in the UK press.
West Ham offer far too low for Rafiu Durosinmi
It’s claimed Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have offered €5m for the frontman and this is said to be ‘unacceptable’ for Viktoria Plzeň. There’s no mention of their demand or the range that’s acceptable to them.
Durosinmi, for his part, is tempted to make a switch to the Premier League. According to iSport, ‘he has a promise’ from Viktoria Plzeň to sanction his sale to a top league as long as there’s a convincing offer.
The outlet believes Durosinmi isn’t an absolute priority for West Ham in January. He’s one of their targets and there are other names ahead of him. This suggests the Hammers are unlikely to increase their offer significantly.
2 sources state player is joining West Ham – Hammers ‘finalise signing’ requested by Nuno
By Naveen Ullal
West Ham United have identified Fulham’s Adama Traoré as a target to strengthen their attack.
The winger is in his final year of contract and would leave Fulham in the winter market, according to multiple claims from Spain.
Mundo Deportivo report Nuno Espírito Santo has specifically requested West Ham sign the Fulham player.
The 29-year-old played under Nuno’s orders at Wolverhampton Wanderers, managing 10 goals and 18 assists from 131 matches.
West Ham have made advances to please their manager and get a deal done. Mundo state the 29-year-old is set to join the Hammers and only the official announcement is pending. The newspaper further adds he will sign a contract until 2028.
AS also report the Spaniard is a specific request of Nuno for the upcoming window.
Hammers to complete permanent arrival
Their title reads: ‘West Ham finalise the signing of Adama Traoré’. Within the report, it’s explained he’s set to leave Fulham for the Hammers on a permanent transfer, and will get a contract until 2028.
West Ham will pay a fee to Marco Silva’s side to sign him ‘immediately’, but neither AS nor Mundo have mentioned the price.
Traoré has failed to score a goal and managed one assist from 16 matches for Fulham this season.
