Thursday News (includes West Ham)
Posted: 24 Oct 2024, 09:27
BBC
Manchester City are eyeing a move for Sporting and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 26, as a long-term replacement for Erling Haaland. (Sky Sport Switzerland, via Mirror)
Former Barcelona boss Xavi wants to take the Catalan club's 27-year-old Brazil winger Raphinha to Old Trafford if he replaces Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Manchester United's Brazilian winger Antony, 27, could be offered a route out of Old Trafford by his former club Ajax, but the Dutch giants are said to have some reservations about a deal. (De Telegraaf, via Mirror)
However, United are willing to let Antony leave on loan in January and have been contacted by multiple Premier League clubs about his availability. (Goal Brasil - in Portuguese)
Aston Villa are set to offer 20-year-old Polish goalkeeper Oliwier Zych a new contract amid reported interest from Arsenal and Brighton. (Football Insider)
Barcelona are tracking River Plate's 16-year-old Argentine attacker Felipe Esquivel. (Sport - in Spanish)
Real Madrid are planning to offer Liverpool and England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold a contract in the range of £14m-15m per year until the 2029-30 season. The 26-year-old is out of contract at Anfield next summer. (Caught Offside)
Barcelona and Arsenal are both firmly interested in 20-year-old Colombia and Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran, and the Gunners could be better placed to sign him. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Newcastle are willing to listen to offers for 25-year-old English midfielder Joe Willock in January. (Ekrem Konur)
Pep Guardiola has asked Manchester City to pursue RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, 21, with the City boss keen to bring in the Frenchman next summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Real Madrid are also eyeing a move for Lukeba, who has also attracted interest from Liverpool and Manchester United, with the French defender understood to have a £75m release clause in his new contract. (Relevo - in Spanish)
England midfielder Jordan Henderson, 34, is set to see out the season with Ajax even though he has not yet found a home in Amsterdam and is keen on a move to former club Sunderland. (Algemeen Dagblad - in Dutch)
Manchester United are targeting a trio of young players including River Plate's 17-year-old Argentine midfielder Franco Mastantuono. (Football Transfers)
Brighton are set to battle Eintracht Frankfurt for Red Star Belgrade attacking midfielder Andrija Maksimovic, with the 17-year-old Serbia international reluctant to move to Liverpool or Manchester City so soon in his career. (Christian Falk)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Bukayo Saka is hoping to be fit to face Liverpool in Sunday's title showdown. The Arsenal winger is battling to be ready for this weekend as he hopes to return to full training which would give Arsenal a major boost amid the club's current injury crisis.
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard has swapped keeping clean sheets for bank sheets. Lindegaard has revealed he has taken up a position with global investment bank UBS.
Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein and the Glazers are among the prospective bidders who are eyeing up one of the eight teams in the Hundred.
Enzo Maresca admits it's "a shame" that Chelsea academy product Josh Acheampong has been frozen out due to a contract dispute.
Former Brighton manager Graham Potter - who held talks with Crystal Palace earlier this year about replacing Roy Hodgson - David Moyes and Gareth Southgate could be targets if Oliver Glasner is sacked.
The government is preparing to give the independent regulator powers to prevent Premier League clubs from selling their stadiums to related or third-party companies.
Jason Gillespie, Pakistan's red-ball coach, has described his role as "matchday strategist", acknowledging his reduced remit since a reorganisation one game into the series against England stripped him of his influence over team selection.
THE INDEPENDENT
Azerbaijan wants to host the 2027 Champions League final after it was stripped from Milan's San Siro.
Premier League club executives are seeking more answers from England's top division after leaked WhatsApp messages suggest that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman controlled the October 2021 takeover of Newcastle United, which would directly contradict the so-called "legally binding assurances" that there is separation between the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi state.
THE SUN
Panathinaikos want to land a winners' medal for George Baldock as they prepare for their first home game since his shock death. Manager Diego Alonso admitted the club and squad will play Chelsea on Thursday, still in a state of mourning, but teammate Facundo Pellistri says they are determined to win silverware as he watches "from the skies".
Shakhtar Donetsk general director Sergiy Palkin has slammed Chelsea for not knowing how to use "Ferrari" Mykhailo Mudryk.
Old pals Frankie Dettori and John Gosden are set for a shock reunion at the Breeders' Cup.
Manchester United have suffered a blow as Mason Mount has had another injury setback.
Chelsea have enquired about Getafe sensation Christantus Uche ahead of the January transfer window, reports suggest.
DAILY MAIL
Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing two Napoli stars - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Alessandro Buongiorno - after sending their scouts to watch the Serie A side in action.
Joao Felix feels it's only a 'matter of time' until he is starring for Chelsea, even though he is competing with Cole Palmer for the No 10 position in the Premier League.
Christian Eriksen has cast doubt on his Manchester United future, conceding he will have no control on whether he stays at Old Trafford beyond this season.
Graham Potter has branded Thomas Tuchel a 'great appointment' as Three Lions head coach, while remaining coy on whether he was interviewed for the role.
Real Madrid will take on La Liga rivals Barcelona without Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo on Saturday night after being handed a double injury setback.
THE ATHLETIC
Pep Guardiola says Jack Grealish is set to be sidelined for at least a week while Manchester City will be without Jeremy Doku for "a little bit longer".
Novak Djokovic will not defend his title at the Paris Masters 1000, which begins on October 28 in the French capital.
THE TIMES
Henry Slade will leave the England camp to play for Exeter Chiefs this Sunday, in an attempt to prove his fitness to face the All Blacks the following weekend.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Danny Care, the Harlequins scrum-half, has claimed he witnessed players coming back on to the field in the Gallagher Premiership this season "when they maybe shouldn't" following big hits and collisions.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will train hundreds of secondary school teachers to coach cricket as part of a £3.5m investment designed to arrest the decline of the game in the state sector.
DAILY RECORD
Philippe Clement has received an injury boost with Ridvan Yilmaz returning to Rangers training.
The Athletic
This is Crysencio Summerville’s chance to shine. Can he make an impact for West Ham?
By Roshane Thomas
When transfer interest in Crysencio Summerville intensified this summer, he and his loved ones wrote down the pros and cons of each club he could join.
Chelsea and Liverpool were among those who enquired about the 22-year-old Dutchman, but securing playing time was important for Summerville and neither were viewed favourably due to the number of wingers they had in their squads.
West Ham United’s sales pitch made the difference.
Their new head coach Julen Lopetegui assured Summerville, who eventually signed from Leeds United for £25million ($32m), of game time. John Heitinga, West Ham’s former assistant first-team coach, also helped convince him to join the east Londoners and, as mentioned previously, technical director Tim Steidten challenged him to become a success, like the club’s 2023 summer signings Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus have done.
Kudus received a red card for violent conduct in the 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and will receive a minimum three-match suspension, missing upcoming games against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton. Although West Ham will be without a key player in those fixtures, his ban provides an opportunity for Summerville to show why he should be starting more often.
Lopetegui has slowly integrated him into the XI, with his sole league start coming in the 3-0 home loss against Chelsea a month ago. One of nine summer arrivals following Lopetegui’s appointment as David Moyes’ successor, he has shown glimpses of his talent as a substitute and was unlucky not to score while impressing in the Carabao Cup win against Bournemouth. He has mainly operated on the left, but Lopetegui has favoured starting Kudus in that position, with Lucas Paqueta in the No 10 role, captain Jarrod Bowen on the right and Michail Antonio as the lone striker.
Kudus retains the ball efficiently and brings pace, strength and flair to the side, which is why he also had suitors in the summer, although that interest did not lead to formal offers. The 24-year-old Ghana international had been one of West Ham’s bright sparks before his dismissal against Tottenham, and his looming absence gives Summerville the chance to act on Steidten’s challenge when he is unleashed by Lopetegui.
The Spaniard’s side lack a recognisable playing style and an identity two months into his debut season, but his response to the Spurs defeat and their slow start to 2024-25 overall was to assure West Ham fans that better moments are ahead.
Maybe those moments will come from the integration of Summerville. When Lopetegui met the winger in the summer, the pair discussed the possibility of West Ham competing in Europe again, following their Conference League final win under Moyes in 2022-23. It was another contributing factor in Summerville’s decision to join and something he referenced in his first interview with the club’s in-house media.
“I spoke to the head coach, and he convinced me that I could make an impact, and help achieve success in the new season,” Summerville told West Ham’s website. “I think I’m here to help write more history, and I’d love to help West Ham get back into Europe.”
With eight points from as many matches, West Ham’s chances of securing European football for next season appear fanciful right now. The more realistic goal is Summerville helping fellow attackers Bowen and Antonio find consistency. The pair’s best performance of the season came in the 4-1 win against Ipswich, but they have only fleetingly impressed otherwise.
Lopetegui is yet to implement a system in which they can both thrive, but Summerville has abundant qualities that could help to solve these issues.
His chance to show why he had been on West Ham’s radar since last summer starts this weekend, with the home game against Manchester United.
Summerville showed last season he can be a team’s provider, with 10 assists for Leeds as they got to the Championship play-off final before losing to Southampton. In total, he made 89 appearances and scored 25 goals for them in all competitions, having joined from Feyenoord in his homeland for £1.3million ($1.7m at the current exchange rate) in summer 2020. After 19 goals in 43 league appearances in 2023-24, he was voted Championship Player of the Year by his fellow members of the Professional Footballers’ Association. He can dribble past opponents, lure defenders to make fouls and initiate attacks.
In these next three games, Summerville will be viewed as the first-choice attacking option on the left. Fellow winger Luis Guilherme was signed from Brazilian side Palmeiras in the summer, but at just 18 years of age, he is not seen as being at the required level to make an immediate impact in the Premier League.
Lopetegui spoke about Summerville last month before the 1-1 draw with Fulham, in which the winger played the second half, and challenged him to take his chances when they come: “He has had minutes and he will have more minutes. We are happy with him and he’s working really hard. He’ll give us good moments but he has to be ready. We have a long season ahead, a marathon, and he’ll be involved in a lot of our matches.”
That chance has arrived.
Motivation comes easy for Summerville, who aspires to earn a senior call-up for the Netherlands this season after amassing 37 caps from under-16s level through to their under-21s.
He will not have been content with waiting on the sidelines. Now he has the chance to show why West Ham’s attack will be far richer with him in it.
(Top photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)
Manchester City are eyeing a move for Sporting and Sweden striker Viktor Gyokeres, 26, as a long-term replacement for Erling Haaland. (Sky Sport Switzerland, via Mirror)
Former Barcelona boss Xavi wants to take the Catalan club's 27-year-old Brazil winger Raphinha to Old Trafford if he replaces Erik ten Hag as Manchester United manager. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Manchester United's Brazilian winger Antony, 27, could be offered a route out of Old Trafford by his former club Ajax, but the Dutch giants are said to have some reservations about a deal. (De Telegraaf, via Mirror)
However, United are willing to let Antony leave on loan in January and have been contacted by multiple Premier League clubs about his availability. (Goal Brasil - in Portuguese)
Aston Villa are set to offer 20-year-old Polish goalkeeper Oliwier Zych a new contract amid reported interest from Arsenal and Brighton. (Football Insider)
Barcelona are tracking River Plate's 16-year-old Argentine attacker Felipe Esquivel. (Sport - in Spanish)
Real Madrid are planning to offer Liverpool and England right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold a contract in the range of £14m-15m per year until the 2029-30 season. The 26-year-old is out of contract at Anfield next summer. (Caught Offside)
Barcelona and Arsenal are both firmly interested in 20-year-old Colombia and Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran, and the Gunners could be better placed to sign him. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Newcastle are willing to listen to offers for 25-year-old English midfielder Joe Willock in January. (Ekrem Konur)
Pep Guardiola has asked Manchester City to pursue RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba, 21, with the City boss keen to bring in the Frenchman next summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Real Madrid are also eyeing a move for Lukeba, who has also attracted interest from Liverpool and Manchester United, with the French defender understood to have a £75m release clause in his new contract. (Relevo - in Spanish)
England midfielder Jordan Henderson, 34, is set to see out the season with Ajax even though he has not yet found a home in Amsterdam and is keen on a move to former club Sunderland. (Algemeen Dagblad - in Dutch)
Manchester United are targeting a trio of young players including River Plate's 17-year-old Argentine midfielder Franco Mastantuono. (Football Transfers)
Brighton are set to battle Eintracht Frankfurt for Red Star Belgrade attacking midfielder Andrija Maksimovic, with the 17-year-old Serbia international reluctant to move to Liverpool or Manchester City so soon in his career. (Christian Falk)
Sky Paper Talk
DAILY MIRROR
Bukayo Saka is hoping to be fit to face Liverpool in Sunday's title showdown. The Arsenal winger is battling to be ready for this weekend as he hopes to return to full training which would give Arsenal a major boost amid the club's current injury crisis.
Ex-Manchester United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard has swapped keeping clean sheets for bank sheets. Lindegaard has revealed he has taken up a position with global investment bank UBS.
Chelsea director Jonathan Goldstein and the Glazers are among the prospective bidders who are eyeing up one of the eight teams in the Hundred.
Enzo Maresca admits it's "a shame" that Chelsea academy product Josh Acheampong has been frozen out due to a contract dispute.
Former Brighton manager Graham Potter - who held talks with Crystal Palace earlier this year about replacing Roy Hodgson - David Moyes and Gareth Southgate could be targets if Oliver Glasner is sacked.
The government is preparing to give the independent regulator powers to prevent Premier League clubs from selling their stadiums to related or third-party companies.
Jason Gillespie, Pakistan's red-ball coach, has described his role as "matchday strategist", acknowledging his reduced remit since a reorganisation one game into the series against England stripped him of his influence over team selection.
THE INDEPENDENT
Azerbaijan wants to host the 2027 Champions League final after it was stripped from Milan's San Siro.
Premier League club executives are seeking more answers from England's top division after leaked WhatsApp messages suggest that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman controlled the October 2021 takeover of Newcastle United, which would directly contradict the so-called "legally binding assurances" that there is separation between the Public Investment Fund and the Saudi state.
THE SUN
Panathinaikos want to land a winners' medal for George Baldock as they prepare for their first home game since his shock death. Manager Diego Alonso admitted the club and squad will play Chelsea on Thursday, still in a state of mourning, but teammate Facundo Pellistri says they are determined to win silverware as he watches "from the skies".
Shakhtar Donetsk general director Sergiy Palkin has slammed Chelsea for not knowing how to use "Ferrari" Mykhailo Mudryk.
Old pals Frankie Dettori and John Gosden are set for a shock reunion at the Breeders' Cup.
Manchester United have suffered a blow as Mason Mount has had another injury setback.
Chelsea have enquired about Getafe sensation Christantus Uche ahead of the January transfer window, reports suggest.
DAILY MAIL
Manchester United are reportedly interested in signing two Napoli stars - Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Alessandro Buongiorno - after sending their scouts to watch the Serie A side in action.
Joao Felix feels it's only a 'matter of time' until he is starring for Chelsea, even though he is competing with Cole Palmer for the No 10 position in the Premier League.
Christian Eriksen has cast doubt on his Manchester United future, conceding he will have no control on whether he stays at Old Trafford beyond this season.
Graham Potter has branded Thomas Tuchel a 'great appointment' as Three Lions head coach, while remaining coy on whether he was interviewed for the role.
Real Madrid will take on La Liga rivals Barcelona without Thibaut Courtois and Rodrygo on Saturday night after being handed a double injury setback.
THE ATHLETIC
Pep Guardiola says Jack Grealish is set to be sidelined for at least a week while Manchester City will be without Jeremy Doku for "a little bit longer".
Novak Djokovic will not defend his title at the Paris Masters 1000, which begins on October 28 in the French capital.
THE TIMES
Henry Slade will leave the England camp to play for Exeter Chiefs this Sunday, in an attempt to prove his fitness to face the All Blacks the following weekend.
DAILY TELEGRAPH
Danny Care, the Harlequins scrum-half, has claimed he witnessed players coming back on to the field in the Gallagher Premiership this season "when they maybe shouldn't" following big hits and collisions.
The England and Wales Cricket Board will train hundreds of secondary school teachers to coach cricket as part of a £3.5m investment designed to arrest the decline of the game in the state sector.
DAILY RECORD
Philippe Clement has received an injury boost with Ridvan Yilmaz returning to Rangers training.
The Athletic
This is Crysencio Summerville’s chance to shine. Can he make an impact for West Ham?
By Roshane Thomas
When transfer interest in Crysencio Summerville intensified this summer, he and his loved ones wrote down the pros and cons of each club he could join.
Chelsea and Liverpool were among those who enquired about the 22-year-old Dutchman, but securing playing time was important for Summerville and neither were viewed favourably due to the number of wingers they had in their squads.
West Ham United’s sales pitch made the difference.
Their new head coach Julen Lopetegui assured Summerville, who eventually signed from Leeds United for £25million ($32m), of game time. John Heitinga, West Ham’s former assistant first-team coach, also helped convince him to join the east Londoners and, as mentioned previously, technical director Tim Steidten challenged him to become a success, like the club’s 2023 summer signings Edson Alvarez and Mohammed Kudus have done.
Kudus received a red card for violent conduct in the 4-1 loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday and will receive a minimum three-match suspension, missing upcoming games against Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and Everton. Although West Ham will be without a key player in those fixtures, his ban provides an opportunity for Summerville to show why he should be starting more often.
Lopetegui has slowly integrated him into the XI, with his sole league start coming in the 3-0 home loss against Chelsea a month ago. One of nine summer arrivals following Lopetegui’s appointment as David Moyes’ successor, he has shown glimpses of his talent as a substitute and was unlucky not to score while impressing in the Carabao Cup win against Bournemouth. He has mainly operated on the left, but Lopetegui has favoured starting Kudus in that position, with Lucas Paqueta in the No 10 role, captain Jarrod Bowen on the right and Michail Antonio as the lone striker.
Kudus retains the ball efficiently and brings pace, strength and flair to the side, which is why he also had suitors in the summer, although that interest did not lead to formal offers. The 24-year-old Ghana international had been one of West Ham’s bright sparks before his dismissal against Tottenham, and his looming absence gives Summerville the chance to act on Steidten’s challenge when he is unleashed by Lopetegui.
The Spaniard’s side lack a recognisable playing style and an identity two months into his debut season, but his response to the Spurs defeat and their slow start to 2024-25 overall was to assure West Ham fans that better moments are ahead.
Maybe those moments will come from the integration of Summerville. When Lopetegui met the winger in the summer, the pair discussed the possibility of West Ham competing in Europe again, following their Conference League final win under Moyes in 2022-23. It was another contributing factor in Summerville’s decision to join and something he referenced in his first interview with the club’s in-house media.
“I spoke to the head coach, and he convinced me that I could make an impact, and help achieve success in the new season,” Summerville told West Ham’s website. “I think I’m here to help write more history, and I’d love to help West Ham get back into Europe.”
With eight points from as many matches, West Ham’s chances of securing European football for next season appear fanciful right now. The more realistic goal is Summerville helping fellow attackers Bowen and Antonio find consistency. The pair’s best performance of the season came in the 4-1 win against Ipswich, but they have only fleetingly impressed otherwise.
Lopetegui is yet to implement a system in which they can both thrive, but Summerville has abundant qualities that could help to solve these issues.
His chance to show why he had been on West Ham’s radar since last summer starts this weekend, with the home game against Manchester United.
Summerville showed last season he can be a team’s provider, with 10 assists for Leeds as they got to the Championship play-off final before losing to Southampton. In total, he made 89 appearances and scored 25 goals for them in all competitions, having joined from Feyenoord in his homeland for £1.3million ($1.7m at the current exchange rate) in summer 2020. After 19 goals in 43 league appearances in 2023-24, he was voted Championship Player of the Year by his fellow members of the Professional Footballers’ Association. He can dribble past opponents, lure defenders to make fouls and initiate attacks.
In these next three games, Summerville will be viewed as the first-choice attacking option on the left. Fellow winger Luis Guilherme was signed from Brazilian side Palmeiras in the summer, but at just 18 years of age, he is not seen as being at the required level to make an immediate impact in the Premier League.
Lopetegui spoke about Summerville last month before the 1-1 draw with Fulham, in which the winger played the second half, and challenged him to take his chances when they come: “He has had minutes and he will have more minutes. We are happy with him and he’s working really hard. He’ll give us good moments but he has to be ready. We have a long season ahead, a marathon, and he’ll be involved in a lot of our matches.”
That chance has arrived.
Motivation comes easy for Summerville, who aspires to earn a senior call-up for the Netherlands this season after amassing 37 caps from under-16s level through to their under-21s.
He will not have been content with waiting on the sidelines. Now he has the chance to show why West Ham’s attack will be far richer with him in it.
(Top photo: Zac Goodwin/PA Images via Getty Images)