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Alan 11:39 Sun May 2
Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

BBC

Everton have joined Chelsea, Leeds United, Tottenham, Barcelona and Inter Milan in wanting to sign Argentina striker Sergio Aguero, who will be available on a free transfer when he leaves Manchester City in the summer. (Star on Sunday)

Manchester United will sell France midfielder Paul Pogba this summer if the 28-year-old does not commit to a new deal. (Sun on Sunday)

Egypt forward Mohamed Salah says Liverpool have not spoken to him about extending his deal at the club, with the 28-year-old's current contract running until the summer of 2023. (Sky Sports)

Manchester United will reject any bids for Netherlands midfielder Donny van de Beek, 24, this summer. (Sun on Sunday)

Arsenal believe they can bring in 24-year-old Brighton and Mali midfielder Yves Bissouma for £30m. (Star on Sunday)

AC Milan are monitoring Chelsea and England striker Tammy Abraham, 23, who is also wanted by West Ham. (Standard)

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez would be open to a return to Premier League management - and managerless Tottenham are keeping tabs on him. (Sun on Sunday)

Fulham manager Scott Parker is also emerging as a possible contender to replace the sacked Jose Mourinho at Tottenham, where Parker spent two years as a player. (Football Insider)

Departing Bayern Munich boss Hansi Flick wants to become Germany coach when Joachim Low leaves after this summer's European Championship and is not interested in taking over at Tottenham. (Sport1 - in German)

Spain defender Sergio Ramos, 35, is still hoping for a two-year contract extension from Real Madrid, who have only offered him a one-year deal to follow the end of his current contract this summer. (Marca)

Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma's contract with AC Milan runs out in the summer and his agent, Mino Raiola, has held talks with Juventus about the 22-year-old joining them. (Calciomercato - in Italian)

Juventus manager Andrea Pirlo has responded to rumours about his future by saying he has spoken with the club's owners and is "not concerned when it comes to my work". (Goal)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta could be willing to give 21-year-old English midfielder Joe Willock, who is on loan at Newcastle United, a chance to prove himself with the Gunners. (Shields Gazzette)

Arteta also says Arsenal "are going to have that discussion" when it comes to extending 20-year-old English midfielder Emile Smith Rowe's contract at the club. (Sky Sports)

Aston Villa are planning a move for Manchester United's 23-year-old English centre-back Axel Tuanzebe, who has previously spent a spell on loan at the Midlands club. (Football Insider)

Spain defender Eric Garcia's agent is close to agreeing a deal which would see the 20-year-old join Barcelona on a free transfer after his contract with Manchester City runs out in the summer. (Mundo Deportivo)







The 72

West Ham ‘Checking Out’ Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall

West Ham are reportedly ‘checking out’ Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall, reports The Sun on Sunday (02.05.21, pg. 61).

Worrall, 24, has been subject to Premier League speculation all season. David Moyes is said to be keen on bringing in another centre-half in the summer and Worrall has come onto their radar, having been linked with Burnley throughout the campaign and more recently Norwich City.

Now though, Alan Nixon writes in The Sun on Sunday how the Forest man could be sold for a ‘compeitive price’ in the summer which, as Nixon writes, would give them cash for new signings.

In 30 Championship appearances this season, the Englishman has once again proved why he’s such a key component in this Forest side. Despite their struggles on the pitch they’ve proved defensively shrewd for the most part, with Worrall the standout performer at the back.

His loss would be a huge blow and with the likes of Burnley, Norwich and now West Ham all linked, his summer departure seems inevitable.

Where might be the best option for the Forest man also remains unclear – West Ham have been quick to raid the Championship in recent seasons and have handed the likes of Jarrod Bowen regular game time.

Meanwhile, Burnley and Norwich City will be expected to be at the lower ends of the Premier League table next time round, and so game time might be more ensured for Worrall at either of those two.

No clear favourite has yet emerged in the race for Worrall, who’s previously been valued as high as £12million.




OS

Dmitri Halajko: U23s produced a great team performance

West Ham United U23s lead coach Dmitri Halajko was delighted by the dominance his team asserted in their 2-1 win over Arsenal U23s on Saturday afternoon.

On a pleasing day for the Academy of Football, just two hours after the U18s had seen off Southampton 3-2 at Little Heath, Halajko’s development squad claimed a late - and important - 2-1 win over the North London side at Meadow Park.

West Ham’s U23s were the dominant team throughout the course of the game, time and again making inroads into the penalty box, only to come up against an Arsenal goalkeeper, Tom Smith, in good form.

Ademipo Odubeko had perhaps the clearest of the openings but saw his close-range shot smothered by Smith, while left-sided full-back and winger duo Emmanuel Longelo and Nathan Holland – a constant combined threat throughout – also came close in the first half.

As it was, West Ham’s opening goal came towards from from the penalty spot towards the end of the opening period, when Odubeko’s quick feet saw him fouled, giving U23s captain Conor Coventry the opportunity to dispatch with aplomb.

Disappointingly, however, Arsenal were awarded a spot-kick of their own just moments later – the fifth penalty the Hammers have conceded in their last five games – when Kai Corbett fouled Joel Ideho inside the area, with Nikolaj Moller also converting.

A similar pattern ensued in the second half but, just when it looked like their deserved second goal might not arrive, Corbett’s clever forward play won the Hammers the third penalty of the game with just five minutes remaining.

This time, when Odubeko gleefully dispatched the ball for his eleventh goal of the campaign, it proved the decisive one.

Halajko reflected: “I thought it was a game where we performed well, especially in the middle of the pitch – we kept the ball well. Our possession stats were good and our line breaks were good.

“We dominated a large share of the ball and certainly dominated the chances – we probably created enough chances to win two or three games today. We had really good build-up play and produced a really good performance.

“There were only two disappointing things today: we didn’t finish more of our chances, because we had lots of openings, and the fact we gave away another rash penalty.

“Apart from that, I think we played another good game – a game that we deserved to win – with plenty of good individual performances, but most of all a really good team performance.”

Halajko explained that, although a collective effort – West Ham’s U23s had 23 shots to Arsenal’s six, and 12 on target to the Gunners’ sole effort – it was the offensive work down the left flank which particularly caught his eye, as well as Coventry’s display.

He reiterated: “I really think that it was a team performance; there were many performances I could single out.

“Down the left side we were a real threat – Manny and Nathan down that left side really gave them problems, and were probably our biggest attacking threats.

“Manny’s been ill all week as well and hasn’t really trained much. He had to come off last week as well because he was ill, so to come here and play that amount of time with no real training, and off the back of an illness, showed really great character from him.

“It was great to have Nathan ahead of him because those two link up so well – we’ve seen them do it before – so to have that back in the team was really nice.

“Conor’s always going to give us a captain’s performance as well – he’s the most consistent player in the league, so he’s always going to give us a really good showing.”

The young Hammers’ victory was their fourth in their last seven Premier League 2 Division 1 games – a run of results which has encompassed defeat only to confirmed champions Manchester City.

The 14 points gained during that spell have pushed West Ham’s U23s from the bottom of the table to outside the Division 1 drop zone, where they now sit eleventh place.

With just one game left to play, they now lie two points ahead of Leicester City U23s - who have a game in hand on them - and are now just two behind Arsenal U23s.

West Ham therefore go into next Friday’s season finale knowing that, putting Leicester’s results aside, another win against Arsenal will guarantee their place in development football’s top-flight – and would even see them leapfrog the Gunners into tenth.

The lead coach confirmed: “The form that we’re in at the moment is really the form we should have been in at the start of the season.

“We’re certainly producing some of the same aspects, but we weren’t finishing games off or killing teams off back then. Now, we’re finding a way to grind out three points when needed.

“We’ve had similar kinds of performances in terms of our statistics in games – they aren’t too dissimilar – but the statistics in the penalty boxes have seen a big difference. Our all-round game’s been pretty consistent aside from that.

“Manchester City away [a 5-0 loss] was probably the only game we were way off the level. Apart from that, we’ve been in every game, and so we've been unfortunate not to be higher in the league table this year.

"We believe our performances have been better than our league position represents.”






Southampton OS

U18 Report: West Ham 3-2 Saints

Southampton’s youngsters battled valiantly but were narrowly defeated away to West Ham United in their penultimate game of the Under 18’s Premier League season.

The scoring commenced on 27 minutes, a scorching effort off the right boot of West Ham’s Divin Mubama enough to beat Ollie Wright and put the hosts ahead.

The lead was rapidly doubled just two minutes later, George Earthy cutting inside and firing a low shot that nestled into the bottom left corner.

Saints then instantly responded themselves, Kami Doyle clinically striking home following a communication breakdown in the West Ham defence on 31 minutes.

Fresh from halftime, West Ham earned a penalty in the 51st minute that was clinically tucked away by Mubama for his second of the game.

Southampton found the energy to reply once more through an excellent Fedel Ross-Lang header on 70 minutes, but ultimately were unable to find the deserved equaliser.

The Saints came into the game off the back of a sensational 4-3 victory away to Reading midweek, but struggled to re-enact such form against a well-oiled West Ham side; perhaps slightly fatigued from the intensity of their prior match.

Both teams emerged brightly in the London sunshine, West Ham clearly opting for a possessive style of play early on, but found many of their attacking options suffocated as Southampton responded with intense pressure on the ball.

Utilising his astonishing pace, West Ham’s Remy Caddington proved the biggest threat in the opening exchanges, the winger’s first effort on five minutes well smothered by the outrushing Wright, while his second flew just wide of the left post from a tight angle ten minutes later.

Southampton found themselves with a golden opportunity to get their noses ahead on 25 minutes, a clever through ball from deep intended for Luke Pearce was intelligently left by the striker who was aware he was offside, allowing Sonnie Davis to test Jacob Knightsbridge with a powerful strike, before Pearce’s attempt on the consequential rebound was remarkably headed off the line by a swarm of recovering West Ham defenders.

Probably still aghast at how they weren’t ahead, Southampton were caught out on 27 minutes for the opening goal, Regan Clayton launching in a long, lofted ball from the left that was misjudged by the backtracking Leon Pambou, allowing Mubama to control and fire into the top right corner.

Clearly psyched-up by their first the hosts doubled the advantage just two minutes later, Clayton creating another opportunity to deliver from the left side, the fullback this time finding Earthy, who showed nice composure to cut back onto his right foot and clinically finish into the bottom left corner from close range, his effort aided by a slight deflection.

With the game now very much end-to-end, Southampton instantly revived their hopes of a comeback on 31 minutes, Pearce picking out Doyle with a well weighted pass, allowing the attacker to gently curl his effort past a diving Knightsbridge, after a lack of communication within the West Ham defensive ranks led to cheap dispossession of the ball.

Eager to get on level terms before halftime, Southampton’s Doyle came close to getting his brace seven minutes before the interval, but couldn’t control his volley as he fired over the bar following a Ross-Lang floated cross to the far post.

Halftime didn’t exactly come at a brilliant stage for The Saints, who were firing on all cylinders toward the end of the first period, whereas the hosts were afforded a much needed reset.

Furthermore, it didn’t take long for West Ham to begin posing a threat again, Caddington once more showcasing his dazzling feet and trickery inside the area, eventually teasing Matt Carson into a mistimed tackle. Mubama stepped up to fire the resulting penalty emphatically into the bottom right corner on 51 minutes.

Showing an impressive willingness to fight back after going behind for a second time, Southampton kept Knightsbridge on his toes with a flurry of shots from range in the latter stages of the second period, both captain Lewis Payne and Doyle going close with well struck efforts.

West Ham could only soak up the pressure for so long, and Southampton finally broke down the door with 20 minuets to go, substitute Rylee Wright whipping his cross to the far post, where it was met by the hanging Ross-Lang who guided the ball back across the goal with a cultured header that ratted in off the post.

Despite their best efforts, Southampton couldn’t find the equaliser they undoubtedly felt was deserved, Dom Ballard’s curled effort from just outside the area proving to be the reds’ last roll of the dice, not quite double sixes, but positives to take nonetheless.

Southampton’s final game of the season next Saturday sees them host 11th placed Reading for the second time in three weeks, as the reds look to end their campaign on a positive note.

West Ham

1 Jacob Knightsbridge (GK)
2 Junior Robinson
3 Regan Clayton
4 Ben Heal - Gael Kileba (63′)
5 Brandon Thomas - Billy Bates (59′)
6 Levi Laing (C)
7 Remy Caddington
8 Rafiq Khaleel
9 Divin Mubama
10 George Earthy
11 Sonny Perkins

Substitutes
12 Billy Bates
13 Laurie Shala
14 Gael Kileba






Planet Football

A love letter to Alessandro Diamanti, an unlikely West Ham cult hero



By Tom Victor

Alessandro Diamanti only had a brief spell at West Ham United – and it was hardly successful – but in a poor team he was a player always worth watching.

Let’s start with a little Choose Your Own Adventure game.

You’re playing for West Ham United against Hull City in a crucial Premier League match. A game so tense that it qualifies as a six-pointer even in February.

Before the game, both clubs are locked together on 24 points, one clear of the drop zone, but early in the second half your team is 2-0 ahead, courtesy of Valon Behrami and Carlton Cole.

You win a tackle about five yards inside your own half and about 10 yards infield from the touchline. Do you:

a) Hold onto the ball and let your team-mates catch up
b) Play a simple ball inside to Radoslav Kovac and continue your run down the left wing
c) Drive forward with the ball, taking advantage of the open space ahead of you, and buy your defence some breathing room.

If you know anything about Alessandro Diamanti, it will come as no surprise that he chose option D in this situation. His next touch was a shot, and one that somehow won his team a corner kick after a backpedalling Boaz Myhill was forced to palm it wide.

Diamanti spent just one full season as a West Ham player, the 2009-10 campaign when the club somehow stayed up with a game to spare despite ending the season with 35 points.

It isn’t a huge stretch so say there wasn’t a huge amount for fans to cheer about that season, especially after the takeover by current owners David Gold and David Sullivan, after which manager Gianfranco Zola was essentially a dead man walking for several months.

This was a team that picked up just one win throughout December and January, to go along with their one win before the end of October, so perhaps the bar was set lower for a cult hero than it might have been in previous seasons.

Maybe it was because East London had been crying out for an enigmatic Italian ever since their 2003 relegation and the departure of Paolo Di Canio, but Diamanti left his mark in his all-too-short spell with the club.

Anti-hero

Diamanti’s appeal went against everything anyone should demand from a relegation-battling team, which may be why his time at Upton Park hasn’t lived long in the memory for everyone.

In such a situation, fans are normally drawn to poachers who score important goals – Diamanti scored just three from open play, all in defeats, the same number as centre-back Matt Upson when you strip out the Italian’s penalties and free-kicks.

They tend to like players who make a noticeable difference to a survival effort – Diamanti missed the run of seven points from four games in April which kept the club afloat.

They often have a soft spot for players who stick around and carve out a niche – Diamanti left after just one appearance the following season, coming off the bench in an opening-day Premier League defeat to Aston Villa.

But different fans react in different ways to a club’s struggles, and from a personal point of view I delighted at seeing someone who clearly didn’t belong in a Premier League relegation fight, a magician with a left foot like no West Ham player before or since, and a selection of haircuts so diverse that even commentators struggled to identify him when he came off the bench against Villa with a shaved head.

This was a man who looked like he had ended up at the club by accident, but rather than adapting to the situation, he decided to just play his normal game for nine months while regarding everything else that went on around him as purely coincidental.

While Zola’s apparent lack of control could leave him looking forlorn on the touchline, Diamanti seemed to respond to a similar situation by appearing aloof, almost sapping the energy of his team-mates and channelling it all into a guttural yell in response to a rare goal.

He was the opposite of what was needed, which somehow made him even more precious.

As a postscript, there are two Diamanti moments from his career after leaving West Ham which show the two sides of his game.

First, after returning to Italy, he produced a similar range of displays, only around more competent team-mates, and it was enough to earn him a call-up to the Italy squad for Euro 2012. West Ham fans lamented what could have been (just kidding, it was literally only me who did that).

Secondly, in May 2013, during Bologna’s Serie A game against Genoa, Diamanti had 14 – yes, fourteen – shots on goal and played a further 11 key passes. The game finished goalless.

Diamanti left Bologna in February 2014 to move to the Chinese Super League. They were relegated after scoring just eight goals in the 16 games that followed.

This season, back in Serie A with Palermo after a short-lived spell alongside Behrami at Watford, he has averaged one shot per 40 minutes. He is yet to score a goal.





Nigeria Soccer

Slavia Prague place one condition on West Ham-linked winger Olayinka leaving Czech

Czech Republic champions Slavia Prague are open to the idea of Peter Olayinka leaving the club in the summer transfer window but there is a condition attached to the gentleman's agreement reached with the winger.

Slavia Prague had a Cinderella run in this season's Europa League, beating Bayer Leverkusen and OGN Nice in the group stage before seeing off Leicester City and Glasgow Rangers in the knockout rounds.

Their standout players in the competition are attracting huge interest from European clubs, including Olayinka.

Despite an injury-plagued season, the Nigeria national teamer has directly participated in 16 goals across all competitions, including five in the Europa League before Slavia were eliminated by Arsenal last month.

Premier League club West Ham United have been credited with an interest in the versatile winger and he will be allowed to depart Slavia as long as they receive a good offer.

Speaking about the plans of Slavia Prague in the summer, Jaroslav Tvrdík, Chairman of the Board of Directors, was quoted as saying by iSport : "On the other hand, Peter Olayinka already has a promise that if a good offer comes, he will be able to leave."

The 25-year-old had spells with clubs in Albania, Cyprus and Belgium prior to his switch to Slavia Prague, with whom he is contracted until June 2023.

Grumpster 1:34 Mon May 3
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Even more bizarre considering he's been playing in Australia for 2 years and left palermo a few years back.

Mex Martillo 7:08 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Thanks Alan

Mex Martillo 7:07 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

That Diamanti story is about as bizarre as I remember his season with us. I don’t remember working out what he was doing with us.

Razzman 6:24 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

cheers Al

Texas Iron 5:06 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Cheers...

Alan 1:37 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Olayinka story added

Tomshardware 1:05 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

With Kind Regards 12:57 Sun May 2

With Kind Regards 12:57 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

bill green 12:44 Sun May 2

bill green 12:44 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Thanks Alan 12:05 Sun May 2

Thanks Alan 12:05 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

ted fenton 12:05 Sun May 2

ted fenton 12:05 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

happygilmore 11:57 Sun May 2

happygilmore 11:57 Sun May 2
Re: Sunday newspapers (includes West Ham)

Thanks Alan.