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Paper Talk
Real Madrid midfielder Isco, 23, is hoping to pave the way for a move to Manchester City and reunite with former manager Manuel Pellegrini.
Manchester United are gearing up for a busy transfer window in a bid to salvage their ailing season.
Leicester believe they have won the race for highly-rated Birmingham winger Demarai Gray.
Newcastle are being made to wait over a £3m deal for Bordeaux midfielder Henri Saivet, with Southampton also interested.
Remi Garde has had a move for PSG keeper Salvatore Sirigu rejected - because the Italian believes Aston Villa are doomed.
Sheffield Wednesday have joined the race to sign Chelsea striker Patrick Bamford, 22, on loan with Swansea, Norwich, Bournemouth and Middlesbrough also interested.
Newcastle are st to make a £15m move for Marseille's 22-year-old Belgian striker Michy Batshuayi.
Arsenal are confident of signing Basel's Mohamed Elneny for £5m - even though the Egyptian is struggling to get a work permit.
Watford have issued a hands-off warning over star striker Odion Ighalo.
Liverpool will complete the signing of Serbian wonderkid Marko Grujic next week after he was granted a work permit by the government.
Aston Villa are preparing a bid for Montpellier central defender Daniel Congre, 3, who is out of contract in the summer and could be available for £2m.
Ipswich are set to sign 20-year-old Barnsley midfielder Paul Digby.
Manchester United's board will once again allow Louis van Gaal to spend big in the transfer market in a bid to rescue their season.
Roma are looking to sign Arsenal full-back Mathieu Debuchy although the 30-year-old has hinted he wants to return to his native France.
Barnsley are set to complete the signing of non-league hotshot Bradley Ash.
Roma are looking to sign Arsenal full-back Mathieu Debuchy.
Ajax manager Frank de Boer has admitted he would be interested in holding talks about the Swansea vacancy.
Sporting Lisbon are monitoring Falkirk defender Will Vaulks. The Portuguese side have shown a surprise interest following Vaulks' performances in recent weeks.
Arsenal will battle it out with Inter Milan for 20-year-old Paris St-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, who is valued at £15m.
Steve Evans expects Sam Byram to commit himself to Leeds United's cause until owner Massimo Cellino decides to sell the youngster.
Ronny Deila has killed all talk of Celtic making a big-name loan signing in January.
Tiago Ilori looks likely to return to Anfield this month after failing to break into the Aston Villa first-team.
Montpellier defender Daniel Congre will have talks in the coming days over a January move to Aston Villa.
West Ham will make a cut-price January bid for Leeds United prospect Sam Byram, whose contract expires at the end of the season.
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink is interested in signing 18-year-old Bologna prodigy Amadou Diawara.
Gary Neville has said Valencia will not rush to spend in the winter transfer window after latest defeat.
Mohamed Elneny has passed a medical before his proposed €10m (£7.3m) move to Arsenal, although the Basel midfielder must still be granted a work permit for the transfer to be completed.
Swansea are planning talks with Ajax coach Frank de Boer after his surprise declaration of interest in succeeding Garry Monk.
BBC
Real Madrid midfielder Isco, 23, is hoping to engineer a move to Manchester City in a deal thought to be worth £25m. (Mirror)
Roma are looking to sign Arsenal full-back Mathieu Debuchy although the 30-year-old has hinted he wants to return to his native France. (Football Italia, via Daily Star)
Meanwhile, the Gunners are preparing to rival Inter Milan and make a £15m bid for Paris St-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot, 20. (Buzzsport, via Daily Express)
Lorenzo Insigne's agent has claimed that Arsenal and PSG are keen to sign the 24-year-old Napoli winger. (ESPN)
West Ham will make a cut-price January bid for Leeds United right-back Sam Byram, 22, whose contract expires at the end of the season. (Daily Telegraph)
Hammers' manager Slaven Bilic says Premier League players should train more, and that they do not not need two days off each week. (Daily Mail)
Arsenal forward Theo Walcott, 26, believes his Gunners' team-mate Mesut Ozil, 27, has been the best player in the Premier League this season. (Sun)
Newcastle United's bid to sign Henri Saivet, 25, could be in danger after the Bordeaux captain expressed concerns about the Magpies' Premier League position. (Newcastle Chronicle)
Swansea are planning talks with Ajax coach Frank de Boer, 45, after he spoke of his interest in succeeding Garry Monk. (Daily Mirror)
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has no plans to bring in another central defender in the January transfer window as cover for injured club captain Vincent Kompany, 29. (Manchester Evening News)
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says his side will only be Premier League title contenders if they maintain their form for another two months. (Daily Star)
Manchester United boss Louis van Gaal has given his strongest hint yet he wants to buy a striker in the January transfer window. (Sun)
The Dutchman, 64, has defended his decision to sell striker Javier Hernandez, 27, to Bayer Leverkusen during the summer. (Times - subscription required)
The agent of striker Mario Balotelli is planning talks with Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp in an attempt to convince him that the 25-year-old Italian deserves a chance to revive his career at Anfield. (Daily Mail)
Sam Allardyce has said he would "pack his bags" and quit as Sunderland manager if there was no hope of them avoiding relegation. (Mirror)
Chelsea manager Guus Hiddink says Diego Costa's team-mates must help relieve the goalscoring burden on the Spain international. (London Evening Standard)
The Dutchman also says it is unfair to blame midfielder Cesc Fabregas, 28, for Chelsea's poor results this season. (Independent)
Best of social media
Bradford City have sent two new replica shirts to former One Direction singer Zayn Malik after his girlfriend, model Gigi Hadid, posted a picture of herself wearing an old Bantams top.
And finally
Real Madrid's Colombian striker James Rodriguez was chased into the club's training ground by an undercover police car after he was allegedly caught speeding on a motorway. (AS)
Former Liverpool and England captain Steven Gerrard, 35, regrets he "wasted time watching The Office and The Sopranos" when he was younger rather than taking his coaching badges. (Times - subscription required)
Mail
Sam Byram is in line to seal a West Ham switch
By Simon Jones
Slaven Bilic just wants to fine tune a squad that has done well but has been stretched by injuries in recent weeks. Co-chairmen David Gold and David Sullivan don’t see the need to spend big in January but will look to bring in loans to lift the squad.
Positions wanted: Right back, winger, striker
Budget: Loans
Potential players coming in: Sam Hutchinson (Sheff Weds), Davide Santon (Inter Milan), Gokhan Tore, Serdar Kurtulus (Besiktas), Simone Zaza (Juventus, loan), Sam Byram.
Potential players going out: Matt Jarvis (Norwich, agreed £2.5m), Joey O'Brien
OS
Preview - Liverpool
The background
West Ham United kick-off 2016 with the opportunity to complete a first league double over Liverpool since the 1963/64 season.
Having ended a 52-year wait for victory at Anfield in August, the Hammers could make the perfect start to the New Year and overtake Jurgen Klopp’s Reds in the process.
Liverpool moved back ahead of the Hammers in the table with their 1-0 win over Sunderland on Wednesday night, but only have a point more at the halfway stage.
After a slow start to the season, Brendan Rodgers was replaced by Klopp, who has led the Reds to the Capital One Cup semi-finals and to a position where they are challenging for a top four slot.
West Ham ended 2015 in the perfect fashion, coming from behind to defeat Southampton 2-1 thanks to goals from Michail Antonio and Andy Carroll.
That ended an eight-game wait for victory, and at the same time extended the Hammers’ unbeaten run to six.
Three points on Saturday could lift West Ham into the top five of the league, with the top half remaining congested.
The history
West Ham and Liverpool have met on 130 previous occasions, with the Hammers’ record against the Reds being a particularly poor one.
The east Londoners have tasted victory on just 26 occasions against their Merseyside rivals, with Liverpool coming out on top 70 times.
However, three of those wins have come in the last eight meetings, with Winston Reid, Diafra Sakho and Morgan Amalfitano all on target in a 3-1 Boleyn Ground victory last season.
Then, Manuel Lanzini, Noble and Sakho again all hit the net as West Ham thumped the Reds 3-0 at Anfield earlier this term.
The match
Team news
West Ham United
Manuel Lanzini and Andy Carroll returned from injury from the bench in Monday’s win against Southampton, so could be involved from the start on Saturday.
Dimitri Payet will be back in the squad after overcoming his ankle problem, but the game will likely come around too quickly for Winston Reid and Victor Moses, who both have hamstring injuries.
Liverpool
The Reds were involved on Wednesday evening, defeating Sunderland 1-0. Skipper Jordan Henderson was replaced after an hour, with boss Klopp commenting on his fitness: “I don’t really know – it’s not perfect otherwise we wouldn’t have taken him off, but we had to. Now we have to wait. I cannot say exactly [what the injury is] at this moment.”
Match info
Saturday’s match referee is Robert Madley, who will be assisted by Simon Long and Simon Beck. The fourth official is Roger East.
Billy Bonds has made more appearances against Liverpool, 33, than any other West Ham United player. The Reds’ Ian Callaghan made a record 33 appearances against the Hammers, scoring twice.
Vic Watson scored a record nine goals in 14 appearances against Liverpool. Steven Gerrard scored nine times against the Hammers.
The largest crowd to attend a West Ham versus Liverpool fixture at the Boleyn Ground was the 38,239 who saw Pat Holland score the only goal in a 1-0 Division One victory for the Hammers on 28 March 1970.
The Hammers and the Reds met in the 1981 League Cup final at Wembley, drawing 1-1 after extra-time, with Ray Stewart scoring a late penalty. Liverpool ran out 2-1 winners in the replay at Villa Park.
Ticketing, travel, coverage and other info
Tickets for this match have SOLD OUT. However, they may become available online as Season Ticket Holders relist.
The District and Hammersmith & City lines are set to serve Upton Park station as normal on Saturday.
Rain is expected at lunchtime on Saturday, with temperatures crawling up to 10C (50F).
If you are not heading to the game on Saturday, make sure you keep right up to date on our digital channels. The whufc.com live match centre has audio commentary, text updates, in-running stats, photos and more. Remember you can get involved with the conversation on social too using the hashtag #WHULIV.
C&H
Arsenal get big fee when Jenks plays
First things first- we can’t send Carl Jenkinson back to Arsenal.. It’s a season long loan with no recall clause and it’s costing us a forune.
ClaretandHugh has learned this morning that on top of the £40k a week wages, and £1.5 million loan fee, Arsenal are receiving payments of £30k for every game he plays.
And the very simple truth is that’s too much and as a source told us a few minutes ago: “He won’t be returning next season – we need to nail that position down.”
To say that Jenks has been a disappointment is a bit like saying: Dimitri Payet is a good player!”
But on the basis that there are many blessings in disguise in this world we now have seen a multi-defensive player develop in James Tomkins.
Like every other player at this exciting club of ours, JT has battled brilliantly to grab his chance – Jenks will need to show the same sort of character if he’s to come in from the Boleyn wilderness.
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