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West Ham fell just short of fielding the walking wounded last night as a horrendous injury crisis essentially forced David Moyes to start anybody who could boast something near a clean bill of health upon welcoming Crystal Palace to the London Stadium.

Forced to fit square pegs in round holes, Chiekhou Kouyate was pushed up into attacking midfield to support Javier Hernandez and right-back Pablo Zabaleta moved across to the engine room. But that, in turn, made room for a young player who has shown glimpses of promise during an inconsistent two years with the Irons – 24-year-old Sam Byram.

Touted as one of English football’s most exciting prospects at Leeds United, the distrust of Slaven Bilic and injury problems have halted Byram’s progress in east London. In fact, last night marked the Englishman’s first Premier League start of the season, but you wouldn’t have known it from his performance.

Indeed, Bryam – who Transfermarkt value at £4.05million – was a real force for the Hammers at right wing-back both offensively and defensively, evident enough from the fact he created the most chances, completed the joint-most crosses, won the most tackles and made the most interceptions of any Irons player. And even more tellingly of how consistently influential he was, no West Ham player had more touches of the ball throughout the ninety minutes.

That leaves David Moyes facing something of a headache for West Ham’s trip to Brighton on Saturday. Pablo Zabaleta has been arguably the Irons’ most consistent performer this season, but Byram has really staked a claim to retain his place at right wing-back for the weekend.

That being said, Zabaleta certainly didn’t let himself down in midfield last night either, so perhaps the current setup can be maintained for West Ham’s next game. In any case, a positive selection headache in any position right now is a much-welcome change from clogging gaps with square pegs in round holes.

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Tottenham’s season has been as good as over ever since Benfica dumped the North Londoners out of the Europa League in Lisbon.

It has been a season of disappointment, with the investment of the summer holding Spurs back rather than proving to be the catalyst for a Premier League title push.

Tim Sherwood appears to be riding a tight rope at Spurs, and given Levy’s impatience for success you can expect there to be further upheaval this summer. Spurs fans will be desperate for some good news over the next few months, and with Daniel Levy at the helm you can expect your fair share of thrill and spill along the way.

So we’ve put together a list of the SIX things we can expect to see at Tottenham this summer.

Click on Tim Sherwood to reveal

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Everton forward Kevin Mirallas has played down hopes of the club challenging for a Champions league place this season, claiming ‘there is still a long way to go’, reports Sky Sports.

David Moyes’ side continued their fantastic start to the season with a 3-1 victory over Southampton at Goodison Park, which saw them climb to second place in the Premier League table, just three points behind leaders Chelsea.

And summer signing Mirallas has started to make a significant impact on the team’s form, scoring his first goal for the club in the previous weeks 3-0 win at Swansea, before providing two assists against the Saints.

The Belgian international is loving life on Merseyside so far, but is keen to play down the expectation his new side could be in the same position come May.

“Before I signed, I was looking at the Europa League being a more realistic ambition,” he told the Liverpool Daily Post.

“But certainly now as the season has got underway, we have got a good crop of players here and are playing some really nice football.

“It’s fantastic that we are second and our ambition now has to be to stay up there and put pressure on those around us. It’s a long season though and there’s a long way to go, so we’ll have to see what happens.”

Mirallas has also admitted to being surprised at how quickly he has settled at Goodison Park.

“It’s going a lot better than I could have hoped for. The settling in period has been a lot shorter than I thought it was going to be.

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“That’s because of various reasons. My team-mates are really cool with me, they have been great with me. They talk to me a lot and support me a lot. The other big factor is that I’ve spent a lot more time on the field and played in more games than I thought I might have done at first.

“I’m still not quite there physically. I still need a good run of games to be 100 per cent fit. I had a chat with the manager when I first came here and he was fully aware that I hadn’t a full pre-season because I’d had a problem with my knee. I’m trying to catch up on that by playing games,” he added.

According to West Ham United insider ExWHUEmployee, the Hammers have bid an initial £17.5m for Lazio’s Felipe Anderson, with some performance-related add-ons.

And earlier this week, the West Ham fans blasted their owners for bidding too low.

There is certainly no smoke without fire, and it would not be a surprise if the London club did manage to pull off a deal for the Lazio attacker in this summer’s transfer window.

The West Ham supporters have again been discussing Anderson, who is valued at £27m by transfermarkt.co.uk, on social media, and it appears that they are split when it comes to the likelihood of the deal.

[brid autoplay=”true” video=”253217″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch The FM18 Two Minute Challenge Pellegrini at West Ham”]

Indeed, there are those who feel that their club will smash their transfer record to sign Anderson this summer, but there are also plenty who are finding it difficult to believe that a deal will take place.

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One thing is for certain, the London club will have to come up with a tasty offer to convince Lazio to sell a player who scored eight times and registered 10 assists in all competitions for his Italian club during the 2017-18 campaign.

A selection of the latest Twitter reaction can be seen below:

As reported by The Daily Mail, Everton are interested in signing Chelsea left-back Baba Rahman on loan during this month’s transfer window.

What’s the story?

Everton lack natural left-sided defensive cover for popular star Leighton Baines and have had to rely on right-back Cuco Martina filling in for the veteran, who has been out with a calf injury since November.

It’s clear that they need to bring in competition for the position this January and it seems as if Sam Allardyce has found a target.

The Daily Mail report that the Toffees are interested in bringing Chelsea defender Baba Rahman to the club on loan, with the Stamford Bridge side set to sanction a temporary move away in the second half of the season.

Everton do face competition for his signature though, with Bundesliga club Schalke and Italian giants Inter Milan both interested in a loan move according to the paper.

Can he make an impact?

Rahman, who is rated at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, has had injury issues of his own to contend with over the last year, missing the entirety of 2017 with a severe knee injury suffered on loan at Schalke last season.

Now fit again though, he’s well placed to provide a capable option to a team like Everton.

With Bundesliga experience at the likes of Greuther Fruth, Schalke and Augsburg under his belt, he’s also made 23 appearances for Chelsea and has a couple of dozen caps for the Ghanaian national team.

Still just 23 years of age, he can add an exciting, dynamic outlet on the Toffees’ left flank, also not afraid to get stuck into the defensive side of his role.

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At the very least, he can provide natural cover to a position that Sam Allardyce badly needs reinforcements in.

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The Capital One Cup has produced some quality football over the last 18 months, with huge upsets occurring late on and some wonderful winning goals. In fact, the League Cup has always thrown up some stunners, so with that in mind, here’s a look back at the top 10 goals from the Semi-Final stage of this competition.

Nigel De Jong – Liverpool 2-2 Man City 2011/12

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Nigel De Jong’s goal gave Man City the lead away at Anfield, with the Dutch international scoring a long range curling effort past the outstretched Pepe Reina. The goal levelled the score on aggregate and opened up an exciting encounter between the two Northern clubs.

Craig Gardner – Birmingham 3-1 West Ham 2010/11

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Birmingham were trailing 2-1 after losing in the first leg, and after going a goal down in the return leg at home, they fought back to level the score, with Craig Gardner scoring the winner in extra time.

Carl Mchugh – Bradford 3-1 Aston Villa 2012/13

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Bradford were the surprise package in the Capital One Cup last season and Carl Mchugh’s header gave Bradford a vital 3-1 lead which saw them go into the away fixture at Villa Park with a real chance of reaching the Final. This goal was vital to Bradford nearly going all the way in the Capital One Cup that year.

Robbie Blake – Burnley 3-2 Tottenham 2008/09

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Burnley went into the fixture having lost 4-1 at White Hart Lane and many fans could see another heavy defeat coming their way. Robbie Blake’s tremendous free-kick opened the scoring that night and staged a late comeback, giving the Clarets fans hope of reaching the Final.

Nicklas Bendtner – Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich 2010/11

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The first touch and brilliantly executed finish from Nicklas Bendtner opened the scoring in this 3-0 win over Ipswich and made it into the top 10 purely for the technique shown by the Danish forward.

Lee Bowyer – Birmingham 3-1 West Ham 2010/11

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This powerful strike from Birmingham City’s Lee Bowyer sparked the superb comeback, which saw them reach the Final and go on to beat Arsenal and lift the trophy.

Danny Graham – Chelsea 0-2 Swansea 2012/13

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The second goal away at Stanford Bridge snuck into the top 10, as Swansea went on to lift the trophy, after producing a magical display against Chelsea in the Semi-Finals and standing strong in the return leg.

Wayne Rooney – Manchester United 3-1 Manchester City 2009/10

[youtube zUO2GfEt8jY]

This 90th minute winner from Wayne Rooney saw United progress to the Final having conceded a late aggregate equaliser from former Red Devils striker Carlos Tevez. This goal would have meant a lot to United fans as they knocked out their fierce rivals and progressed to the Final.

Martin Olsson – Aston Villa 6-4 Blackburn 2009/10

[youtube 9dBOBHi9QH4]

One of the greatest games the League Cup has ever seen, Aston Villa progressed after a 6-4 win against Blackburn to reach the Final against Manchester United. Martin Olsson’s goal was the pick of the bunch, with an acrobatic finish to give Aston Villa their sixth of the game.

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Cesc Fabregas – Arsenal 3-0 Ipswich 2010/11

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The former Arsenal midfielder completes this goal fest with a delightful, delicate chip over Martin Fulop to put the icing on the goalscoring cake.

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Fulham’s major summer signing Dimitar Berbatov has picked up an injury in training and will miss games against Manchester City and Southampton as reported on goal.com.

Fulham boss Martin Jol confirmed the injury yesterday and he will certainly miss his main striker after the Bulgarian notched two goals in his first three appearances for the Whites. Thankfully though for Fulham fans it seems Berbatov’s hip injury is not serious and Jol will soon have him back.

“Unfortunately Dimitar is injured now and can’t play on Saturday so that is the disappointing thing. He will be out for the next two weeks,” said Jol.

“In his session he was looking good, as usual, and then his final shot he felt something and he had to go in and stop training. It appears he had – not a tear – but a sort of problem with his hip and upper thigh so we couldn’t take the risk to involve him against City.”

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Rangers fans are looking for Robby McCrorie to get closer to the Rangers first team next season after his impressive display for the Scotland U21s side in their victory against France on Wednesday night.

He pulled off a classy save to deny Steve Ambre on his debut for the U21s side, keeping a clean sheet in a 1-0 win over the hosts of the Toulon Tournament.

Spending last season on loan at Scottish League Two outfit Berwick Rangers, fans are now hoping for him to either be deputy to the recently arrived Allan McGregor or gain first-team loan experience at a higher level.

Brother to stand-out defender-stroke-midfielder Ross McCrorie, the 20-year-old has a bright future and supporters love nothing more than seeing one of their own show potential to make it at Ibrox.

Can he push on next season and oust the likes of Jak Alnwick and Wes Foderingham to the number two spot at the club?

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Fans took to Twitter to share their thoughts after his latest display…

Newcastle United announced on Tuesday afternoon that Adam Armstrong had joined League One side Blackburn Rovers on loan for the remainder of the 2017-18 season.

The 20-year-old has only just returned to the Magpies following a loan spell at Bolton Wanderers, but has now been sent to Ewood Park for the next six months.

Armstrong, who is valued at £1.4m by transfermarkt.co.uk, has made 21 appearances for Newcastle in all competitions, but the forward has not scored a single goal.

He has a contract with the Premier League club until June 2020, and it is thought that the Magpies still have high hopes for the centre-forward.

The Newcastle fans are simply not convinced, however, with many claiming that another loan move for Armstrong is pointless due to his lack of goals.

The former England Under-20 international managed just one goal in 20 Championship appearances for Bolton in the first half of this season, and the Newcastle supporters believe that he should be sold rather than sent out on loan once again.

Florian Thauvin had only been on the pitch a matter of minutes, but there was already a sense that he could offer life to Marseille’s innocuous attack.

The newly-signed winger carved out the French side’s two best opportunities, seeing Nacho Monreal clear his shot off the line, and forcing an excellent save from Wojciech Szczesny in a congested penalty area.

There is normally a feeling of trepidation when an inexperienced youngster steps into the fold. That wasn’t really the case when Szczesny made his Premier League debut for Arsenal against Manchester United in 2010. The other two options, Manuel Almunia and Lukas Fabianski, were so calamitous that by default Szczesny became the saviour before anyone really had a clear understanding of what he was capable of.

Those early stages of his career in the Arsenal first team were fuelled by a clear drive to prove his worth. Age and the chasm separating him from the experienced names in the Premier League went out the window. Arsenal had their goal in safe hands; the player to hold that position for the next ten years, as it’s so often described.

The halt in Szczesny’s development that eventually followed was a concern. He looked lazy, disinterested and incapable of dragging himself out of the depression he’d fallen into.

Szczesny’s first save against Thauvin, however, was a reminder of the turnaround in his game. For the majority of the game against Marseille, Arsenal were dominant, allowing a clear a path for that lethargic state to re-enter Szczesny’s mind. But once again, as it has been for much of this season, that wasn’t to be. Even the very best defences allow for small streams to burst through their fortifications. Yet unlike in the past, this Arsenal goalkeeper is saving his team points, rather than losing them.

Arsene Wenger has played the biggest part. You wonder how much was said to the Polish international, if anything at all. Perhaps it was all mental. Perhaps all that was needed for Szczesny to get back on track was a set of scare tactics to prove that no matter how dire things were in the past, this current Arsenal team are not in the business of accepting mediocrity.

Fabianski did his part last summer. So much has been said about Arsenal beating Bayern Munich last season – still the only blemish on the Bavarians’ home record this calendar year – and yet it can sometimes be overlooked that Szczesny wasn’t in goal on the day. Fabianski helped Arsenal grab that final Champions League spot, but his short contributions could have a significantly longer affects.

Emiliano Viviano, the goalkeeper on loan at Fiorentina last season, was brought in this summer as further warning to Szczesny that his talent was not to be so carelessly discarded. If there is any eye-opening evidence as to how important those warning shots have been from Wenger, Arsenal have only conceded once this month, with clean sheets against Liverpool and Borussia Dortmund. That one goal came against Manchester United, when Robin van Persie’s shoulder took advantage of a last-minute change in Arsenal’s backline.

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Szczesny’s form is representing of the overall picture at Arsenal. There’s a newly-found urgency at the club, stemming from the manager. There’s no more time for half efforts or hollow promises of tomorrow. A good goalkeeper is a vital piece of a team challenging for silverware. But instead of rectifying the problem via the market – at least through an expensive purchase – Wenger has rightly chosen to work on the talent he has in house.

As is usually the case with Wenger, persistence and patience is bringing vastly deserved rewards.

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