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According to an update by reliable club insider ExWHUemployee, writing on his Patreon, West Ham United have been gifted another injury boost after the good news regarding Aaron Cresswell – with Manuel Lanzini now apparently back in full training and available for selection. 

West Ham gifted another injury boost

Lanzini missed out on the latest victories over Wolves and Leicester City after picking up a knock in training, but after recovering, the Argentine has now returned and ‘should be in contention’ for a match day squad place against Newcastle this weekend.

ExWHUemployee’s news of his return comes as another injury boost for the side after Claret & Hugh also revealed Cresswell’s hamstring problem is nowhere near as bad as first feared – with the latter man expected to be back within 2-3 weeks.

Lanzini has played little part for Moyes over 2020/2021 bar a sensational wondergoal away to Spurs before the new year, but his availability gives the gaffer another attacking option while he currently has not one out-and-out striker, so could prove invaluable.

In these last few games, supporters could be hoping Lanzini will replicate those north London heroics if called upon – especially considering the vitally important run of fixtures that loom ahead.

Transfer Tavern take

The Hammers have managed to keep their European dream very much alive with a string of crucial wins recently, but each one has proven nervy for the supporters.

Since West Ham managed to squander a 3-0 lead at home to Arsenal, it appears the scar has somewhat stuck as Moyes’ men also nearly threw away that same advantage at Molineux and at the London Stadium against Leicester.

Just seven games remain for the Irons and Europe is well within reach, but the last few encounters will certainly prove anxiety-inducing.

To clinch the European dream, manager David Moyes will need every available West Ham asset to play their part, and perhaps Lanzini can pop up with another wonder-goal now he is back in the fold.

In other news: West Ham eyeing this Slavia Prague star, it’s not Sima – find out more here.

In a recent interview, former Leeds United forward Noel Whelan discussed Joe Gelhardt’s chances of becoming the surprise replacement for Patrick Bamford on Friday if the latter cannot get over his knock.

Since joining Leeds from Wigan Athletic last summer, Gelhardt has been in rather remarkable form for the club’s U23 side, scoring eight goals and providing three assists over his 14 appearances in the Premier League 2.

However, despite his impressive form for the youth side, the £5,100 per week centre-forward has still yet to make his first-team debut for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

Although, with Patrick Bamford picking up an injury in the club’s recent 0-0 draw with Chelsea, and, at present, the 27-year-old remaining a slight doubt for the upcoming clash with Fulham, Gelhardt could theoretically be in line to replace the striker in Bielsa’s starting XI.

However, speaking recently to Football Insider, Whelan claimed that he couldn’t imagine the 18-year-old being thrown in at the deep end by Bielsa this Friday, suggesting that Rodrigo could be played in a more advanced role instead.

He said: “I’m not sure if he will [start]. We’ll probably see him more on the bench, but while we still need points to guarantee safety, I can’t see that actually happening.

“I think you’ve got to go for experience and tried and trusted players in Rodrigo and Tyler Roberts, depending on which way they want to play it and which way round they want it.

“It’ll be hard to justify a £29 million player sitting on the bench for a teenager who hasn’t had any game time for Leeds United.

“It’s a massive loss losing Patrick and it was a massive risk. We knew that from two years ago when he was our only striker and he’s done so well not getting injured until now.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Indeed, considering Bielsa’s apparent reluctance to field Gelhardt previously this season, it would be a surprising turn of events if the 65-year-old suddenly changes his mind and opts to throw the teenager in from the start against Fulham.

However, considering how impressive Gelhardt has been for the U23 side this term, perhaps he does deserve a chance in the first team, something which would also bring the benefit of allowing Bamford more time to recover from his knock.

In other news: Leeds are ‘thinking seriously’ about making this key addition – find out more here!

David Sullivan should fund a revised swoop for West Ham United to sign Youssef En-Nesyri, with Sevilla reportedly expecting a new offer from the Premier League side this summer.

What’s the word?

According to La Razon, Sevilla chiefs have begun drawing up a shortlist of candidates to replace En-Nesyri at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium and have named Real Madrid’s Mariano Diaz as a potential option.

The Nervion outfit anticipates being active in the transfer market at the end of the season as En-Nesyri is likely to drum up vivid interest across Europe, after Sevilla successfully fended off the Hammers’ efforts to sign the Moroccan during the mid-season window.

Sevilla have not ruled out West Ham making a renewed approach in the summer but will again urge that the Irons to pay €40m (£35m) for his services, as AC Milan and AS Roma are also now willing to challenge for the 23-year-old.

Reports last month by The Athletic claimed the London Stadium natives had an opening offer of €25m (£22m) plus €5m (£4.5m) in additional add-ons rejected, while the Daily Star later alleged that an improved bid worth up to £32m was on the table.

David Moyes later confirmed that West Ham had seen an offer rejected for the €50,000-per-week (£44k-p/w) marksman, who has since taken his tally to 17 goals in 33 games.

“He’s not the only one we’ve bid for. We’ve bid for others. We’ve really knocked on the door of three of four really good players, which we think would have helped us if we’d got them,” Moyes said, via quotes by the Evening Standard.

Should West Ham revisit En-Nesyri this summer?

As West Ham ultimately did not sign a striker to replace Sebastien Haller during the winter transfer window, the East London outfit will have to hit the market this summer to add depth behind an injury-prone Michail Antonio.

With the Irons also, allegedly, not too far off of matching Sevilla’s demands for En-Nesyri and Moyes even admitting to making an offer last month, it would not be that surprising to see a revised approach made at the end of the season.

Sullivan will have to dig a little deeper to come up with the extra few million needed to land the free-scoring 23-year-old, though he should not err on the side of caution too much.

Roma and Milan are unlikely to be the only clubs around Europe who could challenge West Ham for En-Nesyri, given the Moroccan’s record in front of the net this season. The 35-cap international has scored 13 goals in 22 La Liga fixtures and four goals in six Champions League ties.

West Ham have not had a player score as often in a single league season in more than a decade, with Marko Arnautovic’s 11-goal haul in 2017/18 the highest tally a Hammers player has achieved in that timeframe.

The Irons also have few players who have featured as often in Europe throughout their careers as En-Nesyri has just this term, with Andriy Yarmolenko playing 72 games, Vladimir Coufal 31 matches, Tomas Soucek 22 fixtures, Pablo Fornals 19 matches, Lukasz Fabianski 16 matches, Arthur Masuaku 15 games and Manchester United loanee Jesse Lingard featuring 39 times in UEFA competitions beyond the qualifying stages to date.

Those players may be able to build on their records next season with West Ham in contention for a European qualifying slot, but having a goalscorer of En-Nesyri’s calibre will be very beneficial to them, regardless of whether they’re playing in Europe or not.

AND in other news, West Ham are willing to take a £19m hit to offload a £85k-p/w flop…

Southampton’s decision to send Yan Valery out on loan during the winter transfer window was met with a lot of confusion by Saints fans, especially with the lack of a real back-up option to Kyle Walker-Peters on the right-hand side.

The South Coast club were unable to bring in a full-back during January after seeing loan moves for the likes of Brandon Williams, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Japhet Tanganga and Neco Williams all collapse.

Therefore, it was strange to see Valery join Championship strugglers Birmingham City, as it left Ralph Hasenhuttl without any real squad depth in defence.

Since then, Walker-Peters has picked up an injury that ruled him out for much of February, forcing the Austrian manager to play centre-back Jan Bednarek out of position at right-back.

Whilst the Polish international is solid defensively, he offers nowhere near the attacking threat of Walker-Peters, who would provide the Saints midfielders an out ball with his forward runs.

This has been a key factor in Southampton’s recent dreadful form, which has seen them pick up just one point from their last eight matches, including heavy defeats against Leeds United and Manchester United.

Saints fans would have been hoping that Valery would get regular game time with Aitor Karanka’s side in the Championship, but that has simply not been the case, which makes the decision to send him out on loan even more baffling.

The 21-year-old has made just one start for his new club so far and whilst he impressed in that game, earning a 7.65/10 rating from WhoScored, the rest of his appearances have all come from the bench.

Considering the French defender has made 37 appearances in the Premier League in his career thus far, and was a regular under both Mark Hughes and Hasenhuttl in the 2018/19 season, it was perhaps expected that he would get regular game time with the side currently hovering just above the relegation spots in the second tier.

However, the move clearly hasn’t worked out for the young defender so far and considering Walker-Peters’ injury concerns and the Saints’ recent form, it seems crazy that he was allowed to leave in the first place.

And, in other news… Forget Jankewitz: Southampton may already have Romeu replacement in 18 y/o gem

Crystal Palace have reportedly become the latest club to register an interest in Hatayspor striker Aaron Boupendza.

According to 90.com, the Eagles have been monitoring the Gabon international, alongside a host of fellow Premier League sides, namely Tottenham Hotspur, Southampton, Leicester City and West Ham United, amongst many others.

Steve Parish and the Palace hierarchy need to ensure that they push themselves to the front of the queue and secure the £6.3m-rated striker in the summer.

Boupendza is currently in lethal form for Hatayspor. He sits top of the Turkish Super Lig scoring charts with 18 goals in just 26 matches. That record is even more remarkable considering that the 24-year-old has started just 16 matches in the league this term.

He would certainly bring a distinct eye for goal to Selhurst Park should he sign for the Eagles, an aspect that Roy Hodgson’s current options are certainly missing.

Of the strikers currently at the club, Christian Benteke is the highest-scoring with a measly five strikes. Meanwhile, fellow forwards Jordan Ayew, Michy Batshuayi and Jean-Philippe Mateta all sit on just one goal each.

It goes without saying then that the Eagles need to bring in someone capable of finding the back of the net.

When comparing his match statistics, Boupendza continues to come out on top.

According to WhoScored, he attempts more shots per game than any of Crystal Palace’s current players with 2.8.

Remarkably, the striker also completes a huge 2.7 dribbles per game which would be by far and away the best in the Eagles’ squad – an astounding feat considering the fleet-footedness of the likes of Eberechi Eze and Wilfried Zaha.

It is no surprise then that there is considerable competition for his signature. Palace must make sure they push themselves to the front for him as they are in desperate need for a forward who can find the back of the net.

AND in more news, take a look at which former Premier League boss would be the perfect replacement for Roy Hodgson…

Southampton have been dealt a huge blow ahead of their game against Leicester City on Saturday, as Danny Ings has been ruled out after testing positive for the current viral outbreak.

Ralph Hasenhuttl confirmed in his pre-match conference on Thursday that the England international would be forced to sit out the game against the Foxes after a positive test, as he will now have to self-isolate due to the government’s guidelines.

This comes as a big blow for the Austrian as he saw his side fail to score in three games over the Christmas period that Ings missed through injury before the former Liverpool man returned to score the winner against his old side in the Saints’ last Premier League fixture.

It is an important game against Brendan Rodgers’ side on Saturday evening, with both sides having enjoyed an impressive start to the season which sees them challenging for a top-four spot, so to have your top scorer missing is obviously a huge blow for the South Coast club.

So far this season, the 28-year-old has managed seven goals and three assists in just 13 top-flight appearances for Southampton, averaging a superb 7.17 rating.

The Englishman is picking up where he left off last season, where he finished as the second joint-top scorer in the Premier League, despite a disjointed season so far where injuries, and now the current viral outbreak, have ruled him out of matches.

Last season, Eddie Howe was full of praise for the striker, saying:

“The most impressive thing about Danny is, of course, he’s an outstanding player.”

“Technically he’s very good, plays with real intelligence and the way he’s come back from his disappointments, the injury setbacks he’s had, the way he’s fought back and kept his mental strength has been hugely impressive.”

Hasenhuttl will surely be frustrated to have his top goalscorer missing for the game against Leicester and he now faces a dilemma on who to select up front alongside Che Adams, who should return after missing the game against Liverpool with a concussion.

And, in other news… Southampton signing England U21 gem would cast doubt over the future of Hasenhuttl favourite

Glasgow Rangers target Niklas Dorsch stood out for Gent despite their 2-1 loss against Slovan Liberec on Thursday in the Europa League.

Dorsch shines

The Gers were linked with a move for the former Bayern Munich man this summer before he joined Gent from German outfit Heidenheim for €3.5m (£3.2m).

Gent have struggled so far in Europe this term, failing to pick up a single point in five matches in the competition, but Dorsch at least impressed this midweek.

He completed both of his attempted dribbles and managed three tackles, whilst he also provided the assist for Roman Yaremchuk’s strike. His display was well rounded, providing two key passes, drawing two fouls and adding an interception to those all-important three tackles (Whoscored).

It was the type of performance that may tempt Steven Gerrard to refresh his interest in the midfield in the future.

Gers missed out

It is thanks to this kind of showing that there was a battle for Dorsch’s signature during the summer. Heidenheim were on the verge of earning promotion to the Bundesliga, only to be beaten in the relegation play-off on away goals by Werder Bremen, and Dorsch played in 34 out of a possible 36 matches during that run. His form last term led to Heidenheim CEO Holger Sanwald calling him “special”.

In the end, Gerrard did manage to bring in Bongani Zungu on loan from Amiens. However, Dorsch has a strong pedigree and was a star player for his team last term. With three goals in 13 matches in the Belgian top flight this time around, he also appears to be settling well. He may be the one that got away from the 54-time Scottish champions, or potentially a target again in the future as players like Scott Arfield move past their prime.

In other news, this shock Champions League result could have a big impact on Rangers.

Wilfried Zaha scored the decider as Crystal Palace somewhat stopped the rot from spreading further by drawing with Leicester City in the Premier League at Selhurst Park.

Following back-to-back defeats to Liverpool and Aston Villa respectively, Roy Hodgson will have had every right to feel a little bit anxious about his position.

After failing to score against ten-man Villa, Hodgson’s side rediscovered some of their attacking edge as they picked up a vital point.

Zaha gave the Eagles the lead in the second half after Vicente Guaita saved a pathetic penalty attempt from Kelechi Iheanacho, only for Harvey Barnes to level the score.

While Zaha will most likely receive much of the plaudits, Jairo Riedewald deserves the spotlight after he put in such a solid defensive shift against the Foxes.

The Palace defensive-minded midfielder has earned his stripes so far this season and really seems to have embraced the challenge, causing all sorts of mischief in the midfield. He’s already scored one goal in the Premier League this season but even though he couldn’t get himself on the scoresheet on Monday afternoon, this was easily one of his best performances yet.

Riedewald, who earns roughly £55,000-per-week at SE25, was a constant nuisance for Brendan Rodgers’ side as he took delight in breaking up attacks at almost free will.

The 24-year-old was involved in most of the action in the midfield as he made one clearance, one interception, two tackles – more than his teammate James Tomkins – and blocked one shot.

Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t help Palace keep their first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over Southampton at the start of the season, although it’s worth pointing out he had already been replaced by James McArthur by the time Barnes found the bottom corner.

However, this will do little to take the shine off his impressive shift, as Riedewald made the most of his sixth start of the season with a dominant display shielding the defence.

Per SofaScore, he won four out of his five duels overall (80%), showing his strength by winning the majority of his individual battles with Leicester midfielder Nampalys Mendy.

It feels like we’ve said this before, but this is just the latest example of impressive performances from the former Netherlands international. You do have to wonder why he hasn’t started more often after his latest showing.

AND in other news, Lightweight: Crystal Palace defender Cheikhou Kouyate was shocking vs Aston Villa…

Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, former England international Carlton Palmer says that West Ham United would be taking a backward step by signing AS Roma striker Edin Dzeko.

The Irons have been linked with a swarm of attacking options since selling Sebastien Haller to AFC Ajax earlier this month, with that decision leaving Michail Antonio as David Moyes’ sole remaining senior centre-forward.

Reports over the weekend touted Dzeko as the latest in the long line of strikers to be linked with a potential mid-season move to the London Stadium, with claims from Italy suggesting the Bosnia and Herzegovina star had been offered to West Ham.

Dzeko’s future at the Stadio Olimpico was thrown into doubt after the Bosnia and Herzegovina star was stripped of the Giallorossi captaincy after a falling out with head coach Paulo Fonseca, with their relationship now in complete tatters.

West Ham were not alone in being linked with Dzeko as Everton, Manchester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers were also credited with an interest.

Palmer thinks Moyes and his side should look elsewhere ahead of February 1’s deadline, as Dzeko is coming toward the end of his career and he thinks that his usefulness would be limited.

When asked if it would be a good move for West Ham, he said:

“No, not really. No. I think you’ve seen the best of him when he was last in the Premier League. That wouldn’t be a good move at all. It’s a backward step that,” Palmer told FFC.

“No disrespect to Dzeko, we all get to that stage where you just become, I wouldn’t say become a journeyman, but you’re past your best. You can still do a job, but you’re not going to, let’s say, set the world on fire as what you did before.

“So, no, not a good move, in my opinion.”

Dzeko has scored seven goals in 15 Serie A appearances this season, of which he started 14, but he was omitted from the matchday squad that beat Spezia Calcio 4-3 on Saturday following his falling out with Fonseca.

The £7m-rated veteran further found the back of the net once and provided one assist over the Giallorossi’s Europa League Group Stage efforts, having been called upon only from the bench against the likes of BSC Young Boys, CSKA Sofia and CFR Cluj.

No current West Ham player has scored as often this season as Dzeko with Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek and Antonio the top-scorers in Moyes’ squad with five strikes each across all competitions, while Haller had found the back of the net seven times before his £20m move to Ajax.

But only three of Haller’s goals had come during Premier League fixtures, while Bowen, Soucek and Antonio are yet to score outside of the top-flight this term.

Despite him having more goals than any current Hammer, Palmer thinks West Ham should forget about Dzeko and look elsewhere for a new forward.

AND in other news, West Ham see bid rejected for £13.5m-rated target who’s played just 88 minutes of league action this season…

Tottenham are keeping a close eye on a former Premier League defender as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of the transfer window slamming shut.

Spurs stumble in season opener

Ange Postecoglou's side looked as though they were set to thrash Leicester City on Monday night as they rounded off the first weekend of Premier League action, but were wasteful and duly punished by evergreen striker Jamie Vardy, which forced them to settle for a draw at the King Power Stadium.

"It is a disappointing outcome. We were very dominant first half but really wasteful in front of goal. We started the second half similar", Postecoglou explained after the game.

"But you know at 1-0 there is always an opportunity for the opposition to come back into the game. That's what happened and we lost our way for 15 or 20 minutes. We lost our composure and the crowd got behind them, but again we finished strong.

"I am just really disappointed as we lacked a little cutting edge in the front third and made some poor decisions. We lacked some composure and didn't get the reward our football deserved."

Tottenham hold talks to sign £50,000-a-week forward who Pep called incredible

Spurs face competition from a Billionaire-owned club.

ByEmilio Galantini Jul 12, 2024

So far, Spurs have added six new faces to their ranks this summer, breaking their transfer record to bring Dominic Solanke to the club and also shelling out on Championship talents Archie Gray and Wilson Odobert from Leeds United and Burnley respectively.

Tottenham's transfers this summer (via Transfermarkt)

Player

Fee

Dominic Solanke

€64.3m

Archie Gray

€41.25m

Wilson Odobert

€29.3m

Lucas Bergvall

€10m

Min-Hyeok Yang

€4m

Timo Werner

Loan

Now, they have been linked to add another in the final days of the transfer window in a surprise move.

Tottenham and Man Utd eyeing move for Barcelona defender

That comes courtesy of reports from Spanish outlet Sport, relayed by Sport Witness, who claim that Spurs are one of the sides keeping tabs on Barcelona defender Andreas Christensen in what they describe as a surprise target.

The ex-Chelsea man is on the market as Barcelona look to trim their squad, with the report revealing that both the Dane and Eric Garcia are candidates to depart before the end of the transfer window, depending on the offers received for the pair.

Though Barcelona want to make more signings, they must sell first and value Christensen at €25m (£21.2m), while some reports claim that they cannot even register new signing Dani Olmo until they have made further sales.

This mess has caught the eye of Manchester United and Tottenham, both of whom are said to be "on the lookout" for the Danish defender and could move before the end of the summer window.

As it stands, Tottenham have Cristian Romero, Micky Van de Ven and Radu Dragusin on their books, as well as out of favour defender Ben Davies and young talent Ashley Phillips, who is expected to leave on loan in the final days.

Though his Chelsea links may well count against him, should Spurs be able to land favourable terms for the Danish international, it could be a shrewd move with Postecoglou's side back in Europa League action this season and likely to need more cover at the back.