Thursday newspapers (includes West Ham)

[Alan]

"BBC Uruguay and Gremio forward Luis Suarez, 36, is set to join Inter Miami in 2024 and reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba. (El Pais - in Spanish) Chelsea and Arsenal are both interested in signing Ivan Toney after Brentford confirmed they would sell the 27-year-old England forward for the right price. (Express) The Bees value Toney at ¬£100m but intend to keep him until the end of the season. (Sky Sports) Manchester United are continuing to send scouts to watch 24-year-old Portugal keeper Diogo Costa, who they were linked with before signing Cameroon international Andre Onana. But he will only leave Porto if United pay his 75m euros (¬£65m) release clause. (A Bola - in Portuguese) Real Madrid have identified Canadian international Alphonso Davies, 22, as a key target and are confident of agreeing a deal with his current club Bayern Munich to bring him to La Liga next summer. (Relevo - in Spanish) Real Madrid will compete with Liverpool and Manchester United for Sporting Lisbon and Portugal centre-back Goncalo Inacio, 22. (AS - in Spanish) Newcastle United are interested in 21-year-old Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga, who joined Saudi Arabian club Al-Ahli from Celta Vigo in the summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish) Arsenal are lining up a move for Slovenia forward Benjamin Sesko, 20, who rejected Manchester United last summer and instead joined RB Leipzig. (Mirror) Inter Milan sporting director Piero Ausilio has accused Belgium forward Romelu Lukaku of lacking ""respect"" by opening talks with Juventus while negotiations between Chelsea and Inter were ongoing with the 30-year-old eventually joining Roma on loan. (Mail) Everton are already keen to sign on-loan Leeds United winger Jack Harrison, 26, in a permanent deal. (Teamtalk) Manchester United are interested in Galatasaray and France right-back Sacha Boey, 23, with Arsenal, Brighton and Burnley also interested. (Mail) Former Brighton boss Graham Potter could become the next Sweden manager after reports suggested Manchester United were interested in him replacing Erik ten Hag. (Mirror) Real Madrid have 'no intention' of allowing France midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni to leave the club amid interest from Arsenal and Liverpool in the 23-year-old. (90min) Manchester City and Belgium midfielder Kevin de Bruyne, 32, says he will have a ""major scan"" on his hamstring injury next week which will show how his recovery is progressing. (VTM, via Mail) Sky Paper Talk Daily Mail: Shameful night at Old Trafford as Erik ten Hag's sinking vessel hits a new low...the problem for Manchester United at the moment is that there is always another game. When it arrives, Ten Hag's team inevitably tend to get worse. The Sun: Halloween be over but the Manchester United horror show continues unabated. The problem is when this lot walk on to grass and are asked to kick an object that looks to be alien to them. Manchester Evening News: It's the first week of November, and it already feels like the season could be over for United. It's a tale of short-term struggles as well as long-term neglect. Daily Mirror: Newcastle's 7,000-strong support taunted Ten Hag with chants of ""Sacked in the morning"" and, while that might be premature, if he cannot halt this slide, he will soon be on his way. Ten Hag told his players before the game not to feel sorry for themselves and but this sulking display epitomised everything that is wrong with the club and why it is in freefall. Daily Telegraph: Whatever the troubles at United, wherever the blame undoubtedly lies in the ownership and executive, the manager is usually the first to carry the can. And this limp, pathetic exit from the Carabao Cup at the hands of a vibrant Newcastle was a terrible indictment of Ten Hag, of the players, of the club. Of the Damned United. The Times: This shambles of a performance was the type that gets managers the sack. This was a surrender, a shameful signal that players do not care enough either for the shirt or for the manager. Manchester United fans did not turn on Erik ten Hag but he desperately needs his players to turn up for him quickly. The Guardian: Ten Hag has to get back to the drawing board - and successfully. If not, his position may be under threat, as underlined by the thousands of seats vacated before the end. DAILY MIRROR Graham Potter is in the mix to become Sweden's new national team manager - less than a fortnight after he was touted as becoming Erik ten Hag's replacement at Manchester United. Arsenal are lining up a move for former Manchester United target Benjamin Sesko. Lionel Messi's latest Ballon d'Or triumph has been called ""disgraceful"" by Paris Saint-Germain legend Jerome Rothen. David Beckham has accepted an invitation for dinner with King Charles - potentially clearing the way for him to finally receive a knighthood. An Essex Sunday league side claim to have become the first team in the world to issue Tree planting fines to players in a bid to maintain discipline and help fight climate change. THE SUN Sheikh Jassim could reportedly purchase a stake in West Ham after co-owner Vanessa Gold announced she is placing some shares up for sale. Sniffer dogs have been brought in by Colombian police as they close in on the location of Liverpool star Luis Diaz's kidnapped dad. Brazilian football has been plunged into mourning after striker Felipe Diogo was killed in a street shoot-out. Mauricio Pochettino admits Chelsea have made mistakes after spending ¬£1bn on players. Burglars reportedly broke into Chris Smalling's home and tried to steal a safe. Gabriel Jesus' camp are targeting an Arsenal return to fitness for the beginning of December. DAILY MAIL Neil Warnock has claimed Erik ten Hag will not last at Man Utd and his expensive summer signings would not have started for Huddersfield when he managed them. Former Manchester City and Sheffield United defender Kean Bryan has announced his shock retirement at the age of 27. Lyon manager Fabio Grosso has broken his silence to thank fans for their support after he was left bleeding by an attack on his side's team bus in Marseille on Sunday. DAILY TELEGRAPH The Chair of the MCC, Bruce Carnegie-Brown has opened up on the Long Room incident during the Ashes, saying that he was left ""shocked"". THE TIMES Maheta Molango's annual salary as the chief executive of the Professional Footballers' Association has risen by a staggering 30 per cent, with the union linking the increase - to ¬£650,000 - to the cost of living crisis. The Warner Stand at Lord's may be renamed because of Sir Pelham Warner's historic links to slavery, with MCC keeping the matter ""under review"". THE GUARDIAN The Olympic men's tennis champion, Alexander Zverev, has been issued a penalty order for bodily harm against his ex-girlfriend and fines totalling ‚Ǩ450,000 (¬£392,000) by a court in Germany. SCOTTISH SUN American billionaire and Premier League Bournemouth owner Bill Foley has opened talks with Hibernian with a view to potential stunning investment. Guardian West Ham floor feeble Arsenal to complete rough return for Declan Rice Jacob Steinberg at the London Stadium Arsenal's Ben White glances a corner past goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale to gift West Ham the lead. Photograph: Paul Childs/Action Images/Reuters This was a defeat that underlined Declan Rice‚Äôs importance to Arsenal. Mikel Arteta decided to look at some of his squad players and ended up accusing them of forgetting about the simple things against highly motivated opponents. It must have been jarring for Jorginho, Reiss Nelson, Jakub Kiwior, F?°bio Vieira, Leandro Trossard and Kai Havertz to hear Arteta talking about Arsenal failing to compete as West Ham, who swept into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals thanks to some thrilling attacking from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus, capitalised on Rice spending the majority of his first return to the London Stadium on the bench. There was little structure in midfield with Jorginho playing as the anchor instead of the ¬£105m man. Arsenal were too meek and could have few complaints, even though Arteta felt that West Ham‚Äôs opener should not have stood. David Moyes, who claimed his first win over Arsenal as West Ham‚Äôs manager, could reflect on a job well done. Edson ?Ålvarez, one of the players brought in to replace Rice, dominated midfield. Bowen starred up front and Kudus scored another magnificent goal. Konstantinos Mavropanos caught the eye against his old side, showing strength and authority next to Nayef Aguerd in central defence. ‚ÄúMaybe we‚Äôre becoming quite a good cup team,‚Äù said Moyes, whose side go to Liverpool in the quarter-finals. ‚ÄúI want to be a good league team if we can be. We‚Äôve only won a game against Arsenal. You don‚Äôt get any trophies for winning against Arsenal tonight. The draws in the cups are always hugely important.‚Äù While Moyes was a little muted, surprisingly so after West Ham‚Äôs most emphatic win over Arsenal since 1987, Arteta let his displeasure out. ‚ÄúWe have to use the pain on Saturday,‚Äù the Spaniard said, his thoughts already turning to the challenge of visiting Newcastle in the Premier League this weekend. Changes are inevitable. Rice, William Saliba, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin ?òdegaard and Bukayo Saka will return and Oleksandr Zinchenko can expect to make way for Takehiro Tomiyasu after struggling at left-back, particularly when he lost Kudus for West Ham‚Äôs second goal early in the second half. It was a mess. Zinchenko may be good on the ball but opposing wingers know he can be exposed and Arsenal suffered before Arteta withdrew the Ukrainian in the 57th minute. They had created little, with Havertz disappointing again, and one of the stories was a jittery display from Aaron Ramsdale. Given a chance to show he should be starting instead of David Raya, the Arsenal goalkeeper would not cover himself in glory when West Ham went ahead through Ben White‚Äôs own goal. The game immediately fell into a predictable pattern, as West Ham got numbers behind the ball and soaked up pressure. It was the usual formula from Moyes against superior opponents and Arsenal, who made six changes after thrashing Sheffield United, lacked their usual zip. Havertz tested Lukasz Fabianski with a glancing header in the eighth minute but there was little to concern West Ham as they waited for opportunities to counterattack. It did not matter that West Ham only managed three touches in the Arsenal box before half-time. They struck in the 16th minute, Bowen‚Äôs corner from the right causing the damage. Tomas Soucek pinned Ramsdale, who argued he was impeded by the midfielder pulling his shirt, and nobody else took charge. The ball flicked off White‚Äôs head and Ramsdale‚Äôs belated attempt at a flying punch did not look clever. Former West Ham captain Declan Rice looks on as Arsenal fall to defeat at the London Stadium. Photograph: Shaun Brooks/Action Plus/Shutterstock Arsenal‚Äôs response was muted. Eddie Nketiah headed wide from a corner but West Ham were growing in confidence. They went close at the start of the second half, Lucas Paquet?° releasing Bowen, Ramsdale denying the forward with a smart save. West Ham were warming to the task. They sensed that Arsenal were vulnerable under the high ball and they struck again when Aguerd sent a long diagonal over Zinchenko in the 50th minute. The left-back completely misjudged the flight of the ball and was stranded when it fell to Kudus. From there it was all about the Ghanaian‚Äôs technique. He killed the ball with a first touch that allowed him to swerve inside and his second was even better: an angled, left-footed shot that zipped beyond Ramsdale and into the far corner. Kudus took a wonderful touch to set himself before squeezing his shot through On came Rice, greeted by a curious mix of boos and cheers, but West Ham were rampant. There was no resistance from Arsenal when Vladimir Coufal attacked from right-back after an hour. Coufal crossed, White‚Äôs clearance was poor and Bowen‚Äôs shot flew past Ramsdale via a deflection off Kiwior. Arteta responded by introducing Martinelli, ?òdegaard and Saka. But with Havertz producing another ineffective performance, there was no way back for Arsenal. ?òdegaard‚Äôs late consolation meant nothing. MATCH FACTS AND RATINGS (Mail) WEST HAM (4-2-3-1): Fabianski 6.5; Coufal 6.5, Mavropanos 6.5, Aguerd 7, Emerson 6.5; Soucek 6.5, Alvarez 8; Kudus 8.5 (Kehrer 89), Benrahma 6.5 (Ward Prowse 81), Lucas Paqueta 8; Bowen 7. Scorers: White (own goal) 16, Kudus 50, Bowen 60. Booked: None Manager: David Moyes 6.5. ARSENAL (4-3-3): Ramsdale 6; White 5, Kiwior 5.5, Gabriel 6, Zinchenko 5.5 (Tomiyasu 57, 6); Vieira 5.5, Jorginho 5.5 (Rice 57, X), Havertz 7; Nelson 6.5 (Saka 66, 6), Nketiah 5.5 (Odegaard 80), Trossard 6 (Martinelli 66, 6). Scorers: Odegaard 90+6. Booked: None Manager: Mikel Arteta 5. Referee: Simon Hooper 6. The Athletic West Ham have perfected the art of winning without the ball By Thom Harris Only for David Moyes could a game against one of the best teams in the country feel like blessed relief. A 3-1 victory over Arsenal on Wednesday night drew an emphatic line under ‚Äúa bad week‚Äù for West Ham United, snapping a streak of three consecutive defeats to set up a quarter-final clash with Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. With so much scrutiny on his team‚Äôs blunt build-up play last weekend, as they struggled to break down a deep Everton block, the opportunity to cede the initiative and bide their time on Wednesday allowed the Scotsman to coach what he coaches best; an efficient, counter-attacking win. Premier League teams have emerged victorious with less than 30 per cent possession on just six occasions in 2023. West Ham, with wins over Brighton (22.3 per cent), Chelsea (25.1 per cent) and now Arsenal (28.1 per cent), have managed it three times in all competitions this year. The latest was another that stemmed from the opposition‚Äôs willingness to press, opening up spaces in the midfield that simply were not there against Sean Dyche‚Äôs side, to be exploited by a midfield packed with athleticism and power. With James Ward-Prowse dropping to the bench, Tomas Soucek joined Edson Alvarez and the relentless Lucas Paqueta in the centre, crunching into tackles and challenging for every second ball. Against a slighter duo of Jorginho and Fabio Vieira, the hosts asserted their authority without having much control. Unlike at the weekend, precision passing was less important to break through. Physicality, commitment and anticipation continually did the trick. Below, for example, as Nayef Aguerd receives the ball from his holding midfielder, five Arsenal players are positioned in the attacking third, tempted forward by West Ham‚Äôs deep possession of the ball. Even with time to pick a shorter pass, the Moroccan wastes no time in sending a lofted ball straight through to Jakub Kiwior, who can only clear into space‚Ķ ‚Ķbefore Paqueta races past Jorginho and latches onto the loose ball, driving forward and almost slipping Jarrod Bowen through on goal. From one hopeful pass, they spring into a four on four, and the kind of opportunity on the transition that West Ham have not been able to forge so easily in more recent, deadlocked games. The standout distributor against Everton, Aguerd was again a key route forward for the home side, although this time with much more direct passing from the back. In both games, the centre-back completed the most passes of any West Ham player ‚Äî 71 on Saturday, but just 35 in midweek ‚Äî seeing his average pass length increase by almost 9 metres, and his completion rate drop by eight per cent. As his pass map shows, most long balls down the flank were misplaced, while only one sweeping diagonal found its intended target. That was Mohamed Kudus for the second goal. Aguerd‚Äôs approach mirrored that of the entire team ‚Äî no game has seen West Ham go long with a higher percentage of their passes this season (21.5 per cent), while only 24 were completed in the attacking third, their lowest tally of the campaign. It might not be pretty, but a combination of unfaltering commitment, defensive grit and a sprinkling of superstar quality in those attacking duels makes keeps the energy coursing through the stadium and the adrenaline pumping on the pitch. Key moments, from Kudus‚Äôs herculean strength‚Ķ ‚Ķto his game-changing touch‚Ķ ‚Ķfrom Paqueta‚Äôs riotous shoulder-charge‚Ķ ‚Ķto his most audacious piece of skill‚Ķ ‚Ķit was another display of back-to-basics football, inspired by luxury footballers. While such a big, fun cup win has undoubtedly lifted spirits, there is still an elephant in the room. West Ham won‚Äôt always have those spaces to attack, especially against sides who will sit off, and encourage them to have the ball. This weekend‚Äôs trip to Brentford will be as good a test as any ‚Äî a team who they are yet to beat in the Premier League after four times of asking, and who enjoy soaking up pressure and hitting on the break as much as themselves. What‚Äôs more, with Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta suspended, there will need to be major adjustments in the midfield, with Ward-Prowse surely making his way back into the side. ‚ÄúMaybe we are becoming quite a good cup team,‚Äù said Moyes after the game, ‚ÄúI want to be a really good league team.‚Äù West Ham can win with chaos, but with Brentford, Nottingham Forest, Burnley and Crystal Palace to come, the team that Moyes wants to be will require some control. 90 Min Santos ready to sell Premier League target in January A host of English clubs are following Marcos Leonardo Santos are ready to ask around ¬£20m for their striker Domestic rivals Flamengo also considering making an offer By Graeme Bailey Santos are preparing to sell striker Marcos Leonardo, an emerging talent catching the eye of several top Premier League clubs, in the January transfer window, 90min understands. 90min previously revealed during the summer that Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur had all watched Leonardo at the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. There was also further interest over the summer. West Ham United and Nottingham Forest both held talks but deals were not close to being finalised at that time. A number of clubs have continued to keep a watching brief on the 20-year-old, who has enjoyed a good season with Santos. Most recently, 90min understands that Newcastle, West Ham, Fulham and Brentford have been keeping close tabs on him as they each consider a potential bid in January. Newcastle are weighing up bringing in a striker this winter given the recent injury to Alexander Isak, as well as long-term worries over Callum Wilson. However, they have financial fair play concerns so a deal for a South American-based player makes sense given the lower cost of a potential transfer. Santos are believed to looking for around ¬£20m for Leonardo and do expect him to leave in the upcoming transfer window. A move to Europe is the most likely, but 90min also understands that domestic rivals Flamengo have an interest too. They could be losing main striker Pedro whilst the future of Gabriel Barbosa is far from certain either. Leonardo is someone of interest to them. Serie A side Roma, who showed interest in Leonardo last summer, also remain keen on the player, along with Portuguese giants Porto and Sporting CP."

[Heavi995]

Cheers Alan

[Thanks Alan]

Thanks Alan