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West Ham United came back from an early deficit to secure a 3-1 win over strugglers Fulham at the London Stadium on Friday. Goals from Javier Hernandez, Issa Diop and Michail Antonio were enough to secure all three points for Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

The Hammers were certainly the better side and deserving of their victory. There were strong performances all across the pitch for the Irons, with Diop, Antonio and Declan Rice particularly impressing.

Rice has been a revelation for the east London club this season. The 20-year-old defensive midfielder has been a regular starter under Pellegrini and seems to be improving with each passing week.

Watch how to cross the road like a boss with freestyler Ben Nuttall in the video below…

Rice recently declared his international allegiance to England. Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate should certainly be paying plenty of attention to the West Ham man’s form. In the meantime, Pellegrini will be hoping that the midfielder can continue to play such a vital role for his team.

After the match, plenty of Hammers fans took to Twitter to congratulate Rice on another fine performance…

West Ham United face a colossal final two months of the season as they look to secure European football for next season with eight Premier League matches remaining as well as at least two more Europa League games with the Hammers set to take on French side Lyon in the quarter-final next month.

With a busy run-in that will have a major impact on how next season will look as well as the sort of transfer window they may have, David Moyes could do with some alternatives in what is a pretty light squad in order to manage.

Attack, in particular, is short of personnel with Michail Antonio the East London club’s only senior striker. Therefore, now may be the perfect time to promote U23s star Armstrong Oko-Flex.

In the Pipeline

Although predominantly a winger, Oko-Flex did play at centre-forward in the 2-1 EFL Trophy win away at Ipswich, in which the 20-year-old Irishman netted.

However, it’s his campaign in the Premier League 2 that has caught the eye, with the winger scoring 11 goals and assisting two in 18 appearances for the U23s.

The Irishman has made a handful of first-team squads and Moyes is very much aware of his talent, although the 20-year-old is yet to get his first taste of senior football.

Formerly a youth player at West Ham’s city rivals Arsenal, Oko-Flex joined the Hammers from Celtic last summer on a free transfer, having made two first-team appearances for the Scottish giants.

U23s coach Dmitri Halajko was very pleased with the early signs shown by the 20-year-old, saying: “Armstrong’s finishing is a real strong point of his. When he gets into the final third, he’s a very dangerous player. We wanted to do that tonight and he managed to take his chances.”

Goals have been shared out rather equally across the Hammers team this campaign, with six players having scored five or more goals so far this term.

Wide man Jarrod Bowen is currently the club’s top scorer with 12 goals, but the Englishman could miss both legs of West Ham’s Europa League quarter-final with a time frame on his return from injury still uncertain.

Moreover, both Pablo Fornals and Said Benrahma have endured a less fruitful second half of the season compared to their first, with the duo scoring a combined five Premier League goals since early November.

With the possibility of the Hammers having to play another 13 matches this season, having already played 44 times, Moyes will need extra depth to ensure that the run-in doesn’t have too much of a serious impact on his star assets.

There is no doubt that West Ham will need to add personnel to their front-line this summer, but the East London club may already have a solution to that issue in Oko-Flex. Once Bowen is fit again, the dynamic attacking duo could create quite the partnership up top for Moyes.

In other news: West Ham now submit offer to sign “serious liability”, he’s even worse than Diop

Craig Hope has revealed the latest on Newcastle United’s reported pursuit of Diego Carlos in the January transfer window.

The Lowdown: Carlos ‘keen’

Speaking to The Transfer Tavern last week, Sky Sports journalist Keith Downie revealed that Carlos is now personally ‘keen’ on a move to St. James’ Park, but claimed that Sevilla ‘hold the aces’ when it comes to a potential deal this month.

Nonetheless, it is a story that looks set to develop further in the coming days, with another big game at the bottom of the Premier League table against Leeds United coming up on Saturday afternoon.

The Latest: Transfer request

As per The Daily Mail journalist Hope, the Magpies have still not had an offer accepted for Carlos, but he has now handed in a transfer request at Sevilla.

The Toon are hoping that they can do a deal with the La Liga side in the region of £30m:

“I’m told NUFC have not yet had an offer accepted for Diego Carlos but, as per reports, he has submitted a transfer request to Sevilla.

“Hope is for a deal in region of £30m.”

The Verdict: Get it done

After the disappointing 1-1 draw at home to Watford last weekend, the North East club cannot afford for the days to go by before they bring in a new central defender.

Carlos seems to be the strongest link, and if a deal for £30m can be done, it is well worth doing – the six-foot-one Brazilian is currently rated at £40.5m by Transfermarkt, and so could present a real bargain.

Nicknamed ‘The Beast‘, Carlos is exactly the kind of character needed to shore up the backline, and at 28 years of age, the Tyneside outfit will be buying a player in his prime.

La Liga expert Kevin Campbell claims Carlos is ‘amazing’ and ‘right up Newcastle’s street’ (Football Insider), while European football expert Andy Brassell says Carlos is a ‘real leader at the back’ (Express).

Nonetheless, this is a deal the Magpies cannot allow to slip through their fingers.

In other news, find out which ‘tenacious’ Carlos alternative NUFC are now in talks to sign here!

Many Sunderland fans were left slamming the display of Tom Flanagan in their 3-3 draw away at Wycombe Wanderers in League One at Saturday lunchtime.

It was a great game between two promotion hopefuls, as Ross Stewart inspired the visitors to a point, but it could well have been more had Joe Jacobson not equalised deep into injury time.

Nonetheless, Flanagan would have been disappointed with his own individual performance having conceded three goals, and he also struggled in general, losing out on five of his duels, while he recorded fewer touches than his own goalkeeper Anthony Patterson (SofaScore).

He also gave possession away on no fewer than on 15 separate occasions in the match, the most out of any of his teammates, on a day that he will want to forget quickly.

Sunderland fans slam Flanagan

These Black Cats slammed his performance on Twitter, with one SAFC supporter even going as far as to claim that he was ‘awful’:

“I’m currently on my knees for Hoffman and Wright back I can’t cope watching Patterson and Flanagan”

Credit: @RyanC2408

“Please can we sack off Tom Flanagan man. He’s woeful.”

Credit: @mbalfour15

“Flanagan was awful!”

Credit: @smallbone66

“Doyle and Flanagan both embarrassing today. Pathetic”

Credit: @redman_aiden

“Tom Flanagan having a nightmare today.”

Credit: @SpeakSAFC

“Flanagan has been poor today, lucky there.”

Credit: @sniff91

In other news, find out why Kevin Phillips thinks Sunderland were robbed here!

Sky Sports journalist Dharmesh Sheth has revealed that Liverpool are “still pushing” to sign Fulham starlet Fabio Carvalho on transfer deadline day.

What’s the story?

After initially looking like the January transfer window would be a quiet one in terms of incomings for Jurgen Klopp’s side, the Reds gazumped Premier League rivals Spurs to the signing of Porto winger Luis Diaz.

Now, Sheth has revealed that the Merseyside club continue to pursue Carvalho amid interest from other clubs.

Writing on Twitter, he said: “Liverpool still pushing to sign Fulham forward Fabio Carvalho. A number of other clubs are interested. Fulham remain confident he will be at Craven Cottage until the summer. Carvalho has entered final 6 months of his Fulham contract.”

He’s an exciting talent

Speaking after he watched him score his first goal for the club against Southampton towards the back end of last season, former Fulham boss Scott Parker said: “Fabio was lively, he had great amounts of energy. All round his performance was very good for a young boy that has come into the team for his full debut.

“He showed real courage and bravery, he’s earned the right to get into this team. He’s not in this team because our season’s over, he’s in the team because he deserves it.”

No categories

Able to play anywhere across midfield and further forward too, Carvalho has been at his best for Fulham’s youth sides when playing just behind the striker.

In 42 games in that position for the Cottagers, the England U18 international has smashed in an incredible 20 goals and provided another nine assists too, while he’s also equally effective out wide too (he’s scored seven goals and set up another eight from the right-hand side).

This season has seen him start off with a bang for the senior side, bagging seven goals in 18 Championship games, including providing four assists too.

His recent form has been particularly impressive, netting three goals and setting up another three in just his past four league games – quite the feat considering he will likely be aware of all the transfer speculation surrounding him.

That speaks to the elite mentality and professionalism that he has even at just the age of 19, and it’s exactly why Sheth’s update that Liverpool are “still pushing” to sign him is likely to have fans absolutely buzzing at the prospect of him joining.

With Ange Postecoglou being left with a rather decimated Celtic squad ahead of the trip to St. Johnstone on Sunday afternoon due to a number of injuries, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss may well have been worried of a repeat of the Hoops’ lacklustre 0-0 draw with St. Mirren on Wednesday evening.

However, despite losing talismanic centre-forward Kyogo Furuhashi to yet another injury just 15 minutes into the fixture, two first-half strikes from Liel Abada gave Celtic the lead at the break, before the 20-year-old’s compatriot, Nir Bitton, all but secured three points for the Bhoys in the 81st minute of the match, shortly after Chris Kane had pulled one back for the hosts – with the game ending 3-1.

And, while Abada’s brace may well steal the headlines on Sunday afternoon, it was undoubtedly central midfielder and captain for the day, Bitton, who ran the show for Celtic on Sunday afternoon.

“Rampaging”

Indeed, over his 90 minutes on the pitch against St. Johnstone, the £720k-rated 30-year-old enjoyed 91 touches of the ball, completed 61 passes – three of which were key – his one attempted cross and three of his six attempted through balls, and took a whopping six shots at the Saints goal.

The £14k-per-week Israel international also impressed in a defensive capacity, making two tackles, one clearance, winning nine of his 13 attempted duels – a success rate of 69% – and drawing one foul for his side.

These returns saw the midfielder receive a rather extraordinary SofaScore match rating of 8.4 against the Saints, with only Abada earning a higher score than his international teammate.

Indeed, A Celtic State of Mind pundit Kevin Graham also appeared to be incredibly impressed with the 30-year-old’s performance on Sunday, stating of the 30-year-old: “Bitton is rampaging about the place as if he’s the Israeli Lionel Messi.”

And, considering his returns from the match, we would find it very difficult to disagree with Graham, as Bitton very much ran for Ange Postecoglou this afternoon.

In other news: Forget Jullien: Ange must seal Celtic swoop for £20k-p/w gem dubbed “one of the best”

After failing to secure a win away at Shrewsbury Town in midweek, Sunderland are back in League One action this weekend with a clash against Cambridge Town as they aim to win promotion back to the Championship.

On the chalkboard

In terms of which players Lee Johnson could select to be in his starting XI to take on Cambridge at the weekend, one figure that did not feature in the 1-1 draw at Shrewsbury that we think should definitely be in the team on this occasion is Elliot Embleton.

After managing to score two goals and provide three assists in the first seven league games of the season, Embleton, who is currently earning a weekly wage of £5.3k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has found regular minutes in the team hard to come by in recent weeks.

The 22-year-old has not managed to score a goal or provide an assist in the league since their 2-2 draw against Fleetwood back in September where he assisted Ross Stewart’s opening goal, which suggests why he’s been in and out of the team since then.

However, if the midfielder, who has been labelled as “terrific” by former Black Cats manager Jack Ross, gets a consistent run of games under his belt, this could be exactly what he needs to add more goals and assists to his game.

Looking at the match against Cambridge, with Alex Pritchard managing to get on the scoresheet and put in an impressive performance against Shrewsbury at the weekend, this could make it hard for Embleton to get back in the team and make the attacking-midfield role his own again.

With that in mind, it would be in Johnson’s best interest if he were to tinker with his team or formation slightly to incorporate both players if he thinks that could be the best way forward for the team to get some positive results.

If Johnson were to take a chance on Embleton and he was then able to get back to the impressive form that he was in at the start of the season, this could be exactly what the Wearside club need to push them towards promotion by the end of the campaign.

In other news: KLD can solve Johnson’s latest SAFC crisis by signing “phenomenal” £450k-rated beast – opinion

Celtic have seen numerous players make the move to Parkhead over recent years before making returns to their parent clubs.

One figure that had spent some time with the Hoops before becoming a regular squad player for his club is winger Mohamed Elyounoussi.

The Norwegian joined Celtic on loan from Premier League club Southampton in the 2019 summer transfer window.

In 22 appearances across all competitions in the 2019/20 season, the winger scored seven goals and provided six assists.

The 2020/21 season then saw the 27-year-old rack up 17 goals and eight assists in 45 appearances as a much more regular figure in the team.

Since returning to Southampton, things haven’t been as fruitful for the 27-year-old, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £59k-per-week according to Salary Sport.

Having played in 24 league games, Elyounoussi has only managed to find the back of the net on four occasions and provide just one assist in the process.

To highlight his lack of impact on the pitch going forward, out of the 40 shots at goal he’s had in the Premier League, only 16 of them have been on target.

As well as being nutmegged on three occasions, the attacker has lost 51 aerial duels compared to the 32 that he’s won, showing how much of a lightweight he can be.

In addition to his lack of regular goal contributions, which is something that Ralph Hasenhuttl would have been hoping to see from the winger after his time with Celtic, his overall performances haven’t been too eye-catching either.

According to WhoScored, the former Hoops loan signing is the tenth highest-rated player in Southampton’s squad with a rather uninspiring overall rating of 6.67.

Labelled as a “disappointment” during his time with the Bhoys by Chris Sutton, this is also what he has arguably been in England this season as well.

Back in June 2019 shortly before he joined Celtic, Transfermarkt rated the Norway international’s market value at £13.5m, whereas it now stands at £9m, highlighting a drop of £4.5m.

Taking all of this into account, it’s safe to say that Celtic and Ange Postecoglou hit the jackpot by not looking to secure a permanent move for the Saints dud.

In other news: Ange handed huge boost as early Old Firm team news emerges, it’s great for Celtic

Taking to Twitter, Foot Mercato journalist Sebastien Denis has broken some West Ham United transfer news involving RC Strasbourg striker Ludovic Ajorque.

The Lowdown: West Ham in striker hunt…

In perhaps the worst-kept secret of the January transfer window, Irons manager David Moyes and new transfer chief Rob Newman have their eyes firmly placed on bringing in a new striker alongside other additions.

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/west-ham-latest-updates/” title=”West Ham latest updates!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

There have been plenty of names linked with a move to east London, including Flamengo’s Gabriel Barbosa and Blackburn’s Ben Brereton-Diaz, with Moyes and Newman seemingly looking under every rock.

The latter has been tasked with assisting West Ham in the transfer market after leaving his role of chief scout at Manchester City, coming with a big reputation from his time at Eastlands (The Athletic).

As of yet, the head of recruitment has been unsuccessful in clinching any West Ham deals, but he has now set his sights on a new target.

The Latest: Newman eyeing Ajorque…

According to French journalist Denis, West Ham and by extension Newman have set their sights on Strasbourg’s in-form talisman Ajorque amid their drawn-out search for centre-forward options.

The journalist explained on Twitter: “Looking for a 9 for many months, West Ham is interested in Ludovic Ajorque, the Strasbourg serial scorer, current 2nd top scorer in L1 with 10 goals.”

The Verdict: Get it done?

Reliable West Ham insider ExWHUemployee recently claimed that the Irons were looking for talent in Ligue 1, with the French top flight potentially becoming a solution for Newman (West Ham Way).

It is therefore no surprise to see another name from France linked with a move to West Ham, but going by his numbers, Ajorque could be a shrewd option.

Alongside his impressive strike rate this season, the 27-year-old has notched an impressive total of 79 senior career goals and is an imposing threat going forward.

Compared to West Ham’s current squad, the towering 6 foot 5 striker has averaged a colossal 3.7 aerial duels won per 90 over 17 league starts – far more than any Irons player this season (WhoScored).

An aerial threat and proven in front of goal, it’s little wonder the Hammers and Newman now hold an interest in Ajorque.

In other news: West Ham source: Newman also moves to sign ‘devastating’ forward after price plummets by £32m, find out more here.

Lots of Everton fans have been left reacting to some more transfer news that has emerged on Lucas Digne.

Reports this week linked the France international with a move to Italy, and now Fichajes report that Diego Simeone is interested in signing the left-back for Atletico Madrid, after Digne reportedly had a row with Rafa Benitez, which saw him dropped for their 2-1 win at home to Arsenal on Monday night.

Admittedly, Digne has not performed to the best that he can this season so far, recording no assists in the Premier League this season compared to the seven that he made last term (WhoScored).

However, he remains the Goodison Park faithful’s only senior left-back available in the squad, and so Benitez looks to have a big decision to make in the January transfer window.

Nonetheless, given the sheer number of assists that he has supplied for the Merseyside club since signing, it may be time to patch things up.

Everton fans on Digne transfer news

These Toffees supporters seemed split as the exit rumour was shared on Twitter:

“Says everything the level of club that would be looking at him. Rafa is mad.”

Credit: @followeverton

“Benitez actually gonna sell our only recognised LB mid-season”

Credit: @Tom_A72

“Brilliant 3 better teams monitoring him, well that’s him gone in the summer. Another masterstroke thanks Rafa, born genius”

Credit: @kevin84734358

“28 – his game is better going forward than defending and injuries and knocks catching up with him – sell.”

Credit: @chr509740634

“Digne for Trippier I’ll be happy”

Credit: @zMxstyy

“I still like Digne. Been a great signing for us all those years but if we got £40 million for him I hope we’re all over it. That’s the type of money we need to rebuild and to send FFP away”

Credit: @bluetom_tom

In other news, find out whose return ahead of Crystal Palace has Blues fuming here!