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BBC
Ivorian defender Serge Aurier, 28, who is currently a free agent after leaving Tottenham Hotspur, is set to join Spanish side Villarreal. (L'Equipe - in French)
Claudio Ranieri has agreed to become Watford's new head coach after Xisco Munoz's departure on Sunday, with the 69-year-old Italian expected to sign on Monday. (Sky Sports)
Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward says the Old Trafford club are committed to manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose side have won one of their last four games. (Mirror)
Manchester City are watching Barcelona's 19-year-old Spanish midfielder Nico Gonzalez, who is on the fringes of the first team. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Meanwhile, full-back Sergi Roberto is another Barcelona player on whom Manchester City are keeping an eye, with the 29-year-old's contract at the Nou Camp running out next summer. (Calciomercato - in Italian)
Borussia Monchengladbach'steenage German defender Luca Netz claims he rejected a "nonsense" transfer to Manchester City three years ago, and the 18-year-old says he would turn them down again. (Sun)
Former Arsenal and Manchester United forward Alexis Sanchez faces an uncertain future at Inter Milan after the 32-year-old Chilean posted - and subsequently deleted - a social media post criticising his lack of playing time. (Mirror)
Atletico Madrid are the latest club to enter the race to sign German forward Timo Werner, 25, from Chelsea. (Transfer Market Web)
Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, 38, has offered his services to his old club Barcelona as they continue to struggle, but it is unclear whether the Ivorian wants to play or coach. (Sun)
Owner Mike Ashley knows the only way to change Newcastle United's head coach will be to pay up almost all of Steve Bruce's contract which he agreed in July 2019. (Chronicle Live)
Bayern Munich's Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee, 20, says he turned down a chance to sign for Everton back in 2017. (Het Nieuwsblad via Liverpool Echo)
Fiorentina director Joe Barone says the club are making "enormous efforts" to extend Serbia striker Dusan Vlahovic's contract, with the 21-year-old's current deal with the Serie A side running until June 2023. (DAZN, via Football Italia)
Guardian
Brentford’s Yoane Wissa claims win against West Ham with last kick of game
Nick Ames at the London Stadium
The most appropriate praise available to Brentford might be that they won this match using qualities readily associated with their hosts. While they began with the scintillating attacking football that has become so familiar, two-thirds of their afternoon became a scrap and it yielded the most dramatic of rewards. A subdued West Ham had rallied sufficiently to feel they deserved a draw but then, with the final action of added time, came an almighty sting that allowed no recovery.
Eight days previously Yoane Wissa had emerged from the bench and scored against Liverpool within four minutes. On this occasion, having been deployed to turn the tide after Jarrod Bowen’s half-volleyed equaliser, he kept everyone waiting three times as long.
By now Brentford looked content with a point but, in an isolated late foray, they won a free-kick to the right of centre. Mathias Jensen’s delivery was met by a towering Pontus Jansson and, when Lukasz Fabianski could only parry towards the penalty spot, Wissa lashed through a crowded box. The ball flew into the net; Brentford’s players hurtled towards their travelling support and the most eye-catching win of their young Premier League existence was secure.
“Of course 12 points is a lot but I don’t set any targets,” Thomas Frank said of his side’s tally. “We’re proud and pleased with what we’ve got so far and I think the most important thing is that it’s truly deserved.” All the same he would not have scorned a draw and he admitted that, in the technical area, his coaches were extolling the virtues of that outcome as the clock ticked down. But Wissa’s goal ensured they leapfrog West Ham into seventh and have beaten one of last season’s top six for the first time.
It cannot be taken for granted that a newly promoted side so short on top-flight experience mixes light and shade to such canny effect: look at the problems Norwich have long encountered with harnessing the game’s less salubrious arts. Here Brentford mastered it all. They roared out of the blocks and fully deserved the opener Bryan Mbuemo, who had already clipped the woodwork and missed a good headed chance, contrived in the 20th minute.
The breakthrough came from a sequence that encapsulated Brentford’s initiative. Ivan Toney, whose reputation as a goalscorer precedes him, had earlier tested Fabianski with a volley but dropped deep to clip a gorgeous first-time pass into Sergio Canós’s path. Canós is a right wing-back but had taken it upon himself to dart down the middle; Fabianski tipped his low effort away but Mbuemo, sliding in at an angle, just managed to squeeze the loose ball over the line before the recovering keeper could intervene.
That was more or less the last of Brentford as a fluent attacking force. In fairness they had been disrupted twice prior to kick-off through injuries to Kristoffer Ajer and, in the warm-up, Vitaly Janelt. Then Shandon Baptiste dislocated his shoulder before the interval and there appeared at least some cumulative effect. Bu, as the hour mark approached, West Ham had largely been restricted to efforts from range, Saïd Benrahma curling wide against his old club and seeing David Raya tip over a free-kick.
Raya was infuriating the home fans with his laid-back preparation for goalkicks; it had become an effective spoiling performance from Brentford, and one that agitated David Moyes sufficiently to attempt a wrestling match with Mathias Jørgensen as he delayed at a throw-in. Bowen’s goal had, however, been signposted as the pressure ramped up; the forward had missed a free header and drawn a save from Raya, who also denied Vladimir Coufal, before he struck for the first time this season with the purest of connections after meeting Ethan Pinnock’s clearance.
“I thought the second goal would come and it should have,” Moyes said of West Ham’s outlook from there. “I’m disappointed with the result. I didn’t think we played that well but we certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game, that’s for sure.”
In truth, though, his team had been muted for long periods. That was of a piece with an afternoon that saw a pre-match protest against West Ham’s ownership fail to muster numbers that would keep David Sullivan or David Gold awake at night. Brentford’s tenacity and application were ultimately enough to send Frank and co bouncing home.
“Everyone knows that, if you want to get top results, you need to defend with bodies on the line, that’s massive if you want to create big things,” Frank said. Delectable and dogged as required, Brentford are constructing something extraordinary.
Telegraph
Yoane Wissa's strike gives Brentford win at the death to shock hosts West Ham
Brentford's impressive start to the season continues as West Ham suffer comedown after European exploits
By John Aizlewood at the London Stadium
Brentford seemed to have thrown the game away. After a swashbuckling first half against a rather lacklustre West Ham United, they were ahead only through Bryan Mbuemo’s goal. West Ham rallied in the second half and equalised through Jarrod Bowen and if there was to be a winner, surely it would be the home side, leaving the visitors with much to rue.
Then, with the last meaningful action of the afternoon, Angelo Ogbonna illegally blocked Brentford substitute Yoane Wissa to give away what West Ham manager David Moyes pronounced a “stupid free kick”.
Another substitute, Mathias Jensen, guided it towards goal. Pontus Jansson’s header was brilliantly saved by Lukasz Fabianski, only for Wissa – scorer of the equaliser in last week’s epic against Liverpool – to gleefully volley home, securing Brentford’s first victory against one of last season’s top six and West Ham had lost their second Sunday home game following a Europa League Thursday.
“I’m so pleased,” said Thomas Frank, the Brentford head coach. “I always believed we could do something in the Premier League. We were brave, but we defended with bodies on the line and we showed the attitude I want: confident we can do something, but humble enough to have a massive work ethic.”
These teams had never met at the top level and had only met in one season at any level since 1954. The portents looked healthy for West Ham. They may already be fighting on three fronts, but Moyes deployed the same starting XI who won at Leeds last week, yet a top-four place remains tantalisingly out of reach.
“We didn’t play well, but we didn’t deserve to lose,” Moyes insisted. “If we had won 2-1, nobody would have complained. We had many chances and we had the opportunities to create many more, but Brentford are hard to play against. They can pass nicely and they can knock it long.”
Behind for just 25 minutes all season, Brentford started as if their petrol tanks were full. Mbuemo could have had two in the first four minutes, firstly he shot against the upright after penalty area ping-pong following Sergi Canos’s corner. Then he headed Rico Henry’s danger-laden cross inches past Fabianski’s post.
West Ham seemed rather taken aback by Brentford’s opening salvo. Holding midfielders Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek dropped back, limiting their influence and allowing Brentford the space to carry the ball from midfield. Neither Kurt Zouma nor Ogbonna kept Ivan Toney in check, Christian Norgaard ran central midfield with arbitrary sway and Mbuemo finally struck gold after 20 minutes. Toney’s golden through ball unleashed Canos, who outpaced Zouma and shot low and hard. Fabianski saved, but the loose ball fell to Mbuemo, who squeezed it over the line despite Fabianski’s rapid recovery.
Having already lost Vitaly Janelt with a thigh injury during the warm-up, Brentford soon lost a second player when Shandon Baptiste dislocated his shoulder. Less comfortable playing at a reduced tempo, Brentford were unsure whether to stick or twist. Just before the hour, David Raya was finally called upon, saving smartly from Bowen after intricate footwork from erstwhile Bee, Said Benrahma, as, galvanised by Vladimir Coufal, West Ham rustled up something approaching a head of steam.
Ten minutes from the end, Brentford cracked. Cresswell lobbed in a corner from the left. Rice headed it on. Pinnock cleared but only as far as Bowen, who thrashed his first goal of the season past Raya.
Fleetingly a home victory looked in sight, but, as Frank explained afterwards, his assistant Brian Riemer mused that a point was fully deserved. Frank had other ideas, telling Riemer “we can win this”. How right he was.
OS
West Ham United U18s triumph away at Chelsea
Chelsea U18s 1-2 West Ham United U18s
U18 Premier League South
Kevin Keen’s West Ham United U18s side produced an outstanding collective performance to defeat Chelsea U18s at Cobham Training Ground on Saturday morning.
The Academy team went into the game off the back of back-to-back disappointing London derby defeats against Arsenal and Tottenham, but fought their way to three points with impressive resilience and fortitude amidst blustery conditions in South London.
A scrappy contest saw both sides trade efforts from range early on, Oliver Scarles striking directly at Chelsea goalkeeper Teddy Curd before Blues forward Leo Castledine responded in kind with an effort which flew over the bar.
Whenever the ball was in the air, however, the Hammers looked dominant, and from their third corner of the game on 22 minutes, Asher Falase’s far-post delivery was powered home by the onrushing Kaelan Casey – the centre-back’s first Academy goal as a Scholar.
Seven minutes later, their lead was doubled. Divin Mubama was pushed in the back by Chelsea captain Alfie Gilchrist. First-year Scholar Mubama stepped up to take the resulting penalty, sending Curd the wrong way from the spot for his second goal in three games this season.
Chelsea began to dominate the ball but came up against a resolute West Ham team in determined form.
The Blues did, however, get a goal back before half-time when Castledine’s cut-back was met on the bounce by Charlie Webster. The midfielder’s volleyed finish took a deflection off Falase and wrong-footed Jacob Knightbridge, making the score 2-1.
In the second, West Ham’s first goal provider almost turned scorer as Falase drilled a right-footed effort narrowly wide of the post, before the full-back’s free-kick reached Casey once more, the centre-back missing the mark with his header when well-placed.
Chelsea went on to dominate the second period territorially but West Ham held firm, with the Blues’ Ronnie Stutter hitting the post and the same player blazing over from just inside the penalty area.
The final chance of the match fell to Chelsea, a loose ball from a corner kick falling to centre-back Luke Badley-Morgan in the area. As he volleyed goalwards, West Ham ‘stopper Knightbridge produced an outstanding, match-winning save in the dying seconds.
There was even time for West Ham to introduce young forward Blaise Uwandji – three days short of his 16th birthday – from the bench for his youth team debut in the closing stages.
“It was a super result – a real boost for the U18s squad,” lead coach Kevin Keen told whufc.com.
“It was a fantastic response to last week. We’ve had a really good week as a squad. We’ve had quite a few meetings and discussions – they’re very mature young men.
“We’ve probably not had the results that we’ve deserved so far this season, but yesterday made up for it a little bit. The lads, as a team, were extremely organised, worked really well together and restricted Chelsea to just a few chances.
“We played some really good football, especially in the first half. It looked like we would go in 2-0 up but their goal just before half-time put a little bit of a different focus on the game.
“We worked very hard and still created chances in the second half. Jacob [Knightbridge] made a fantastic save in the very last minute to make sure we won the game, but I thought we deserved to win it for our work rate and our intensity.
“We were very brave with our press, pressing them very high which is quite unusual in Academy football, so it was a good win and a nice boost for the lads, especially with the international break coming up.”
Keen saw fit to praise the collective performance of his players, whose cogency and togetherness saw through the victory in testing conditions.
“I think for me it was a collective victory,” Keen noted. “You can’t go to Chelsea and win at any level, certainly not at youth team level, without everyone playing their part.
“Even the substitutes coming on played their part well and did their roles, whether it was Lewis Orford for 20 minutes or Blaise [Uwandji] for ten minutes or even Isaac [Evans] coming on for the last five minutes, everyone in the squad really put a shift in, concentrated really well and worked really hard.
“We deserved the result and I’m really pleased for the boys, because they’ve worked so hard this season.”
West Ham United U18s: Knightbridge, Falase, Tarima, Casey, Forbes (c), Clayton, Woods, Earthy, Scarles (Evans 90+2), Mubama (Orford 76), Kodua (Uwandji 86)
Subs: Terry
Goals: Casey 22, Mubama 29 (pen)
Booked: Woods, Knightbridge, Falase
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