Thursday News (includes West Ham)
Posted: 01 Jan 2026, 11:01
BBC
Manchester City's 30-year-old defender Nathan Ake has rejected a potential move to West Ham. City are open to selling the Netherlands international, who has attracted interest from a number of Premier League teams. (Talksport), external
Juventus are considering a loan offer for Liverpool winger Federico Chiesa, 28, but the Reds will be wary of leaving themselves short of attacking options by letting the Italy international return to the club. (Liverpool Echo), external
Manchester United are likely to face competition from Bayern Munich and Paris St-Germain for 19-year-old Ivory Coast winger Yan Diomande, who has been valued at £52-61m by German side RB Leipzig. (Sky Sports), external
Tottenham and Wales forward Brennan Johnson, 24, is expected to have a medical at Crystal Palace in the next 24 hours after a £35m deal was agreed. (Telegraph), external
Liverpool are unlikely to welcome back 22-year-old midfielder Harvey Elliott from his loan move to Aston Villa, with the Englishman only making five appearances since the switch. (Liverpool Echo), external
Bournemouth are one of a number of Premier League clubs to express interest in Arsenal's 18-year-old English midfielder Ethan Nwaneri. (Mail - subscription required), external
Juventus are interested in bringing Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali, 25, who is Italian, to the Serie A club. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Borussia Dortmund will only attempt to sign Norway attacker Oscar Bobb, 22, on loan from Manchester City if US midfielder Cole Campbell, 19, or Belgium winger Julien Duranville, 19, depart in January. (Sky Sports Germany), external
Crystal Palace forward Eddie Nketiah's chances of joining West Ham have been scuppered after the 26-year-old England forward suffered a hamstring injury. (Talksport), external
West Ham are closing in on a deal for 21-year-old Gil Vicente striker Pablo, with the Portuguese expected in London for a medical. (Guardian), external
Brighton are monitoring 19-year-old Nordsjaelland and Ghana midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi, having previously signed Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra, 23, and Ghana forward Ibrahim Osman, 21, from the Danish club. (Sky Sports), external
Manchester United are interested in Crystal Palace's 28-year-old France forward Jean-Philippe Mateta, who is yet to sign an extension on his contract which expires in summer 2027. (Football Insider), external
Turkish champions Galatasaray are interested in a loan deal for Manchester United's 24-year-old Uruguay defensive midfielder Manuel Ugarte. (CaughtOffside), external
Celtic are in talks with Bournemouth over a loan deal for defender Julian Araujo, 24, and want to have the Mexico international available for their meeting with Rangers on 3 January. (Daily Record), external
Tottenham's 18-year-old Croatian centre-back Luka Vuskovic has caught the eye of Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig, although Spurs are reluctant to part with the teenager who is currently on loan at Hamburg. (CaughtOffside), external
France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, 23, wants to stay at Real Madrid amid interest from Liverpool. (Teamtalk), external
West Ham are preparing a bid for 29-year-old Spain and Fulham winger Adama Traore. (Football Insider)
Sun
GIL DEAL West Ham close in on £17million Brazilian striker, 21, after dropping out of chase for Jorgen Strand Larsen
The Hammers are desperate for firepower as they try to stave off relegation
Jack Rosser
WEST HAM are close to finalising a £17million deal for Gil Vicente striker Pablo.
The Hammers are at major risk of relegation from the Premier League and are looking to bolster their forward line in the January transfer window.
West Ham are closing in on a move for Gil Vicente striker PabloCredit: Getty
The east Londoners had been liked with a move for Wolves hitman Jorgen Strand Larsen.
The 6ft 4in Norwegian, 25, had been on the radar of a number of clubs last summer having scored 14 goals on loan at Molineux – but he has scored just one goal since making his move permanent.
With the rock-bottom Wolves wanting £40million for Strand Larsen, and with his wages also a stumbling block, West Ham have decided to looked elsewhere.
Hammers scouts have inow dentified Pablo as the man to help fire them out of trouble.
The Brazilian, 21, has scored ten goals in 13 Primeria Liga matches this season.
He has helped Gil Vicente – who finished 13th last season – sit fourth in the league this season, trailing only giants Porto, Sporting and Benfica.
Pablo is the son of former striker Pena, who was top scorer in the Portuguese league and won the Taca de Portugal with Porto in 2001.
Born in Braga – where his father also played – Pablo came through the ranks at Fluminense before joining Portuguese club Famalicao at 15.
He spent last season on loan at Gil Vicente, scoring just five goals, before making his move permanent and finding himself in top form this season.
West Ham have also been linked with the likes of Eddie Nketiah, although he is injured, and Coventry City duo Ellis Simms and Haji Wright in recent weeks to solve their striker issue.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo is also looking to a former player of his to help solve his goal issue.
SunSport exclusively revealed that Nuno is after Fulham winger Adama Traore.
They have been told they need to pay £7m for the winger, 29, having held face-to-face talks when the two clubs met last weekend.
Nuno and Adama previously worked together at Wolves.
One issue is the Africa Cup of Nations as Fulham have three other players – Samuel Chuwueze, Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey – on duty in Morocco.
The Cottagers are relectant to let Adama leave with those three all missing, potentially until the final on January 18.
Sports View
West Ham United have enquired about Chelsea defender Axel Disasi
West Ham United have made inquiries about Chelsea defender Axel Disasi, according to The Times journalist Gary Jacob.
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo wants to bring a new centre-back to the London Stadium club, and the Frenchman is on the radar of the Hammers again.
Disasi rejected a loan move to the East London club during the last summer transfer window and it is unknown whether he is now open to a switch having not played for the Blues this term.
The ‘brilliant’ 27-year-old has largely trained with the Chelsea youth teams having been excluded from their first-team plans for the season.
He is now expected to move on before the end of the winter transfer window and West Ham are eyeing a potential deal.
They have one domestic loan available after signing Igor Julio from Brighton & Hove Albion on a temporary deal in the summer.
However, the Brazilian has started just once since joining the Hammers, making three other cameo appearances and it is unclear if they can cancel the loan.
A move for Disasi could make sense as he is desperate to prove himself after spending the first half of the season ostracised.
He has shown in the past that he has the quality having represented France five times, and he could be open to a West Ham deal if he is guaranteed regular playing opportunities.
The Hammers need to strengthen at both ends of the pitch as they fight to hold on to their Premier League status during the second half of the campaign.
They are 18th in the table after 19 games and will need to improve significantly at the back in the remaining 19 games to stay up having conceded 38 goals – the second-highest so far.
Football Talk
West Ham submit formal offer to sign Viktoria Plzen striker Rafiu Durosinmi
by Max Akpan
West Ham United have submitted a formal opening offer to sign Viktoria Plzen centre-forward Rafiu Durosinmi, according to Football Insider.
West Ham are firmly focused on strengthening their attack when the January transfer window opens, with securing a new striker high on the agenda. Nuno Espírito Santo is battling to steer the club clear of relegation and will require a consistent source of goals if his side are to stand a realistic chance of survival.
So far, first-choice forwards Callum Wilson and Niclas Füllkrug have managed just four Premier League goals between them, all of which have come from Wilson, prompting the need to pursue a more reliable scorer, particularly with Füllkrug reportedly close to a move to AC Milan.
The most recent player linked with the Hammers is Viktoria Plzeň forward Durosinmi, who has caught the eye since returning from a serious anterior cruciate ligament injury that kept him sidelined for 15 months.
The 22-year-old made his comeback in February and has gone on to score 13 goals in all competitions this season, including two in the Europa League and a brace during Champions League qualifying.
Formal offer
Now, according to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, West Ham have submitted a formal offer to Plzen for the possible transfer of Durosinmi to the London Stadium.
Nuno needs a prolific forward to reinforce his attack, and having identified Durosinmi, the Hammers placed a £12m bid to sign the Nigerian forward, who is also of keen interest to Lazio and Eintracht Frankfurt, according to the report.
While Football Insider does not reveal Plzen’s stance on West Ham’s offer, a fresh report from Czech outlet iSport claims that the Hammers’ offer is believed to be £4m, which is deemed ‘unacceptable’ by the six-time Czech First League champions who are keen on retaining the 6ft 3in star at the Doosan Arena unless they receive a suitable offer.
It remains unclear whether the Hammers view the 22-year-old striker as their main centre-forward option for January, particularly due to his limited experience outside the top five leagues. However, West Ham have enjoyed recent success recruiting from the Czech league, highlighted by summer signing El Hadji Malick Diouf, while past additions such as Vladimir Coufal and Tomas Soucek have also proven effective.