All posts by n8rngtd.top

West Ham United fans are eager to sign Danny Ings after it was revealed by ExWHUemployee that the Hammers are interested in the striker.

Ings is out of contract at Southampton at end of next season (Transfermarkt) and the 28-year-old is reportedly reluctant to put pen to paper on a new deal at St. Mary’s Stadium (Dan Sheldon) – he is said to be looking for European football. As it stands, West Ham are fifth in the Premier League table and just two points off the Champions League places (Sky Sports).

According to ExWHUemployee (via the West Ham Way podcast), the Hammers are interested in the forward. Ings has a fantastic track record, having scored 22 goals for the Saints in the top flight last term, while he has seven in 16 matches this time around. Throughout his career, he has 96 goals.

The news was relayed by Twitter account @WHUFC_News, and it seems the club’s supporters want him at the London stadium. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Ings news below

“I’m on my knees”

Credit: @1bbyWHU

“This would be a dream absolutely love Ingsy great ST seems like such a good bloke too”

Credit: @olliebruton

“Throw every cheque book we have at him”

Credit: @NickMarrable

“I would take him in a heartbeat mate? I think he would be a great signing for West Ham.”

Credit: @richpickering4

“What a signing it would be if we can keep him fit”

Credit: @ScoutSoucek

“Would love him at West Ham. Him or Bamford.”

Credit: @mitchelchilds

In other news, ExWHUemployee has revealed another of West Ham’s summer transfer targets.

Crystal Palace could be in danger of losing Wilfried Zaha in the near future.

What’s the word?

The Ivory Coast international is enjoying a prolific campaign at Selhurst Park this season, having made 19 Premier League appearances with nine goals and two assists to show for his 19 starts.

The 28-year-old has been linked with moves in the past but as things stand, he has not bee able to secure a move away.

However, Roy Hodgson believes he still harbours ambitions of playing in the Champions League and that he will face a fight to keep the club’s top goalscorer in the summer.

When asked whether he believes Zaha will stay at Palace for the rest of his career, Hodgson said: “No, I would think he still has a lot of ambitions. I think this was a very unusual transfer window, there wasn’t much going on if we’re to be honest, and there certainly weren’t many big money moves. A lot of the transfers involved loans or loans with a view to buy.

“I think when the market opens up again, Wilf Zaha will once again be a name on many managers’ and sporting directors’ lips.

“I think Wilf will retain his ambition to play Champions League football and do things that we’ve not been able to give him while he’s been playing here. But I’m hoping and believing also that the club will still be trying to persuade him that what you need to get out of football you can get here. How that will pan out, I really couldn’t say, it’s pure speculation.”

Hold firm

Whilst Christian Benteke has been linked with a move away from the Eagles in recent months – reports had even suggested West Brom tried to prise him away from Selhurst Park in the January transfer window – the potential loss of Zaha, who earns wages worth £130,000-per-week, would be more significant.

He has for so often been instrumental for The Eagles. Hodgson’s side, in fact, have yet to win a game without him this season.

Since re-joining the club after an ill-fated stint at Old Trafford, their talismanic attacker has come on leaps and bounds under Hodgson, having scored 32 goals in 132 appearances across all competitions, per Transfermarkt.

For context, Benteke has only managed to score 26 times in 131 games since arriving at Selhurst Park from Liverpool for £27m in 2016.

It’s no surprise then that Zaha has won the Crystal Palace Player of the Year award three times, with his current teammate James McArthur once branding him “unplayable.”

This is precisely why Palace chairman Steve Parish simply can’t afford to lose the £45m-rated hitman. He just means too much to the club and the fanbase both on and off the pitch.

AND in other news, Sean Dyche could be an ideal heir to Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace…

With just hours left in the January transfer window, rumours and speculation continue to fly. Celtic find themselves linked with a number of potential targets to help with damage limitation in what can only be described as a disappointing season.

According to Sheelagh McLaren, Celtic are trying to squeeze in a last-gasp defensive signing today. They are reportedly looking to snap up a centre-back on loan, which would be a smart bit of business from Peter Lawwell and co.

The Hoops have all but handed over their Premiership title to Glasgow rivals Rangers, who top the table with a mammoth 23 point advantage. Celtic’s lacklustre Europa League spell has also put heavy strain on Neil Lennon’s position, which is being called into question. The Scottish giants have found themselves linked to the likes of Rafael Benitez and Frank Lampard as Lennon’s chances of staying at the club look doubtful.

However, if the Irishman was ever going to buy himself some more time at Celtic, it would be today. The Bhoys are in desperate need of some new defensive options and if Lennon can get a deal over the line before the January window shuts, he could stall his impending sacking.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-celtic-transfer-news” title=”Read this week’s Celtic transfer news!”]

Summer loan signing Shane Duffy has been a huge disappointment since moving to Parkhead. Talks have even emerged over his deal being cut short this month. Indeed, should the Brighton man make a shock early exit, Lennon will need recruits.

Christopher Jullien has been victim of ongoing injuries this season, missing out on a total of 29 fixtures due to back and knee problems. The Frenchman also missed three further games due to self-isolation, according to Transfermarkt. This has had a huge impact on Celtic, who have even resorted to fielding youngster Stephen Welsh to fill in during absences.

Should Lennon make a statement by bringing in a new centre-back, he will be showing both the club and the fans that he has intent to right his wrongs from this season. By recruiting personnel Celtic desperately need, the manager could buy himself more time at the club and give himself the best chance of returning to action in 2021/22 and snatching the title back from Rangers with an improved squad.

In other news, Olivier Ntcham loan move could be beginning of the end…

West Brom will be looking to make it back-to-back victories on the road when they head to east London to face West Ham United this evening.

Sam Allardyce recorded his first win as Baggies boss on Saturday afternoon as Albion defeated arch-rivals Wolves 3-2 at Molineux, and now he heads to a former stomping ground with the aim of steering his side to safety in the Premier League.

The Irons are unbeaten in five matches in all competitions, so will pose a tricky test for the 66-year-old and his squad at the London Stadium.

But what sort of lineup could we see tonight? Will Big Sam stick or twist with a winning XI?

Here’s what we are predicting, along with the latest team and injury news…

There could be as many as three changes to the side that conquered the Old Gold at the weekend.

First-choice shot-stopper Sam Johnstone is likely to still be out after testing positive for the virus and while he’s now back in training, this game could be too early for an instant return, so David Button continues between the sticks.

The first alteration could be to the backline as Darnell Furlong comes in for Dara O’Shea at right-back.

He’s the natural option in the role. The young Irishman may have been deployed to counter the threat posed by Pedro Neto but the former QPR man offers more of an attacking option, having contributed to three goals this term.

He’ll join Kieran Gibbs, Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi in a traditional back four.

In midfield, Chelsea loanee Conor Gallagher is available after serving a one-match suspension and we think he’ll come straight back in, meaning Romaine Sawyers faces the chop.

The arguable Player of the Season so far will surely partner skipper Jake Livermore with Saturday’s goalscoring hero Matheus Pereira continuing in the no.10 role.

Callum Robinson was deployed as a striker up at Molineux, but we may see him revert back to a natural left-wing position with Robert Snodgrass starting his second-ever Albion game.

It’ll be his first return to the Hammers since leaving them at the start of the month.

As the 25-year-old goes back to the flank, we could see Hal Robson-Kanu in the forward position to start his first match since September. The £30k-per-week ace had been out with a fractured arm until his 21-minute cameo on Saturday.

He’s surely in line to start tonight.

Allardyce will still be without Conor Townsend and Karlan Grant, who are more long-term absentees, whilst Grady Diangana and Matty Phillips have been ruled out too, as per BirminghamLive.

AND in other news, prolific 11-goal marksman could bring shades of Salomon Rondon back to the Hawthorns

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has backed Charlie Austin to be handed his first Premier League start for West Brom this evening.

The 31-year-old had fallen out-of-favour under former Baggies boss Slaven Bilic, but the Croatian was sacked earlier this week and quickly replaced by survival veteran Sam ‘the firefighter’ Allardyce.

His first game in charge will be tonight as Albion host arch-rivals Aston Villa at the Hawthorns.

Austin only made the bench twice in West Brom’s opening 11 matches before Bilic called upon him as a substitute in his final two matches in charge.

Windass believes that Big Sam could turn to him in their time of need…

He told FFC:

“Charlie’s a born goalscorer. Any balls in the box, you know where he’ll be.

“He’s coming towards the end of his career as well, but Sam will look at that and say ‘Yeah, I need goals. Yes, I need to stop goals, but I [also] need to start scoring goals,’ so Charlie could go straight in there [vs Villa].

“He knows he will get them a goal, so yeah, that could be a massive plus for Charlie now. A new manager has come in, and he’ll say ‘Go on then, go and prove to me [that you should be starting].

“Charlie’s a proud lad and is very good around the changing room. He’ll have been hurt when not playing.”

Albion paid £4m for Austin during the 2019 summer transfer window, and he finished as their top goalscorer in all competitions on their way to promotion despite only starting 18 times in the Championship.

Bilic landed a key target in Karlan Grant before the domestic deadline, but he’s yet to truly deliver on his £12m price tag having bagged just once in nine starts.

As Windass claims, it could be a wise decision to turn to Austin as the veteran has played 108 times in the Premier League alone, contributing to a total of 44 goals.

Big Sam has been known to play two up-top, so there is also a chance we see both feature this evening.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to bring Premier League striker to West Brom in January

Crystal Palace’s progress has been stopped in its tracks by the embarrassing defeat to Liverpool at Selhurst Park earlier this month.

Jurgen Klopp’s side utterly dominated proceedings from start to finish, leaving the Eagles trailing in their way as they surged to the top of the table.

With Leicester City on the horizon, Roy Hodgson faces some tough decisions to avoid a repeat of the 3-0 defeat at the King Power Stadium towards the latter stages of last season.

Hodgson’s side have rarely been so badly humiliated but they were put the sword as the Reds ran riot over their helpless defence.

Vicente Guaita was called into action almost immediately from the get-go but the veteran goalkeeper was largely forced to sit and watch as Liverpool took an astonishing 14 attempts on goal, including eight shots on target, as per SofaScore. The final score finished 7-0 with the 33-year-old failing to register a single save or punch a single shot on target.

However, he can’t be solely to blame for their problems at the back, as Gary Cahill, Nathaniel Clyne and Cheikhou Kouyate were mostly at fault for the poor defensive performance. Clyne particularly caught the eye for all the wrong reasons as he was caught out of possession time and time again by Sadio Mane and Mo Salah, losing 100% of his duels overall.

There’s no denying the fact that Palace need to stop the rot from spreading even further, at least until new summer recruit Nathan Ferguson has recovered from his latest injury setback.

Hopefully cooler heads prevail and Hodgson hands Joel Ward his second consecutive start to face the Foxes, as they arguably need all the experience they can get to shut up shop and plug the gap in their leaky defence. The Eagles have conceded more goals than Burnley, Brighton and Premier League strugglers Sheffield United so far this season which makes for pretty grim reading.

Although he started against Aston Villa, Ward, 31, is an experienced campaigner who knows what it takes to stop the Foxes in their tracks. After all, he has won four and drawn one out of nine games in the top flight against the one-time Premier League champions, via Transfermarkt.

Standing at 6 ft 1 in, he’s certainly a force to be reckoned with, but has made just six starts across all competitions this season so far, and was left as an unused substitute on the bench as Palace were dispatched by Liverpool.

Valued at £2m via Transfermarkt, in six appearances in the Premier League so far, Ward is averaging 1.8 tackles, 1.7 interceptions and a staggering 4.3 clearances per game, via WhoScored.

WhoScored lists some of his strengths as his ability to intercept the ball, win individual battles in the air, and his strong tackling, which shows that he is armed with the tools to deal with the likes of Harvey Barnes and Jamie Vardy, and is more than can be said for Clyne, who has done very little to justify his valuation. Transfermarkt value him at £3.6m.

Granted, Hodgson doesn’t exactly have the best of options, but it’s now up to the Palace boss to put his faith in Ward and unleash him on the right flank as he will have a tough task trying to contain the attacking duo who have scored 14 goals between them in the Premier League at the time of writing.

AND in other news, Steve Parish must look to cash in on Crystal Palace defender James Tomkins in January…

Everton loanee Moise Kean suffered a step back in his start to life with Paris Saint-Germain against FC Nantes on Saturday, with Thomas Tuchel forced to haul the Italian off at half-time.

Kean joined PSG on a one-year loan this summer that features an agreed €20million (£18m) option to buy at the end of the season, after struggling to establish himself at Goodison Park following Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment.

The striker started just five of his 21 Everton appearances under Ancelotti, with Kean’s compatriot often reluctant to favour the 20-year-old signed from Juventus by Marco Silva in 2019 for £25.1m rising to £27.5m.

Tuchel has been vastly more forthcoming with minutes since Kean’s move to the Parc des Princes, with the German coach starting the Everton outcast in four of his five outings to date.

Kean opened his account for PSG with a brace at home to Dijon FCO last week before netting a double in the Champions League Group Stage away to Istanbul Basaksehir FK, and would have hoped to continue his record at Nantes on Saturday.

Unfortunately, that was not to be the case, as Kean endured a step back in form just a day after Tuchel had called for the eight-cap international to deliver consistent performances, with his up and down displays appearing to be a major flaw in his game.

“The best thing to integrate at a new club and a group for a striker is to score,” Tuchel told PSG’s official website. “The most important thing is that he continues to show the same desire and to put the same intensity on the pitch.

“He has a great physical capacity, [but] he must absolutely continue like this. It’s weighing on the defences, and that’s what we need.”

Tuchel will need Kean to rediscover his form ever more so now, having lost star forward Neymar until after the November internationals to an adductor injury sustained in the Champions League.

Kean endured a torrid evening away to Nantes on Saturday before Tuchel ultimately sought changes at the break, with the 20-year-old failing to register a single shot – on target or otherwise – failed with 50% of his dribbles, misplaced 43% of his mere seven passes, took just 13 touches, lost three of his five duels, turned over possession six times and was caught offside once, per SofaScore.

Tuchel opted to replace Kean with 18-year-old prospect Kays Ruiz-Atil in the hopes it would change PSG’s fortunes at the Stade de la Beaujoire, and while the teenager did not score, the Ligue 1 behemoths eventually secured a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Ander Herrera, Kylian Mbappe and Pablo Sarabia.

AND in other news, an “intelligent” maestro may have played his final game for Everton already after his recent comments.

If we’re being completely honest, we can’t remember the last time that Crystal Palace had one of the best players in the world on their books.

Whilst some will argue that Wilfried Zaha falls into that category, Ian Wright was probably the last truly world-class star who plied his trade at Selhurst Park, before the club’s greatest ever striker ended up signing for local rivals Arsenal in 1991.

However, things may have panned out very differently indeed if they had played their cards right a few years ago.

According to Sky Sports, Palace missed the opportunity to sign Ferland Mendy from Le Havre in the summer of 2017, as it seems the Eagles weren’t willing to pay the same price as Lyon.

The French Ligue 1 side spent a mere €5m plus €1m in additional add-ons to prise him away from Le Havre (£5m), which is hardly a colossal amount, especially when you consider the fact that Palace signed Mamadou Sakho from Liverpool for £26m in the same year.

Obviously, it’s easy to look back with the benefit of hindsight, but if the Eagles had pulled the trigger, they could have had a true world-class talent on their hands.

Mendy is arguably one of the best full-backs in the world at the moment, as he has already won the La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup with Real Madrid, having made 25 appearances in the Spanish top flight last season, via Transfermarkt.

Once hailed as a very “talented” beast by club legend Zinedine Zidane, the 25-year-old has even started to usurp legendary Brazilian left-back Marcelo – the French international has played more league games than his teammate so far this season.

Mendy averaged 1.3 tackles, 1 clearance and 2 dribbles per league game last term, whilst he scored one goal and supplied two assists, via WhoScored. By comparison, even Patrick van Aanholt only managed fewer than one dribble per game in the Premier League last season, as per WhoScored.

With Tyrick Mitchell working his way back to fitness, and van Aanholt only recently returned from a spell on the sidelines, it looks like Palace missed an opportunity to land an absolute bargain back then who surely would’ve been in contention to start right now.

Steve Parish wasn’t prepared to part ways with such a small amount in 2017, which now looks like it was a terrible mistake, as he’s now valued at £36m via Transfermarkt, and Palace could have signed him for £5m. Even in the unlikely event a transfer hadn’t worked out as well as planned, they could’ve still sold him for a greater profit. It almost doesn’t bear thinking about.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace dynamo Eberechi Eze was Hodgson’s most vital cog against Leeds United…

David Moyes’ decision to end plans to sell Andriy Yarmolenko in the summer transfer window backfired on Wednesday night when the Ukraine international offered a dismal display in the EFL Cup.

What’s the word?

Reports early in the summer by the Mirror named Yarmolenko as one of the high-earning outcasts expected to leave the London Stadium this year, with Moyes deciding that he, Felipe Anderson and Albian Ajeti would help raise funds for any needed investment in the squad.

Yarmolenko was brought to England during Manuel Pellegrini’s expensive tenure in charge of the Irons, with the Chilean signing off on a £17.5million deal and awarding the former Borussia Dortmund forward a £115,000-per-week, five-year contract that runs until 2023.

In return, West Ham fans have seen the 30-year-old feature in just 38 games for their club and play a role in 14 goals (nine scored, five assisted) across all competitions, with Yarmolenko also suffering two lengthy muscle injuries.

But Moyes had a change of heart during the summer and opted to keep Yarmolenko at the London Stadium, with ExWHUemployee stating on The West Ham Way podcast in August that the Scottish coach had liked what he’d seen from the attacker and was now keen to retain his services.

Moyes’ decision has only backfired, though, as Yarmolenko displayed all the reasons why he was initially deemed surplus to requirements as West Ham crashed out of the Carabao Cup away to Everton on Wednesday night.

A night to forget for Yarmolenko

The EFL Cup clash at Goodison Park was a night to forget for Yarmolenko as the now £8.55m-rated forward hindered more than he helped by holding West Ham back whenever the visitors sought to push forward.

Yarmolenko began well – much like his West Ham career, having scored twice against the Toffees in what was his fifth Premier League appearance – but a refusal to shift the ball onto his weaker right foot brought an end to many attacks, while football.london went as far as to say the 30-year-old “almost looked disinterested and offered nothing”.

Statistics collated by SofaScore do show Yarmolenko was an attacker responsible for 49 of the Irons’ touches and 27 accurate passes with a 73% success rate that led to two key chances, but also a player who lost five of his seven ground duels, lost possession 17 times and failed to deliver a single accurate cross.

Having failed to start any of West Ham’s Premier League fixtures so far this season and failing to enter the action at all as the Hammers hit four past Wolverhampton Wanderers, Yarmolenko should have been expected to push on against Everton rather than fall into the shadows. It was in the Carabao Cup he shone with two goals and two assists only a week before against Hull City, but he has now left Moyes with much to answer for.

AND in other news, West Ham have submitted an offer to sign David Moyes’ top striker target.

Southampton centre-back Jannik Vestergaard has shed light on his transfer situation over the last 12 months. The Denmark international admitted that a move was on his mind earlier this year, but he ultimately decided to stay at the request of Ralph Hasenhuttl and the club.

Speaking to Goal.com, Vestergaard mentioned the fact that even in the summer, clubs had come knocking for his services. However, since being convinced to stay, his focus is only on Southampton and he has not received any information on interested parties from his agent.

Whilst his loyalty to the club is admirable, the Saints should look to reevaluate their decision. Is the 28-year-old a player Southampton are reliant on?

Hasenhuttl made a mistake with Verstergaard talks

It’s certainly an odd decision to keep Vestergaard at the club following his quiet 2019/20 season. The Dane was dropped for 17 Premier League matches and missed a further two due to picking up a knock (via Transfermarkt). This hints that Hasenhuttl had no real desire to deploy the defender, especially having four players in the same position fighting for their role in the squad.

When Vestergaard has been on the pitch, he’s been subject to a lot of criticism. Lots of Southampton fans have ridiculed his performances and even club icon Matt Le Tissier has given him both barrels. Speaking to Sky Sports (via HITC), the pundit slammed the Saints man for not doing enough to mark his man.

“It’s a really odd habit to get into,” Le Tissier said following Southampton’s loss to West Ham last year.

But Vestergaard hasn’t just been disappointing for his club, his international displays have also left a lot to be desired. Denmark’s most recent match against England saw him play just 16 minutes, with the previous fixture leaving him reduced to the bench (via Sofascore).

Leicester were reported to be linked to Southampton’s controversial man, but a move didn’t materialise. Hasenhuttl should look to strike up talks against once the January window comes round, in hopes to cash in on the man slowly being phased out of the team.

In other news, Southampton cashed in on Morgan Schneiderlin at the exact right time…