BBC
Manchester City have made Valencia's Spanish winger Ferran Torres, 20, their top transfer target this season. (ESPN)
Tottenham are edging closer to a deal to sign Denmark midfielder Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, 24, from Southampton. (Sky Sports)
Arsenal, Tottenham and Leicester are all options for Barcelona and Brazil midfielder Philipe Coutinho, 28, who is currently on loan at Bayern Munich. (Sport - in Spanish)
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has dismissed speculation linking Slovenia goalkeeper Jan Oblak, 27, with a move away from the club. (Marca - in Spanish)
West Ham have stepped up their pursuit of QPR's 22-year-old forward Eberechi Eze, with the England Under-21 international valued at £20m. (Guardian)
Leeds United are lining up a £15m bid for Tottenham and Argentina defender Juan Foyth, 22. (Sun)
Roma are yet to reach an agreement with Manchester United over the permanent signing of English defender Chris Smalling, 30. (Corriere dello Sport - in Italian)
Lazio are in negotiations to sign Manchester City's outgoing Spanish playmaker David Silva, 34. (AS)
Chelsea and Brazil midfielder Willian, 31, who is out of contract this summer, has two "concrete offers" from Premier League clubs, says his agent. (Talksport)
A potential Sunderland buyer has promised the signing of four Premier League players for up to £50m. (Sun)
Everton want to sign Serbian former Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic, 36, from Zenit Saint Petersburg. (Vecernjih Novosti - in Serbian)
Belgium defender Jan Vertonghen, 33, says he has an option in his head as to where he wants to move next after leaving Tottenham. (Talksport)
Fulham are leading the race to sign Tottenham's 19-year-old English midfielder Oliver Skipp on a season-long loan. (Evening Standard)
Greek defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos, 32, is not part of Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta's plans. (Football London)
Real Madrid are monitoring the progress of Sevilla's 21-year-old French centre-back Jules Kounde. (ESPN)
Guardian
West Ham will step up chase for QPR's £20m-rated Eberechi Eze
No 10 also of interest to Palace, Villa, Newcastle and West Brom
Hammers look to offload Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini
Jacob Steinberg
West Ham have stepped up their pursuit of Eberechi Eze, with David Moyes determined to win the race to sign the Queens Park Rangers forward.
QPR are holding out for as much as £20m for Eze, who is also attracting interest from Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Newcastle and West Bromwich Albion. Although West Ham are unlikely to be able to spend heavily, they have indicated they are prepared to make funds available to sign the 22-year-old.
Eze is one of the most exciting young players in the Championship. He is at his best in the No 10 position and finished the season with 14 goals, including a stunning effort when QPR ended their season with the 2-2 draw that led to West Brom winning automatic promotion last week.
Moyes is a big admirer of the London-born Eze, who made his debut for QPR in 2017. West Ham’s manager is unconvinced by some of his attackers and hopes to increase his budget by selling Felipe Anderson and Manuel Lanzini. Albian Ajeti is close to joining Celtic on loan after he failed to score or start a Premier League game since signing from Basel for £8m last year.
West Ham, who are determined not to sell Declan Rice to Chelsea, are aiming to recruit young, hungry players from the lower leagues. They signed Jarrod Bowen from Hull for £22m in January and the winger played a key role in them avoiding relegation. Moyes has also targeted the QPR full-back Ryan Manning and is interested in the Wigan Athletic defenders Cédric Kipré and Antonee Robinson.
West Ham face plenty of competition for Eze, particularly from Palace. Roy Hodgson’s side have been tracking him for a long time and do not want to miss out.
The Hammers could switch their focus to Brentford’s Saïd Benrahma if Eze ends up elsewhere. That is largely likely to depend on whether the Algerian winger helps them to win the Championship play-offs. Brentford are 1-0 down going into the home leg of their semi-final against Swansea on Wednesday.
Media Referee
West Ham interested in 26-year-old Barcelona star – A big addition by the Hammers?
Why Samuel Umtiti to West Ham would bolster their defence
According to El Mundo Deportivo (h/t Daily Mail), West Ham are interested in signing Barcelona star Samuel Umtiti in the summer.
Having risen through the ranks at Lyon, Umtiti, 26, went on to establish himself as a key figure of the French outfit for five years. After making 170 appearances for Lyon, he earned a move to the Catalan club, where he became an instant hit alongside Gerrard Pique at the heart of Barcelona’s defence, helping them lift several trophies, including two La Liga titles.
The defender was also a significant member of the French squad which won the World Cup in 2018. However, since then, he has dropped down the pecking order at Camp Nou due to the major injuries he endured.
And now, compatriot Clement Lenglet has taken his spot under Quique Setien. Thus, West Ham should take advantage of his situation and bring him to East London in the summer. But they need to beat off competition from Arsenal and Everton, who are also interested in him as per the report.
The Hammers have done enough to secure top-flight status and manager David Moyes has once again delivered at the right time. With 10 wins and 19 losses, West Ham finished the league in 16th position but they have been inconsistent throughout the campaign.
Thus, to avoid that, the manager needs to work on several key areas. He needs to bring in reinforcements and form a strong squad for next season and aim to finish in the top half of the table.
Umtiti could provide West Ham with stability in defence
One area the manager should focus on strengthening is the backline. The Hammers have conceded 62 this term, which is poor according to their standards. Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna are the two main central defenders and they haven’t been at their best.
Paraguay international Fabian Balbuena has featured in just 17 games and hasn’t yet convinced the manager to become a regular starter. Apart from them, they have only Goncalo Cardoso in their ranks but the youngster hasn’t featured in a single league game this season and lacks experience. Thus, the Hammers need to bring in an experienced centre-back in the summer if they are to do better and progress.
To that end, Umtiti would be a massive signing for the club. The French international has featured in just 13 league games this season but he has already proven his mettle for both club and country. He has made over 280 appearances so far and his experience could come in handy for Moyes next season.
Umtiti is arguably one of the best centre-backs in Europe in terms of talent and is capable of producing his best given he stays away from injuries. Given his performances when he was in good shape, West Ham can expect him to be their leader at the back. And with regular game time, he could prove to be a difference in their defensive unit.
Verdict
At 26, the former Lyon man has won almost everything in football and his winning mentality could be a huge bonus for the Hammers, who are in dire need of established centre-backs. They also need to bring in a replacement for Ogbonna, who is already 32 and reaching the twilight of his career. Thus, attempting a move for the World Cup winner would be a smart decision by the club.
SportsLens
Atletico Madrid want West Ham United goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez
According to Diario AS (via football espana), West Ham United goalkeeper Roberto Jimenez is wanted by La Liga giants Atletico Madrid this summer.
The 34-year-old spent the second-half of the season on loan at Alaves after failing to impress at the London Stadium, but he was solid on his return to Spain, helping to keep Alaves up and has attracted Diego Simeone’s side from the look of things.
Jan Oblak’s back-up and Atletico’s second choice Antonio Adan is close to joining Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon, and Jimenez is one of the options that has been identified to take his place.
The Spaniard joined West Ham on a two-year deal from Espanyol last summer and was expected to provide quality cover and competition for Lukasz Fabianski.
Jimenez couldn’t prove his quality, though, shipping 22 goals in 10 appearances across all competitions, and his woeful performances saw the Hammers drop way down the Premier League table.
West Ham failed to win any of the eight league games with him in goal, losing six and drawing twice, and the club and fans will be more than glad to see his back given the role he played in their relegation struggles.
Jimenez spent his youth career at Atletico and could now be returning to the club for the second time.
According to a Rangers blog we're signing young striker Nathan Young Coombes (17) from Rangers. Apparently a highly rated prospect (with a Sideshow Bob haircut).
Sky Sports
Josh Maja: West Ham interested in Bordeaux and ex-Sunderland striker
Maja also on Rangers' radar as potential replacement for Alfredo Morelos
West Ham are interested in Bordeaux striker Josh Maja.
The 21-year-old, who made a name for himself at Sunderland, is also of interest to Rangers as a potential replacement for Alfredo Morelos.
Maja is not pushing for a move, having only joined the Ligue 1 club in January 2019, but the French club's finances have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and they could sell to raise funds.
Maja is also well known to Hammers boss David Moyes, who gave him his Sunderland debut back in 2016.
Maja went on to score 17 goals in 49 senior appearances for Sunderland, having come through their academy.
He has scored nine goals in 31 league appearances for Bordeaux, whose season was cut short in April because of the virus.
SportsLens
West Ham United want Everton’s Jonjoe Kenny and QPR’s Ryan Manning
According to The Telegraph, West Ham United manager David Moyes wants to bring Everton right-back Jonjoe Kenny to the London Stadium this summer.
The Hammers have Ryan Fredericks and Ben Johnson as their options in the position, but are looking for another quality addition and Moyes is looking to reunite with the Toffees academy graduate.
He knows Kenny well from his days at Goodison Park when the 23-year-old was still a youth team player, and he has been impressed with his performances with Schalke 04.
The Everton full-back spent the season on loan at the Bundesliga side, scoring twice and assisting thrice in 31 league games, but it remains to be seen if he is in manager Carlo Ancelotti’s plans for next term.
The Hammers are also looking to strengthen at left-back and Moyes wants Queens Park Rangers man Ryan Manning.
The 24-year-old featured in 44 games across all competitions for the Championship side, scoring five goals and assisting seven others, and he could prove to be an upgrade on West Ham duo Aaron Cresswell and Arthur Masuaku.
Landing Kenny and Manning will help improve West Ham’s attack next term and going forward given the duo’s quality in the final third, and it will be interesting to see if Moyes can get his hands on his men.
