WHO Poll
Q: 2023/24 Hopes & aspirations for this season
a. As Champions of Europe there's no reason we shouldn't be pushing for a top 7 spot & a run in the Cups
24%
  
b. Last season was a trophy winning one and there's only one way to go after that, I expect a dull mid table bore fest of a season
17%
  
c. Buy some f***ing players or we're in a battle to stay up & that's as good as it gets
18%
  
d. Moyes out
37%
  
e. New season you say, woohoo time to get the new kit and wear it it to the pub for all the big games, the wags down there call me Mr West Ham
3%
  



Alan 12:45 Tue Mar 5
Tuesday news (includes West Ham)
BBC

Manchester United and Paris St-Germain are emerging as frontrunners to sign Napoli and Nigeria striker Victor Osimhen, 25, this summer. (Independent)

Newcastle United are close to agreeing a new contract with Joelinton, with the 27-year-old Brazil midfielder having little over a year left on his current deal. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Liverpool might have to pay Bayer Leverkusen a world-record fee for a manager of £21m to bring Xabi Alonso back to Anfield this summer - double what they paid to sign the Spaniard as a player. (Mirror)

Bayern Munich will part company with manager Thomas Tuchel in the summer and have had initial discussions with Alonso, who is leaning towards joining the Bundesliga club rather than Liverpool if he leaves Bayer Leverkusen.(Sky Sports Germany)

Chelsea have identified Brighton's Roberto de Zerbi and Sporting's Ruben Amorim as potential replacements for Mauricio Pochettino. (Guardian)

A number of Manchester United players believe Dutch manager Erik ten Hag will be replaced at the end of the season by new co-owners Ineos. (Mail)

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou will reject any offers to leave this summer - including from Liverpool. (Football Insider)

Tottenham Hotspur have sent scouts to watch Sporting Lisbon's Morten Hjulmand - a 24-year-old Denmark midfielder who has an Arsenal tattoo on his shoulder. (Record, via Sun)

Manchester United intend to sell England winger Jadon Sancho this summer following the 23-year-old's loan spell with Borussia Dortmund, irrespective of whether Erik ten Hag is still United manager. (Football Insider)

Newcastle plan to send 19-year Gambia winger Yankuba Minteh out on loan for a second successive season. Minteh, who the Magpies signed from Danish club Odense Boldklub for £6m last summer, has been at Dutch side Feyenoord this season. (the i)

Real Madrid are willing to raise their offer for Bayern Munich's Canada left-back Alphonso Davies, 23, to £43m. (Cadena Ser, via Mundo Deportivo)

Davies wants to leave Bayern, who are lining up a move for 26-year-old AC Milan and France left-back Theo Hernandez as his replacement. (Sky Sports Germany)

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany continues to retain the support of the club's hierarchy, despite their hopes of Premier League survival being hit by another defeat against Bournemouth on Sunday. (Athletic)

Everton's financial future will be put into major doubt by the end of the month if 777 Capital's proposed takeover remains unresolved. (Telegraph - subscription required)

Chelsea sent scouts to watch 21-year-old English defender Archie Brown, who plays for Belgian side Gent, at the weekend. The former Derby County youngster is also being watched by Leeds United and West Ham United. (HITC)

Portugal forward Rafael Leao, 24, has played down speculation about a move to Chelsea or PSG by saying his "future is at AC Milan". (Il Corriere della Sera, via Metro)




Sky Paper Talk

DAILY MAIL

Manchester United's players doubt that Erik ten Hag will be in charge at Old Trafford next season and expect Sir Jim Ratcliffe to make a move for a new head coach this summer.

Bournemouth are increasingly resigned to losing technical director Richard Hughes this summer, with Liverpool and AS Roma reported to be interested in bringing him into their backroom staff.

The Premier League has given the green light to a meeting with Everton's prospective buyers 777 Partners as they inch closer to a decision whether to approve their controversial takeover.

Real Madrid are confident they can overturn Jude Bellingham's sending off against Valencia on Saturday.

Manchester City will follow their usual coach route to Anfield on Sunday despite previous attacks on their transport before 2018 and 2022 games against Liverpool.

Globetrotting former Arsenal striker Yaya Sanogo has left his Armenian club Urartu to join Chinese Second Division club Qingdao Red Lions.

Graeme Souness has revealed he turned down the chance to sign Eric Cantona before the Frenchman went on to become a Manchester United icon.

England spinner Tom Hartley hopes he will be given a chance to shine in red-ball cricket for Lancashire this season, where he would team up with Australia great Nathan Lyon.

THE SUN

A section of Manchester United's players are concerned Erik ten Hag's gruelling training regime is causing the club's lengthy injury list.

Napoli winger Khvicha Kvaratshkelia's father expects his son to remain in Italy this summer, dealing a blow to Premier League suitors including Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal.

Reports in Portugal claim that Tottenham are interested in signing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Morten Hjulmand, an admitted Arsenal fan who has their club crest tattooed on his arm.

Fiorentina fear Sofyan Amrabat's future transfer value has been wrecked by his disappointing loan spell with Manchester United.

DAILY TELEGRAPH

Chelsea have identified Brentford guru Bernardo Cueva - officially their tactical statistician - as one of their targets to work in the club's new set-piece department.

Newcastle United are edging closer to an agreement with Joelinton over a new contract, with co-owner Amanda Staveley having taken personal charge of negotiations.

Everton's financial future will be plunged into major doubt if their takeover by 777 Partners is not completed by March 31.

Jos Verstappen will not attend this week's Saudi Arabian Grand Prix amid continuing speculation over son Max's future with Red Bull and a widening rift with team principal Christian Horner.

Bath are set to make a significant signing with Leinster lock Ross Molony, who could become an international option for England, closing on a deal with the Premiership club.

South Africa hooker Bongi Mbonambi has apologised for disrespecting female referee Aimee Barrett-Theron during the Sharks' 40-10 defeat to the Lions on Saturday when he walked away from her while she was explaining her decision.

THE GUARDIAN

PGMOL say the decision to put Paul Tierney on VAR duty after his significant mistake during Nottingham Forest's 1-0 defeat by Liverpool is not a punishment.

DAILY MIRROR

Potential Liverpool managerial candidate Ruben Amorim would cost any club around £13m to sign by the end of the season because of his decreasing release clause at Sporting Lisbon. It stood at £26m when he was appointed two years ago.

The FA has confirmed Liverpool youngster Luca Furnell-Gill is currently serving a five-match suspension for an unsavoury incident which saw him aim a punch at a Manchester United player and caused academy director Alex Inglethorpe to call United to apologise for his behaviour.

DAILY RECORD

Brendan Rodgers could face an SFA rap over his criticism of VAR official John Beaton following Celtic's 2-0 defeat by Hearts on Sunday.

Striker Mathias Kvistgaarden remains focused on life at Brondby and says he did not talk to Celtic in January despite repeated links with a move to Glasgow.




C&H

West Ham Eyeing Paqueta Replacement

One of the more intriguing transfer rumours making the rounds involves West Ham and Roma’s Paulo Dybala this summer, should the Hammers part ways with Lucas Paqueta.

Paqueta, a target for Manchester City ahead of the new season, remains under FA investigation for alleged betting irregularities, despite previous reports suggesting otherwise.

If cleared of any wrongdoing, City’s interest in Paqueta is expected to resurface, putting West Ham’s ability to retain their main playmaker in doubt. Football Transfers suggests that Dybala could be brought in as a replacement for the Brazilian international.

According to Fabrizio Romano’s daily briefing, Dybala, a World Cup winner, has a release clause in his contract valued at just €12 million. While this figure is within West Ham’s reach, Dybala may need to consider reducing his €135,000-a-week wages.

Paqueta, on the other hand, is believed to have an £80 million buyout clause that could be triggered this summer.




Bundesliga

5 reasons Freiburg will beat West Ham in the UEFA Europa League

It's crunch time in the UEFA Europa League, with a place in the quarter-finals at stake as Christian Streich's Freiburg side take on West Ham in the last 16.
bundesliga.com explores how the German upstarts can land a big victory...

1) Momentum can move mountains

As a small and splendid city close to the Swiss and French borders in Germany's wine-growing region, Freiburg is a place that seems virtually built to enjoy a European adventure. The local Bundesliga side have certainly delivered on that front in the recent past, with their run to the last 16 of the 2022/23 UEFA Europa League being repeated this season - in even more spectacular style.

Freiburg's recent knockout round play-off encounter with Lens, a team riding high in the French Ligue 1 table, was running against them with a 0-2 deficit at half-time at the Europa-Park stadium after a goalless draw in France. Streich's charges were in no mood to go out without an almighty battle though, and assaulted the Lens goal in the second period - with Roland Sallai's stoppage-time equaliser sending the game to extra-time before a Michael Gregoritsch strike cued even more remarkable scenes and sealed their spot in the last 16.

Anyone who has watched enough European football will tell you that a side capable of pulling off a cracking comeback like that is a team truly at home in their competition that has the spirit to go all the way. Freiburg are thrilled to have another European night at home within days of that spectacular clash.

Freiburg's head of football Jochen Saier said after the Lens win: "It was incredible. I have never seen the stadium like that. After our first goal went in, the energy was unbelievable." That feelgood factor alone is going to be tough for West Ham to handle.

2) Remarkable Europa roots

It would be wrong to take the great night against Lens in isolation though, when the heroics were simply a reflection of how Freiburg have torn into the Europa League this season and last.

After finishing the group stage last season as the joint second-highest scorers in the competition with 13 goals, Freiburg smashed an astonishing 17 in their latest group campaign - seven more than their opponents, West Ham. Their 20 goals in total makes them the top-scoring side in the competition currently - ahead of the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Liverpool and AC Milan!

Freiburg boast three players among the Europa League's top ten goalscorers - Vincenzo Grifo, Gregoritsch and Sallai.

Ah, but do they have the sturdiness at the back to keep out their English Premier League opposition, we hear you ask?

They certainly do - only one side has more than the three clean sheets Freiburg have taken against Olympiacos, Backa Topola and Lens in this year's competition, while they also had three shutouts last season. That is no surprise under the defensively-minded tutelage of Streich - only three teams in the Bundesliga conceded fewer in the 2022/23 season than Freiburg's 44 goals.

3) Bayern bounce

Freiburg have more than the positivity from their great comeback against Lens to take into the tie with West Ham, as they have a brilliant Bundesliga night in recent days fresh in their minds too.

A thunderbolt from captain Christian Günter gave Freiburg a shock lead over champions Bayern last Friday, with a lovely late Lucas Höler volley securing a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw.

The kind of never-say-die spirit that saw them level late against the Bundesliga champions could prove priceless in a tough battle against West Ham.

Another good omen ahead of the visit of the side from London is that Freiburg have remained among the very select group of Bundesliga clubs who Harry Kane is yet to net against. If they can keep out the England captain twice, then why not also the likes of Jarrod Bowen and James Ward-Prowse?

4) Grifo gets goals

Ward-Prose is known for his trickery from a dead ball, but Freiburg's very own set-piece specialist Vincenzo Grifo just continues to deliver. After three consecutive seasons as top scorer for the Black Forest club, the Italian is the joint top-scorer for Freiburg in this season's Bundesliga, with seven strikes already.

A remarkable six of those have come from the penalty spot - and with two of his four Europa League strikes also coming from penalties, the ever-dependable Grifo has not missed a single spot-kick this season!

It's about time that the set-piece master sank another free-kick too, and the big Europa League clash might be the perfect stage for that. Grifo's only goal directly from a free-kick so far this season came during his hat-trick that saw Freiburg to a 3-1 win at Backa Topola in the group stage, so we can safely say he is capable of lighting up a big European night!

5) Streich-ing a chord

Living legend and fan-favourite Streich continues to charm Bundesliga followers, and his unpretentious yet passionate coaching style seems made for the Europa League.

Streich's record-breaking 12-year spell as Freiburg coach has been all about setting the club up as plucky underdogs working their way to the top of the German game. The fact that has gone so successfully has given the club the rare chance to enjoy European football, and the 58-year-old is relishing the opportunity for his side to shine on a continental stage, having spoken this autumn about how much motivation European encounters give him.

The Freiburg coach is well-known as being a man of rousing words, and the chance for Freiburg to pull off a shock against English Premier League opposition in a European knockout tie is one that is sure to pull the strings of Streich as he delivers more motivational mastery.

Being in the Freiburg dressing room before the big European night will no doubt be a spine-tingling experience, and his men in red will head out brimming with purpose, confidently looking to land a famous win.




Replies - Newest Posts First (Show In Chronological Order)

Texas Iron 12:32 Wed Mar 6
Re: Tuesday news (includes West Ham)
Cheers…

Mex Martillo 10:05 Tue Mar 5
Re: Tuesday news (includes West Ham)
Thanks Alan 12:51 Tue Mar 5

Kaiser Zoso 8:53 Tue Mar 5
Re: Tuesday news (includes West Ham)
Heavi995 7:52 Tue Mar 5

Heavi995 7:52 Tue Mar 5
Re: Tuesday news (includes West Ham)
Cheers Alan

Thanks Alan 12:51 Tue Mar 5
Re: Tuesday news (includes West Ham)
Thanks Alan





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