Saturday News (includes West Ham)

[Mickey Rat]

Thanks Alan, Stupidly I thought you could have a break at the end of the season, but with all the transfer nonsense you're probably busier than ever 
 

[wingdamage]

Thanks Alan

[With Kind Regards]

Thanks Alan.

[Texas Iron]

Cheers…

[Mex Martillo]

Thanks Alan

[Alan]

BBC

Newcastle United have made a move to try to sign 23-year-old Sweden winger Anthony Elanga from Nottingham Forest. (Mail), external

Liverpool have submitted a fresh bid of £100m plus £13m in add-ons for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz, but the Bundesliga club are holding out for more for the 22-year-old Germany international. (Mail), external

Arsenal have formally approached RB Leipzig to sign 22-year-old Slovenia striker Benjamin Sesko, although no bid has yet been lodged. (Sky Sports), external

Manchester United have made an offer worth £60m for Brentford and Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, 25, after they had a first bid totalling £55m rejected. (ESPN), external

Inter Milan have made informal inquiries about signing £40m-rated Manchester United and Denmark forward Rasmus Hojlund, 22. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Lyon have rejected Manchester City's first offer for 21-year-old France attacking midfielder Rayan Cherki as negotiations between the two clubs continue. (Florian Plettenberg), external

Tottenham will have to pay in excess of £10m if they want to bring in Brentford boss Thomas Frank to replace Ange Postecoglou, who has been sacked by Spurs. (Mirror), external

Serie A champions Napoli are weighing up a move for 25-year-old England defender Trevoh Chalobah, who helped Chelsea qualify for the Champions League and win the Uefa Conference League after returning from a loan spell at Crystal Palace in January. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and AC Milan are keen on Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, 26, if he fails to agree a new deal at Paris St-Germain, while Inter Milan and Juventus may wait for his contract to expire in 2026, before making a move. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Arsenal are among the clubs keen on 30-year-old Spain goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has a £5m release clause in his Chelsea contract. (Evening Standard), external

England midfielder Angel Gomes, who is set to leave Lille at the end of his contract this summer, has an agreement in principle to join Marseille, who have beaten Tottenham and West Ham to land the 24-year-old. (RMC Sport - in French), external

Marseille have made a contract offer to 29-year-old West Ham and Morocco defender Nayef Aguerd. (Foot Mercato - in French), external

Newcastle are growing frustrated at being quoted inflated transfer fees with Eintracht Frankfurt's £80m asking price for Hugo Ekitike putting the Magpies off a move for the 22-year-old French forward. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Crystal Palace have explored an ambitious deal for Sporting and Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande, who would cost about £45m. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Sunderland have rejected an offer from Borussia Dortmund for English midfielder Jobe Bellingham, but the clubs remain in talks about a deal for the 19-year-old. (Sky Sports Germany), external

AC Milan have shown interest in Bayer Leverkusen's Swiss midfielder Granit Xhaka, 32, while the Bundesliga club appear keen on bringing in Germany defender Malick Thiaw, 23, from the Serie A club. (Kicker - in German)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Daniel Levy is facing the threat of a Tottenham Hotspur player revolt having brutally sacked head coach Ange Postecoglou two weeks after winning the Europa League.

Newcastle are growing increasingly frustrated by rival clubs putting a 'Saudi tax' on transfers and refuse to be held to ransom over key targets.

 Thomas Tuchel has suggested that Jack Grealish needs to move to a club competing in Europe and playing "every three days" to keep his England World Cup dream alive.

Rasmus Hojlund has emerged as a target for Internazionale, who have made informal inquiries about signing the £40 million-rated Manchester United striker.

DAILY MAIL

Manchester United are preparing a revised bid for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo after their opening offer of £55million was rejected.

Rangers are weighing up moves for defensive duo Harry Darling and Conor Coady, with Robin Propper set to depart Ibrox after just one season.

James McAtee turned down the chance to play for Manchester City at the Club World Cup in order to represent England at the European U-21 Championships in Slovakia.

Liverpool have announced the departure of their highly influential Under-21s coach Barry Lewtas after 12 years at the club.

Bournemouth have asked about PSV forward Johan Bakayoko and are prepared to make an offer in the region of £20m to secure his services.

Manuel Akanji has broken ranks by openly criticising Manchester City's upcoming Club World Cup schedule.

THE SUN

Manchester City face taking a £60million hit on Jack Grealish to sell him this summer.

The Glazers have cost Manchester United £1.2billion in their nightmare 20-year reign.

DAILY RECORD

New Rangers boss Russell Martin is weighing up a move for Leicester City defender Conor Coady.

THE SCOTTISH SUN

St Mirren are braced for an approach from Plymouth Argyle for manager Stephen Robinson.

Polish club Pogon Szczecin want to take Celtic defender Maik Nawrocki back to his homeland on loan.




The Athletic

Jean-Clair Todibo is here to stay at West Ham – expect more front-foot defending



By Roshane Thomas and Thom Harris

Jean-Clair Todibo stood forlornly, then gazed towards the technical area as he removed the white taping from his wrist. Moments earlier, he had grimaced in the direction of the West Ham United bench, having felt pain in his lower leg. The 25-year-old defender was consoled by team-mates but headed towards the tunnel knowing another spell on the sidelines awaited him.

It came during a chastening 4-1 away defeat against Manchester City on the first weekend in January. He had aggravated a previous calf problem and would be out this time for nearly six weeks.

Todibo showed glimpses of his quality following his arrival on a season-long loan from French side Nice in August, a deal which carried an obligation to buy. But following the news that West Ham have now completed the signing of the centre-back on a five-year contract for £32.9million (€39m; $44.4m), doubts over his fitness linger.

Todibo, who won two caps for France in 2023, made 27 Premier League appearances last season, 20 of them starts, but was substituted off on 11 occasions.

Following Graham Potter’s appointment as coach in January, the Frenchman was one of his preferred defensive options. Todibo, who had interest from Juventus and Newcastle United last summer before his move to the London Stadium, mostly featured alongside Maximilian Kilman in the middle of a back four but also played in a three-man defence.

His ball-carrying ability is his strength but lapses in concentration and his aerial presence still require work. That said, his arrival at West Ham was considered a coup in a window that saw the departures of fellow central defenders Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma on season-long loans to Real Sociedad in Spain and Saudi Arabia’s Al Orobah respectively.

Todibo made his debut in August’s opening-weekend home loss against Aston Villa as a late substitute but West Ham’s then head coach Julen Lopetegui only introduced him to the starting XI gradually.

A player once signed by Barcelona at age 19 came off the bench again at Crystal Palace the following weekend, started the Carabao Cup win over Bournemouth but got replaced at half-time and was then an unused sub in the next three league matches against City, Fulham and Chelsea. He did not make his first Premier League start until the 1-1 draw away to Brentford on September 28, six weeks after signing.

A mitigating factor behind his slow start was the fact he did not have a proper pre-season, featuring in Nice’s friendlies against Lausanne (July 10) and Leganes (July 19) but not playing for them again as the move to West Ham gathered pace.

“I’m happy because the club gave me the time to get fit,” Todibo told the club’s website after his first full 90 minutes that day in west London. “It took me a bit of time to come back well. The game is more intense in the Premier League than in Ligue 1, more intense than all the leagues in the world, I think. Today I’m not 100 per cent, but I think I’m going to improve more with time, and have a good impact in the team.”

However, the forthcoming months were laced with frustration. As a result of his calf injury, the centre-back missed games against Leicester City (December 3), Bournemouth (December 16), Villa (in the FA Cup, January 10), Fulham (January 14), Palace (January 18), Villa again (January 26) and Chelsea (February 2).

Todibo did then offer encouragement as far his his fitness was concerned, starting 12 of the final 13 league fixtures from the middle of February.

In an attempt to address the muscular difficulties that stunted his momentum, Todibo travelled home to France in January to get a second opinion from his private doctor of eight years. A scan revealed issues with his lower limb.

His path to truly winning over the West Ham fans starts this summer. When fully fit, Todibo is capable of being a solid performer, someone whose skillset aligns with Potter’s preferred style of play.

He was admired by Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, and had trials with both before joining Toulouse from Les Lilas, an amateur club in the Paris area, at age 16 in summer 2016.

Over the past nine years, Todibo has developed into an aggressive defender. The graphic below, which looks at his ‘true’ tackles — a combination of tackles won, tackles lost, and fouls conceded while attempting a tackle per 1,000 opposition touches — gives an indication of how often he likes to leave a mark when the opposition have the ball.

Todibo ranked eighth among centre-backs with 900+ minutes of Premier League game time in this metric last season, while his true-tackle win rate of 73 per cent is also very high — which suggests he often backs that front-footedness up by escaping from a challenge with the ball more often than not.



A weaker side of his game, however, is the ball in the air — though he is 6ft 3in (192cm), only nine Premier League centre-backs with 900-plus minutes last season won a lower proportion of their aerial duels.

But, similar to his central-defensive colleague Kilman, there are no concerns with Todibo’s passing ability. He is a strong ball-carrier and when in possession, rarely opts to go long. Having said that, there is scope to be more expansive with his varied passing range; around 8.5 per cent of Todibo’s passes last season were progressive — just 11 top-flight centre-backs look forward with their passes less often.



Dubai is Todibo’s preferred destination when in search of rest and relaxation during the off-season. He is spending quality time with loved ones but is intent on avenging those debut-year setbacks and helping his new parent club return to previous heights.

“In France, we say ‘Rome ne s’est pas faite en un jour’, which is like the saying ‘Rome wasn’t built in one day’, because it takes time,” Todibo told West Ham’s website in April. “The manager (Potter) came and the situation was difficult, and we need to build something. We just need more time with this manager, because when you have the positives in the game, the result is going to come.

“There is no rush. You don’t have to rush. I think if you want to be smart and productive, you should work for it. It’s more like this and we prepare for the next season — because next season has to be big.”

(Top photo: Richard Pelham/Getty Images)




C&H

Brownhill Makes Big Move Amid West Ham Transfer Buzz

Midfielder Josh Brownhill is understood to have relocated to Essex, further fuelling belief that a move to West Ham is imminent.

As Claret & Hugh exclusively reported last night, Brownhill is in advanced talks with the Hammers over a free transfer to the London Stadium. The 29-year-old is believed to have received two firm offers, both from London clubs—but West Ham are thought to be in pole position.

Without reading too much into the timing, we’ve learned that Brownhill has now moved into a property in Brentwood, leaving his former home in the north-west behind. It’s also worth noting that as of last night, club sources were refusing to comment on the news when we asked them directly.

The former Manchester United trainee is available on a free transfer following the expiry of his Burnley contract. The Clarets recently secured promotion back to the Premier League, but the midfielder looks set to move on—with West Ham’s offer said to comfortably exceed his previous Burnley wages.

Brownhill had an outstanding campaign in the Championship last season, scoring 18 goals and wearing the captain’s armband. Having made over 200 appearances for Burnley, he would bring Premier League experience and leadership to Graham Potter’s midfield revamp.




Sporting Witness

Aston Villa and West Ham set for Eintracht Frankfurt tussle to sign Valentin Atangana

As reported by Bild on Saturday, Valentin Atangana is attracting attention from multiple clubs and that will make it difficult for Eintracht Frankfurt to sign him.

The 19-year-old Reims player is described as a ‘super talent’, and the list of clubs keen on him includes Aston Villa, West Ham, Lazio, Fiorentina and Eintracht.

Bild appear to believe the Bundesliga club have an advantage over the others because they’re the only side involved who have qualified for the Champions League, and the chance to play at that level could attract the youngster. That appears to be Bild assuming, though, rather than sharing information.

Valentin Atangana is a defensive midfielder who has already played more than 50 matches for Reims and has represented France at every youth level.

Reims were relegated from Ligue 1 which means an exit is seen as highly likely, and probably makes the price cheaper for Aston Villa, West Ham and others.

According to the report, the French club are looking for something in the region of €10m.