West Ham Online

BBC

Napoli have made contact with Manchester United over a January loan deal for England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, 20. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Mainoo is also a wanted by another Serie A club with Roma interested in a January deal. (Football Italia), external

Newcastle and Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali is homesick for AC Milan, with Juventus also interested in the 25-year-old. (Corriere della Sera - in Italian), external

Tonali does not have a release clause in his Newcastle contract and will review his future on a year-by-year basis. (Sky Sports), external

Aston Villa's 23-year-old England midfielder Morgan Rogers is set to sign a new contract which will take his salary beyond £100,000 per week. (Mail), external

Bayern Munich are in contact with the entourage of Liverpool and France defender Ibrahima Konate, 26, over a potential transfer. (Bild - via Get German Football News), external

Liverpool and Chelsea might make a move Newcastle's 25-year-old Dutch defender Sven Botman. (Caught Offside), external

Tottenham are open to signing English striker Ivan Toney, 29, in January, from Saudi Pro League club Al-Ahli and Spurs boss Thomas Frank has already held talks with him. (Teamtalk), external

Alexis Mac Allister is happy at Liverpool and the 26-year-old Argentina midfielder has no immediate intentions to move despite interest from Real Madrid. (Football Insider), external

Former Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil is a strong contender for the vacant manager's job at Southampton, along with ex-Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Liverpool are unlikely to bid for Bournemouth and Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo in January, but the Reds might move for the 25-year-old next summer. (Fabrizio Romano via Give Me Sport), external

Italy defender Alessandro Bastoni wants to stay at Inter Milan, dealing a blow to Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool's hopes of signing the 26-year-old. (Fichajes - in Spanish)





Sky Paper Talk

Premier League

Napoli have contacted Manchester United over a potential loan deal for Kobbie Mainoo in January - Gazzetta Dello Sport.

Roma are also interested in securing a temporary deal for Mainoo come the winter transfer window - Football Italia.

Crystal Palace have seen a request to move their Conference League tie with KuPS turned down by UEFA as they continue to struggle with fixture congestion - The Mirror.

18-year-old Jack Fletcher, son of former midfielder Darren, has travelled with the Manchester United first-team squad for the game against Tottenham - The Sun.

Bryan Mbeumo is leaving his African Cup of Nations future in the hands of Manchester United and Cameroon as he waits for the two parties to agree to terms of his release date for the tournament - The Sun.

Manchester United star Matheus Cunha is hoping to emulate Eric Cantona's success at Old Trafford - The Sun.

Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali is said to be homesick for AC Milan, with Juventus also interested in bringing the player back to Italy - Corriere della Sera.

Liverpool have extended the contract of long-serving academy director Alex Inglethorpe - The Athletic.
Championship

Gary O’Neil has emerged as a candidate for the Southampton job after turning down a return to Wolves - talkSPORT.

Frank Lampard has admitted that proving people wrong about his managerial career is driving his recent success at Coventry City - The Guardian.

Scottish football

Celtic have banned ultras group ‘the Green Brigade’ for three matches after they allegedly prevented the arrest of an individual who assaulted a member of the club’s staff - The Scottish Sun.

Rangers are reportedly making enquiries for Spanish centre-back Mujaid Sadick - The Scottish Sun.
European football

Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis has described the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium as a ‘dump’ as he insists a modern stadium is crucial to improving the club’s revenue - Reuters.

Contract talks between Real Madrid and Antonio Rudiger have been put on hold so that the defender can focus on his return from injury - Marca.

Inter Milan defender Alessandro Bastoni wants to stay at the club despite interest from Manchester United, Manchester City and Liverpool - Fichajes.

Rugby Union

19-year-old Noah Caluori has said he wants to become ‘the best winger that has ever played for England’ - The Times
Formula 1

Lewis Hamilton has sent a warning to other F1 drivers after saying that Sebastian Vettel is the only person who ‘ever actually talks about important topics’ - The Express.



OS

In-form U21s see off Liverpool to go seven unbeaten in PL2

West Ham United U21s 3-0 Liverpool U21s
Premier League 2, Rush Green Stadium, Friday 7 November 2025, 7.20pm GMT (delayed kick-off)



West Ham United U21s extended their unbeaten run in Premier League 2 to seven matches with a dominant display, seeing off Liverpool at Rush Green Stadium.

It was a performance full of control and confidence from Greg Lincoln’s side, who didn't allow the visitors a moment’s comfort as they cruised to a 3-0 victory under the lights in Romford thanks to goals from Callum Marshall, Josh Ajala and a thunderous strike from Mohamadou Kanté.

From the first whistle, the young Hammers set the tempo. Marshall tested Liverpool goalkeeper Kornel Miściur early on with a header from Rayan Oyebade’s cross, before Preston Fearon began to dictate proceedings in midfield, spraying passes across the pitch and keeping West Ham firmly in charge of possession.

The hosts’ best opening of the first half came midway through the period when Fearon split the Liverpool defence with a perfectly weighted through ball to George Earthy, who was denied by Miściur one on one. At the other end, Liverpool’s Kaide Gordon saw a speculative volley sail harmlessly over as Krisztián Hegyi remained untroubled in the West Ham goal throughout the first half.

Despite a series of promising moments, the two sides went in level at the interval, but it felt like only a matter of time before the breakthrough came.

And just six minutes into the second half, it did. Marshall typified his dogged, determined style by refusing to give up on a loose ball inside the Liverpool box. Nipping in to dispossess Liverpool captain Amara Nallo, the Northern Ireland international poked home from close range to put West Ham in front.

That goal opened the floodgates for a dominant second-half display. Ten minutes later, Ajala doubled the advantage with a moment of real quality. Played in by Emeka Adiele, the winger cut inside from the left, sent his marker the wrong way, and curled an unstoppable right-footed strike into the far corner.

West Ham’s confidence only grew from there, and soon came the pick of the bunch. With 15 minutes to play, Kanté pounced on a loose ball on the edge of the area and unleashed a rocket into the top corner on his so-called weaker left foot.

While substitute Jethro Medine earned a late penalty, Liverpool goalkeeper Miściur denied him from the spot. Still, it couldn’t take the shine off a dominant display that perfectly reflected the form our young Hammers have been in.

The result makes it seven unbeaten in Premier League 2, and just one defeat in eleven across all competitions, as our U21s continue to impress and grow with every performance.

West Ham United U21s: Hegyi, Battrum ©, Oyebade, Fearon, Briggs, Mayers, Earthy (Caliste 66), Kanté, Marshall (Landers 66), Ajala (Medine 84), Adiele
Subs not used: Wooster (GK), Brown

Goals: Marshall 51, Ajala 66, Kanté 75

Booked: Oyebade
 
Liverpool U21s: Misciur, Ramsay, Lucky, Nallo ©, Ewing (Bradshaw 62), Laffey, Morrison, Pilling (Pinnington 85), Figueroa (Davidson HT), Gordon, Doherty (Onanuga 62)
Sub not used: Poytress (GK)

Booked: Laffey

Lincoln: The boys are really relentless in their pursuit of excellence

Head of Academy Coaching and Player Development Greg Lincoln took charge of our U21s once again following the promotion of Academy coaches Mark Robson, Steve Potts, Gerard Prenderville and Billy Lepine to the first team. The young Hammers are unbeaten in six games under him and it was once again a performance to be proud of from Lincoln’s young Hammers.

“We started really well,” he reflected. “Dominated possession, dominated territory, created some good opportunities. Just lacked maybe that cutting edge at the start, that final bit, whether it was the decision-making or the execution of the last pass or the finish. But we kept going and kept going and kept going.

“I think the boys are really relentless in their pursuit of excellence. They carry on from first minute to the last. So I think that was pleasing to see, how they just sustained the pressure really until the goals come. We could have scored more, so it was really pleasing.”

Despite their dominance in the first half, our young Hammers were unable to convert their superiority into goals. That soon changed in the second half as Lincoln’s side added cutting edge to their dominance in the final third.

Lincoln said: “We spoke at half-time around just really trying to improve what we were doing. So it was mainly about us. We recognised we got in some really good situations, showed a lot of control, played some good forward attacking football that was creating opportunities.

“It was just taking care of that last part, the final pass or the finish. And I think, as always, any Liverpool team you play, they're going to come out fighting and they're not just going to stop. They're going to carry on and really make it a game.

“And you have to be at the top of your game for the whole 90 minutes. And you could see that they changed shape a little bit in the second half and for the first part, they were looking to go on the front foot.

“But again, we did well taking the sting out of it, playing through and around and out of that pressure.”

Three outstanding goals for very different reasons, Lincoln was delighted with the way the boys responded in the second half.

He added: “I’ve spoken before about Callum [Marshall] and George [Earthy], two players who really personify the values of the Club and the Academy. And for two first-team players to come down, play with us, the way that they approach the game, as if it's their last. Their conduct, their attitude, their running.

“The first goal epitomised Callum, really. He leaves everything out there on the pitch. The second goal was a fantastic team goal. You've seen that connection between Emeka [Adiele] and Josh Ajala throughout the season. Down that left side, it really worked well out of pressure. And then the third goal from Mo [Kanté], you know, he's capable of that, isn't he? He's powerful, he's strong, he's direct. That strike was really out of the top drawer. I think that would have lit up any stadium.”