Inter Milan are in talks with Liverpool over a loan switch for midfielder Curtis Jones, 25, with an option to buy the England midfielder. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Arsenal could offer Brazil forwards Gabriel Jesus, 28, and Gabriel Martinelli, 24, as part of the deal to sign Atletico Madrid and Argentina forward Julian Alvarez, 25. (Teamtalk), external
Arsenal are also close to selling defender Oleksandr Zinchenko to Ajax. The 29-year-old Ukraine international joined Nottingham Forest on loan last summer but has only made four Premier League starts. (Athletic - subscription required), external
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are exploring a deal to sign Manchester City's 33-year-old German goalkeeper Stefan Ortega, whose contract expires in the summer. (Florian Plettenberg - Sky Germany), external
Everton midfielder Dwight McNeil, 26, is another option for Nottingham Forest, but the Toffees' struggle to source a replacement for the Englishman may make a deal tricky. (Sky Sports), external
Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee, 24, wants to stay at Manchester United for the rest of the season, having been repeatedly linked with a move back to Italy with Roma interested. (Sun), external
Argentine centre-half Lautaro Rivero, of River Plate, is being monitored by Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham, Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Strasbourg. The 22-year-old reportedly has an £86m release clause. (El Crack Deportivo - in Spanish), external
Real Madrid are ready to cash in on France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, with Arsenal and Liverpool keen on signing the 23-year-old. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Aston Villa have received a loan bid from Hoffenheim for their Scotland Under-21 striker Rory Wilson, 20. (Sky Sports), external
Wolves are interested in signing Scotland striker Che Adams, with the 29-year-old at Italian side Torino since leaving Southampton on a free transfer in the summer of 2024. (Talksport), external
Karim Benzema is considering a return to Europe or finding a club in Major League Soccer after discussions over a new deal in Saudi Arabia turned sour. The 38-year-old former Real Madrid and France forward will be out of contract at Al-Ittihad in June. (ESPN), external
Manchester City are considering bringing back Norway midfielder Sverre Nypan, 19, who is on loan at Middlesbrough, into their squad for the rest of the season. (Manchester Evening News), external
Barcelona are planning a summer bid for 28-year-old Manchester United and Argentina centre-back Lisandro Martinez. (Fichajes - in Spanish)
Sky Paper Talk
PREMIER LEAGUE
There is a growing conviction among Premier League managers that this will be Pep Guardiola's final season at Manchester City even though his contract runs until 2027 - The Times
Everton will continue to pay Jack Grealish's wages for the remainder of his loan from Manchester City, despite the winger requiring surgery that will end his season - The Times
West Ham have banned a season-ticket holder who held up a banner calling for the club's owners to sell up - The Guardian
Jose Mourinho could land himself a return to Real Madrid this summer with the Spanish giants eyeing up their next permanent boss - Daily Mirror
Tottenham are considering a move for Raheem Sterling after seeing his Chelsea contract mutually bought to a premature end - giving him the scope to explore the market - Daily Mirror
SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP
Celtic and Frosinone remain far apart in their valuation of star winger Fares Ghedjemis, according to a report - Scottish Sun
Shaun Maloney insists there's no chance he'll be Celtic manager next season - Daily Record
CRICKET
The former deputy chairman of Yorkshire has been found guilty by a disciplinary panel of using discriminatory language during an after-dinner speech - The Times
F1
Accusations related to "alleged probate fraud" have been made in the bitter legal battle between the children of Sir Stirling Moss over his £20m-plus fortune - Daily Telegraph
RUGBY UNION
Freddie Steward would advocate a law change to turn the skies into a "safe space" by forcing players to make a genuine attempt to catch contestable kicks - The Times
The Athletic
An evening with West Ham legends: Lucas Paqueta switch, VAR is a ‘sack of s***’ and survival hopes
The Athletic attended an evening with (left to right) West Ham legends Frank McAvennie, Tony Cottee, Tony Gale, Sir Trevor Brooking, Julian Dicks and Carlton Cole Roshane Thomas/The Athletic
By Roshane Thomas
Sir Trevor Brooking was greeted with a standing ovation when he walked on stage, and the applause continued when he outlined why West Ham United are better off without Lucas Paqueta.
On Tuesday night, at the Adelphi Theatre in central London, in front of a sold-out audience, Brooking, 77, was accompanied by Tony Gale, 66, Carlton Cole, 42, Julian Dicks, 57, Frank McAvennie, 66, and Tony Cottee, 60, for ‘An Evening with West Ham legends’ event.
The ex-pros, who have a combined total of 1,991 appearances for the east London club, spent approaching two hours discussing West Ham’s Premier League survival chances this season, why one of the club’s former managers has similar credentials to Manchester United great Sir Alex Ferguson, VAR being a “sack of s***” and their appreciation of recently-deceased Upton Park legend Billy Bonds.
But one of the loudest cheers came when Brooking discussed Paqueta’s €42million (£36.4m; $49.8m) switch to Flamengo. The Brazil international made 139 appearances for West Ham after a summer 2022 move from French club Lyon, registering 23 goals and 15 assists. His final game for the club was the 2-1 home defeat to relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on January 6.
Gale, serving as the show’s host, asked Brooking his thoughts on 28-year-old Paqueta’s controversial move back to his homeland, which was then in the offing and got confirmed on Friday.
“He’s got a lot of talent, but in every game he gives the opposition a chance to score,” said Brooking. “And quite often they’ve taken that!”
He continued: “Now we have a few days to try and get one or two players in with the money we get from selling Paqueta. It looks as if we’re going to get about £35million, and that’s a good fee. Now it’s just a matter of who we bring in to replace Paqueta.”
Applause from the crowd shortly followed, and Gale used it as an opportunity to make a joke about Brooking.
“He (Brooking) has a knighthood, and I said, ‘Trevor, I’ve known you for many years. What do you want me to call you now? Trevor, or Trev?’. He said, ‘Tony, I’ve known you for 20 years. Just call me Sir’.”
The event started at 7.30pm and Gale introduced Cole to the crowd, which led to a rendition of his terrace chant.
“Where was my song?” said Gale.
“You went to Blackburn (in 1994, after a decade at West Ham),” shouted a middle-aged supporter from the audience.
“I only went there to win something,” came the reply (Gale played 15 league games as Blackburn claimed the title in his only season there).
Dicks, Cottee and McAvennie all received warm applause, with Brooking getting the loudest cheer.
The show was underway, but not before a singing of the club’s iconic Forever Blowing Bubbles, which Gale referred to as the national anthem, adding: “We went a bit early there, and we f***ed it up, didn’t we?”
Just like on so many occasions in his West Ham playing career, Gale was on top form.
There were some entertaining stories about Cole losing Argentine team-mate Carlos Tevez at a nightclub, and an infamous pre-season trip in Amsterdam, which Cottee recalled: “(West Ham’s then manager) John Lyall burst into the room, fuming. ‘I know some of you went out drinking last night. If that was you, you need to put 50 quid down on this table. I’m going to go out this door and come back in two minutes’. John goes out of the room, comes back in two minutes later, expecting 150 quid — there was £1,200 in the middle of the table. That’s what you call a good team spirit!
“I loved playing under John. For me, he’s up there with Sir Alex (Ferguson). John is easily one of the best managers this club has had.”
After half-time, or the interval as it’s known in theatrical circles, there was a Q&A session, and before the conversation shifted towards West Ham’s survival hopes this season. Though at this point, Dicks had something to get off his chest.
Cole told a story about Carlos TevezRichard Heathcote/Getty Images
“I think VAR is a sack of s***,” he said. “They get it wrong even after five f***ing minutes. Just useless. That is my honest opinion.”
“Thank you. That was such a succinct and intellectual answer,” Gale responded in jocular fashion.
Most of the former pros were in agreement that West Ham have enough talent in their squad to avoid relegation. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo’s side remain in the bottom three, five points adrift of Nottingham Forest in 17th, following last Saturday’s 3-1 home win against Sunderland. But they have sealed back-to-back league victories ahead of this weekend’s trip across London to face Chelsea.
“It’s definitely possible (that we will stay up), and I back us to do it,” said Cole. “You just need a bit of luck during times like these. We’re winning, but so are teams around us. It’s a bit hard to catch them all, but there’s a possibility that we can rope Crystal Palace (15th) and Tottenham (14th) in. We have to be positive. We’re entering a good run of form and hopefully it will lead to more points.”
Brooking agreed.
“I got to every game, and I think we will stay up,” he said. “The two just above us that everyone’s been looking at, Forest and Leeds, I don’t think they’re going to get us out of trouble. I think we are going to need somebody above them (to slide down the table), and that’s why I agree with Carlton about either Palace or Spurs being one of them. The next month, we will have to be alongside one of them. We’re playing much better, so there have been positives. So if we can keep up our good run of form, and one of the other clubs drops in, then that will strengthen our chances.”
Cottee, however, was not as optimistic.
“If you’d have asked me after the Forest game (that 2-1 home defeat in early January), I would have said no,” he said. “As we sit tonight, let’s be honest, we’re in massive trouble. We need two wins just to get out of the bottom three. Tottenham’s next four games are Manchester City, Man United, Newcastle and Arsenal. If we get a point against Chelsea, beat Burnley and give Man United a game (in the following two matches), then we have a chance.
“Towards the end of the season, there are games where we can get points. So can we still stay up? I have to be honest, I have no idea. Hopefully, we sign a centre-back to boost our chances.”
With the event coming to an end, Gale asked the panel to name the best player they played with in their careers.
Brooking and Dicks wasted no time in showing their appreciation for West Ham’s longest-serving player, Bonds, who passed away at the age of 79 in November.
“I had a fantastic understanding with Alan Devonshire, but ‘Bonzo’ was my top man,” Brooking said. “He was the captain, came from Charlton Athletic as a right-back and transitioned into a midfielder. It’s just a great shame he never had the opportunity to play for England. He was good enough to earn a number of caps.
“As a person, I couldn’t have wished for a better mate. He played his heart out, and I was very lucky to play alongside him. We had 30 years of travelling and doing evening shows. People always ask me who’s the best footballer I’ve played with, and Bonzo was easily my number one.”
“Mine is Billy as well,” Dicks added. “My favourite memory of him was an away game against Coventry (in 1992, when Bonds was West Ham manager). I elbowed Micky Gynn, and at half-time I was the first one to get in the dressing room. Billy goes, ‘You f***ing idiot’, and I looked behind me because I thought he was talking to someone else. I went, ‘Are you speaking to me?’. He said, ‘F***ing right I am’. I said, ‘What’s the matter?’. He says to me, ‘You can’t go round elbowing people’. I said, ‘Bill, you did it for a living!’.
“Although I didn’t get to play many games with him, he typified what I like in a footballer, which is passion, pride and determination. Billy had it in abundance.”