West Ham Online

BBC

Real Madrid are stepping up their interest in 29-year-old Manchester City midfielder Rodri, with the Spain international having less than 18 months left on his contract. (Teamtalk), external

Arsenal are keen to bring Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka in on a free transfer in the summer, with the Gunners having reportedly tried to sign the 31-year-old Germany international in January. (Mirror), external

Juventus have not held any contract talks with striker Dusan Vlahovic since last summer and, with the Serbia international's deal running out in the summer, Chelsea, Tottenham, AC Milan, Inter Milan and Roma are interested in the 26-year-old. (Foot Mercato - in French), external

Paris St-Germain boss Luis Enrique has been linked with taking over at Manchester United but the Spaniard does not believe it is the right project for him and is set to sign a new contract with the French club. (Mirror), external

Manchester United and Newcastle have joined the growing list of clubs tracking Brentford and Italy Under-21 right‑back Michael Kayode, 21. (Teamtalk) , external

Inter Milan are set to offer manager Cristian Chivu a one-year contract extension, which will run until 2028, and a pay rise at the end of the season. (Corriere dello Sport, via Football Italia), external

Argentina forward Paulo Dybala, 32, and Italy attacking midfielder Lorenzo Pellegrini, 29, will have to take pay cuts if they want to stay at Roma, with the contracts of both players running out in the summer. (Gazzetta dello Sport - in Italian), external

Italy midfielder Sandro Tonali, 25, could demand a move away from Newcastle if the Magpies fail to qualify for the Champions League next season. (Football Insider) , external

But Newcastle are also looking at Lyon's 23-year-old English midfielder Tyler Morton as a possible replacement for Tonali, while Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are also interested in the former Liverpool player. (Caughtoffside), external

Barcelona have decided to make 28-year-old England forward Marcus Rashford's loan move from Manchester United permanent. (Fichajes - in Spanish)




Sky Paper Talk

PREMIER LEAGUE

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah will be offered the chance to be the face of the Saudi Pro-League in the summer, with the 33-year-old being able to treble his £400,000-a-week wages as Cristiano Ronaldo's future remains in doubt at Al Nassr - Sunday Mirror

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank says he will not consider stripping the captaincy from Cristian Romero after his red card against Manchester United - The Observer

Wayne Rooney's son Kai scored four times as Manchester United U16s beat Norwich in a 10-goal thriller - Mail on Sunday

RUGBY UNION

Gregor Townsend's tenure as Scotland coach is hanging by a thread after they were humbled 18-15 by Italy in the Six Nations - The Sunday Times

WINTER OLYMPICS

Britain's curling mixed doubles pair Jen Dodds and Bruce Mouat guaranteed themselves a medal match after extending their winning run to seven - The Independent on Sunday

Defiant Lindsay Vonn won't give in despite her knee that's "100 per cent" gone. Vonn has a knee brace strapped on after an ACL tear but has completed two training runs ahead of Olympic women's downhill - The Observer





Guardian

Pressure piles on Scott Parker as West Ham sink Burnley in basement battle


Crysencio Summerville finishes smartly to give West Ham the lead. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images/Reuters

Will Unwin at Turf Moor

For Burnley this felt like the beginning of their Premier League farewell tour, but Scott Parker insists he will not walk away, while West Ham reignited their fight for survival. There was little between the two, but the Hammers showed why they have hope of staying up, providing the brief moments of quality, something the home side could not in a tense Turf Moor atmosphere.

Crysencio Summerville and Taty Castellanos expertly finished from two perfect assists to send West Ham to victory, leaving them three points adrift of Nottingham Forest in 17th, the last place above the relegation spots, as they bounced back from a late loss at Chelsea. Burnley showed fight, but a 16th straight game without a win, including 11 defeats, brought derision from the home supporters and demands for change in the dugout and boardroom.

“I’m a fighter and I’ve experienced a lot of things in my life and I’ve been through a lot of adversity and I’ve been through a lot of challenges,” Parker said. “One thing I hold firmly and I stand by and is a foundation and an absolute rock, which is concrete, which is built on, is: in these moments of pure adversity, I will not waver. I will always stand up and I’ll always represent that to this group.”

There was more than an air of resignation around the ground before the first whistle was blown. Nothing in the opening 12 minutes suggested either team had the desire or capability to get out of the relegation zone.

Burnley, as Parker puts it, are often on the wrong side of the Premier League’s “fine margins”, but it is often of their own making. On this occasion, full-back Lucas Pires gave the ball away needlessly on the halfway line, Mateus Fernandes broke and slipped a precise pass through to Summerville, who reminded Kyle Walker of his advancing years, before dinking over Martin Dúbravka, as the winger scored in a fifth consecutive match.

Neither set of fans are happy with life, but the visitors were more vocal, chanting “sack the board” in the hope of ousting Karren Brady and David Sullivan, though Burnley supporters were not short of toxicity come the 26th minute. The second was far too easy as El Hadji Malick Diouf was afforded the left wing to himself, allowing him to send in a perfect cross, headed home by Castellanos, who did well to get across his man.

Chanting “We want Parker out”, “we want our club back” and telling substitute Jacob Bruun Larsen “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” after calling for more encouragement from the home fans, summed up the mood. The Burnley head coach did have some support but it came from the away end, having served West Ham as a player.


West Ham players feel the relief after Taty Castellanos scores their second goal. Photograph: Phil Oldham/Shutterstock

“In the first half we looked fragile, we looked edgy,” Parker said. “There’s obviously a [lack of] confidence at the moment and just the whole environment today at certain moments was testing for the players. You could sense that certainly in the first half. I totally understand it [the atmosphere], but I just didn’t think that helped this young group at times.

“They’re guys that are absolutely giving everything and it was tough for them. I get that when you’re hearing the level of, openly, the criticism. It affects us.”

Considering the inept nature of the first-half performance, Burnley came out with intent sourced from within the dressing room. They were on top in the early stages, creating numerous dangerous situations, which should have resulted in a goal, only for two fine blocks from Marcus Edwards and Zian Flemming chances to secure a first clean sheet of the Nuno Espírito Santo era. That was helped by a solid debut from Axel Disasi at centre-back and a third win in four league matches.

“It shows improvement, but we are still in the same situation,” Nuno said. “Nothing has changed, we have to keep trying, trying and fighting.”

West Ham struggled to create chances to kill the game off, to keep things vaguely interesting, but Burnley failed to score for the ninth time this season. The only great escape Burnley could muster was the mass early exit of fans and no one could blame them. West Ham’s supporters stayed to the end, savouring the surroundings in the hope they will not be back next season.

Thanks Alan.