West Ham Online

BBC

Clubs in the Saudi Pro League remain committed to signing Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah, 33, who was dropped by Liverpool on Sunday. (Talksport), external

Liverpool have reopened talks with the representatives of England defender Marc Guehi in a bid to sign the 25-year-old from Crystal Palace in January, having missed out on a deal in the summer. (Teamtalk), external

Manchester United are eyeing Olympiacos' Greece midfielder Christos Mouzakitis, while Real Madrid are also weighing up a £25m bid for the 18-year-old. (Mail - subscription required), external

Barcelona are yet to decide whether to sign England forward Marcus Rashford, 28, permanently when his loan from Manchester United ends. (Sport - in Spanish), external

Liverpool are one of the clubs at the front of the queue to sign Bournemouth and Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo, 25. (Football Insider), external

Tottenham are intensifying their interest in Semenyo and could make a move for the Ghanaian in January. (Sky Sports) , external

Gary O'Neil is in the frame to take over at Leeds if they decide to sack German manager Daniel Farke. (Football Insider), external

West Ham and Brentford are considering a January move for 20-year-old Portuguese defender Tiago Gabriel, but face competition from Juventus for the Lecce centre-back. (The i Paper - subscription required), external

Defender Timothy Castagne, 29, could leave Fulham in January to ensure his place in Belgium's squad for next summer's World Cup. (DH - in French), external

Italy goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario is considering a move away from Tottenham with Inter Milan showing interest in the 29-year-old. (La Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Liverpool and Arsenal are preparing January bids for Real Madrid's 24-year-old Brazil forward Rodrygo. (Caught Offside), external

Liverpool have moved in front of Barcelona in the race to sign 26-year-old Brazil midfielder Ederson from Atalanta. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external

Bayern Munich would be willing to negotiate a deal of 15m euros (£13.2m) or more to sell 25-year-old French defender Sacha Boey, who is attracting interest from Crystal Palace. (Bild - in German), external

Several Premier League clubs are monitoring Benfica and Ukraine goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, 24. (GiveMeSport)




Sky Paper Talk

Premier League

Manchester United could allow three youngsters - Diego Leon, Ayden Heaven and Chido Obi - to leave on loan in January - The Sun

Sunderland are interested in signing Lazio's Matteo Guendouzi, with the ex-Arsenal midfielder very keen on exploring a move to Wearside - The i Paper

Brentford and West Ham are eyeing a January move for £20m-rated Lecce defender Tiago Gabriel, but the London rivals face stiff competition from Juventus for the in-demand youngster - The i Paper

Chelsea midfielder Dario Essugo has been ruled out of three more Premier League games at the very least after suffering a setback in training on Monday - The Athletic

Ollie Watkins has been managing ongoing knee pain for over a year but will not require surgery, said Aston Villa manager Unai Emery - The Athletic

The embattled multi-club football investor John Textor has claimed that he and Nottingham Forest's Evangelos Marinakis worked together to adjust player transfer fees to suit a mutual trading agreement - The Telegraph

European football

Real Madrid will consider offers for Rodrygo as the Spanish giants target deals for centre-backs and midfielders - The Athletic

Real Madrid are in the mix to sign Eintracht Frankfurt left-back and Germany international Nathaniel Brown - Sky in Germany

The Nice players Terem Moffi and Jeremie Boga have been placed on sick leave after the team were confronted by supporters upon their return from a 3-1 defeat at Lorient - The Guardian
World Cup

World Cup tickets will be the most expensive ever seen after Fifa grabbed a share of the lucrative resale market for the first time - The Sun

Cricket

Middlesex have taken the first step towards private ownership to fund a new home away from Lord's - The Telegraph
Rugby Union

Kyran Bracken, the former England scrum half, has auctioned his rugby memorabilia and donated £15,000 to the fund set up for his 2003 World Cup-winning team-mate Lewis Moody, who has been diagnosed with motor neurone disease - The Times




The Athletic

West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta ‘suffering and sad’ after red card vs. Liverpool – Nuno Espirito Santo


 Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images

By Roshane Thomas

West Ham United’s Lucas Paqueta is “sad” and “suffering” following his red card in Sunday’s 2-0 defeat by Liverpool, according to head coach Nuno Espirito Santo.

The 28-year-old was shown two quick yellow cards, followed by a red, for dissent. Club captain Jarrod Bowen, team-mate Matheus Fernandes and Liverpool’s fellow Brazil international Allison attempted to defuse the situation, but Paqueta continued to protest to referee Darren England.

Paqueta will be suspended for Thursday’s Premier League fixture against Manchester United. The Brazilian missed the 2-2 draw away to Bournemouth through suspension, having received his fifth caution of the season in the 3-2 home win against Burnley.

“I spoke with Lucas and he apologised to his team-mates,” Nuno said on Tuesday ahead of the trip to Old Trafford.

“He is aware of his mistakes but as a club we protect our own. We solved things among ourselves and it is clear that everyone understood mistakes can happen on a football pitch. Sometimes you can’t control your emotions and people deserve a chance.

“He’s not okay and he’s suffering. He’s disappointed and sad but he realises the mistake he made, and wants to move forward. Sometimes people aren’t aware of all the problems footballers endure, but Lucas will overcome this situation.”

Paqueta, the club record €60million (£52m; $69m) signing from Lyon in August 2022, tried to justify his actions his post-match on social media by posting: “Perhaps this ridiculous behavior is just a reflection of everything I’ve had to endure and, it seems, have to continue enduring! I’m sorry if I’m not perfect.”

Paqueta, whose contract expires in 2027, was denied a big-money switch to Manchester City following the launch of a Football Association spot-fixing investigation in August 2023. He was cleared in July following a two-year investigation.

Although the Brazilian faces an uncertain future ahead of the January transfer window, Nuno is not worried about a potential departure.

“I think it (the ordeal of the investigation) is affecting him, but he’s willing to move forward, play football the way he does, and to put it to one side,” said Nuno. “Here at the club we offer and give all the support the players need.

“We’ve had a good conversation the squad supports Lucas. Definitely, I think he is happy here.”




C&H

€30 million bid is well wide of the mark | West Ham News

Ask West Ham supporters what they think about selling their biggest overseas star asset and you’ll likely get a very different response from fans now compared with back in August.

The furore that was kicked up at the start of the season when Aston Villa were reported to be making a bid to ‘steal’ Lucas Paquetá in the last days of the summer window was enough to kill the possibility of a deal: Paquetá’s mime of’ throwing away’ the phone on a Villa deal and West Ham badge-kissing was roundly celebrated then.

After Sunday’s antics the general consensus from supporter comments seems to be it is high time to cash in on the wayward, tarnished star.

Whilst reports suggest Paquetá may want a return to his homeland, it is unlikely that any Brazilian team can afford anything close to West Ham’s asking price.

Sportwitness.co.uk claim that his former side – and boyhood club – Flamengo are preparing the ground for January, as per their article:
“Brazilian reports say €25m-30m budget is ‘set aside’ for West Ham star”

Which is about half of his current value, even given his somewhat reduced standing at London stadium at present. There’ll be any number of suitors at £45-50 million and it seems as though Nuno Espírito Santo, David Sullivan and the vast majority of West Ham fans would welcome the the sale that would provide an injection of funds to bring a couple of fresh faces to east London in January.

Weary after years of Paquetá – based drama, it is surely time – before his value falls below the price West Ham paid for him – to move the player on and draw a line under a sorry chapter with far too few moments of magic. As somebody said in the Claret and Hugh forum, ” Paquetá’s time at West Ham has been like Paulo Di Canio’s – but without the brilliance.”

Paquetá’s frequent falling over and giving up possession far too often no longer seems a price worth paying for the increasingly rare moment of genius in what has become a luxury West Ham can ill afford in a relegation fight. He’ll likely be gone next month but to Brazil for €30 million? Not on your Nelly.

Cheers