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West Ham United are still attempting to tie up a deal to bring Darwin Nunez to the London Stadium on transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by ExWHUemployee, who stated in a post on The West Ham Way that, despite David Ornstein’s recent report suggesting that the 22-year-old has rejected a move to East London, the Hammers move for the centre-forward is very much alive.

In his post, the Irons insider said: “As of last night we do not believe a bid has been accepted by Benfica for Nunez. We actually believe they are likely to reject it and that we could go back in for him if they did.

“Therefore, reports at the moment that the player has rejected the deal are probably based upon the fact that a deal hasn’t been accepted. It is easy for the player to reject a deal and appear loyal if there is no deal to reject.

“Believe me, a number of our players over different eras and windows have used that tactic. I believe we are still trying to get the deal done, although as said before, I can’t see it happening.”

Fans will love Ex’s update

Considering just how talented a player Nunez quite clearly is, in addition to the fact that West Ham are in desperate need of backup and competition for Michail Antonio in the centre-forward role, Ex’s update that the Uruguay international has not rejected a move to the London Stadium is sure to be one that Hammers fans love.

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Indeed, the £28.8m-rated centre-forward has been in remarkable goalscoring form for Benfica so far this season, having bagged 15 goals and registered two assists over his 16 Liga Bwin outings, scored three goals over six Champions League appearances and netting two goals over three fixtures in the Taca de Portugal and the Allianz Cup – taking his total haul to 20 goals and two assists in just 25 games.

As such, should West Ham manage to get a last-gasp deal over the line for the £31k-per-week sensation prior to Monday’s transfer deadline, he would undoubtedly be a signing who could fire the Irons to a top-four finish in the league this season – an outcome that would represent a remarkable achievement for Moyes and his side.

In other news: “We have…”: WHU insider drops huge deadline day development, Moyes is finally acting

West Ham centre-back Angelo Ogbonna may have played his last game for the Hammers, with news emerging of a possible summer move to Lazio.

The Lowdown: Ogbonna out for the season

The Italian made a superb start to the season for David Moyes’ side, making 11 Premier League starts and helping West Ham look like strong top-four contenders.

Sadly, Ogbonna has been out since suffering a cruciate ligament injury back in November, ruling him out for the rest of the campaign in the process.

Now, it looks as though Ogbonna may not represent the club again, given that his contract expires this summer and the race to sign him is hotting up in Europe.

The Latest: Lazio link emerges

According to Citta Celeste [via Sport Witness], the 33-year-old is seen as the ‘most feasible’ signing for Lazio this summer.

It is stated that any potential signing could depend on whether or not West Ham decide to offer Ogbonna a new contract, but the Rome-based outfit are on the lookout for a new centre-back and he is top of their list.

The Verdict: Sad end to Hammers career

In truth, it is tough to see Ogbonna play for the Hammers again, considering he turns 34 in the summer and will be coming back from an extremely serious injury.

Despite his excellent form to start the campaign, it makes little sense to offer a new deal to someone of that age who may not come back the same player after his recovery.

Instead, parting ways with the centre-back and bringing in a younger option – someone who can compete with the likes of Kurt Zouma, Issa Diop and Craig Dawson – seems much more viable for the Hammers.

Ogbonna should be remembered as an excellent servant for West Ham, though, and someone who helped turn them into their best team of the Premier League era, making 202 appearances overall.

In other news, a journalist has made a claim regarding one rumoured West Ham target. Find out who it is here.

Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa may have made a big mistake during the January transfer window after new reports surfaced from a very reliable source…

What’s the word?

According to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Graham Smyth, the Whites were offered the chance to sign Donny van de Beek of Manchester United and Harry Winks of Tottenham Hotspur on loan last month.

The Dutchman instead joined top-flight rivals, Everton, on deadline day, linking up with their new manager Frank Lampard for the remainder of the season, whilst the Englishman remained in north London having seen more game time under Antonio Conte recently.

It’s thought that, after discussions with the Argentine, Leeds decided to not pursue either player – perhaps a baffling decision after failing in their attempts to sign Brenden Aaronson from RB Salzburg, who rejected two bids of £15m and £20m, as per reports.

Huge howler

It means an eighth window has passed without the Yorkshire giants signing a new midfielder – when Adam Forshaw was signed from Middlesbrough back in 2018.

Evidently, the club have tried to sign reinforcements in the engine room for quite some time. In 2020, a move for Michael Cuisance fell through after his medical, whilst in the summer Chelsea gem Conor Gallagher rejected a switch to Elland Road in favour of nearby Crystal Palace.

And then they tried for Aaronson throughout last month, as mentioned above.

After letting the long-serving Pablo Hernandez leave before the season, Bielsa has certainly lacked a creative influence in the final third – something that would have made van de Beek a perfect short-term signing.

He’s never really been given a fair crack at Old Trafford since his £35m move from Ajax.

But during that final campaign, the 24-year-old dynamo scored eight goals, registered five assists and created six big chances across 23 Eredivisie appearances, also putting up an average of 1.9 shots and making 1.8 key passes per game, via SofaScore.

“He’s got qualities in there to unlock close defences,” once claimed former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The £22.5m-rated dynamo has also been dubbed a “special talent” by football analyst Statman Dave and “devastating” by his former U17 coach Bryan Roy.

Bielsa and Orta’s failure to lure a new creative midfielder to West Yorkshire could seriously stunt their progress this season and the prospect of battling relegation isn’t out of the realms of possibility just yet.

This could well be a huge howler from the Leeds icon.

AND in other news, Enquiry made: Leeds made a last-ditch “offer” on deadline day, Bielsa badly needed him…

Sunderland are currently in their fourth successive season of League One football following their relegation from the Championship in 2018.

The Black Cats suffered back-to-back demotions between 2017 and 2018 after being in the top flight for a number of years, having made a number of poor transfer decisions whilst playing in the Premier League leading up to the 2016/17 campaign.

Nightmare

One of those was the signing of Jack Rodwell from Manchester City, who Gus Poyet snapped up for a fee of £10m in 2014.

He had only played 25 times for City after joining them from Everton two years prior, but his move to Wearside ended up being one big nightmare.

In four years at Sunderland, he played 76 times and failed to win any of his first 37 Premier League matches at the club – setting a league record as he started 39 top-flight games in total without picking up a win before a 4-0 thrashing of Crystal Palace in February 2017.

Former Black Cats boss Chris Coleman previously ripped into the player whilst the club were in the Championship, saying: “He trains with the U23’s every morning, in that nice, safe umbrella, he’s not in the spotlight or the firing line with the rest of us, which he chose.

“When I say don’t know where he is I mean physically and mentally, and there’s no interest [from me] because he’s not the answer for us.

“He’s got one more year on his contract and he doesn’t want to play for us, so fine, go and play for somebody else, but the stumbling block is the contract.”

Rodwell eventually left in the summer of 2018 on a free transfer as he signed for Championship side Blackburn Rovers upon Sunderland’s relegation to League One, finally ending his Stadium of Light nightmare.

This means that the Wearsiders paid £10m for him to go practically an entire Premier League season without picking up a win for the Black Cats, before deciding that he did not want to play in the second tier whilst still being paid each week. They also failed to recoup any money for him as he was allowed to leave on a free transfer.

It was a dreadful piece of business and a nightmare that the club will surely be desperately trying to avoid repeating if they ever make their way back to the top flight…

AND in other news, Left for £0, value soared 14900%: SAFC fumbled gem with a “wand of a left foot”…

Newcastle United found themselves on the wrong end of a drubbing as they lost 5-1 to Tottenham away from home on Sunday.

It was a third straight Premier League defeat for Eddie Howe’s side as they were swept away by Antonio Conte’s electric Spurs team.

Fabian Schar’s well-hit free-kick had given the Magpies a shock lead in the match, but goals from Ben Davies, Matt Doherty, Emerson Royal, Steven Bergwijn and Heung-Min Son ensured that they came away with all three points.

A number of players struggled for Howe as Tottenham dismantled their defence time and time again throughout the 90 minutes. One player who let the head coach down badly was central midfielder Joelinton.

The 25-year-old, who has come on leaps and bounds under the ex-Cherries boss, was a liability in the middle of the park and failed to showcase his best qualities.

Dion Dublin previously claimed that the Brazilian “looked lost” earlier in his Magpies career and those struggles reared their ugly head again as he put in a worrying performance for the club against Spurs.

He lasted 59 minutes on the pitch before Howe decided to take him out of the game, as he was unable to make a positive impact at either end of the pitch.

Off the ball, he was a lightweight for the Toon. As per SofaScore, he lost 75% (6/8) of his individual battles and only made one tackle. He did not make a single clearance, interception, or block, whilst committing two fouls.

This shows that he could not keep up with the physicality of the game as the Spurs players were able to dominate him on that side of the game. The £80k-per-week dud needed to be stronger in his duels to get Newcastle on the front foot and was unable to do so.

He also did little in possession. As per SofaScore, he lost the ball once every 2.6 touches (9/23) and failed to complete a single dribble, shot or key pass. Joelinton was unsuccessful with all of his attempted crosses and long passes and these statistics show that he did not stamp his authority on the match.

Overall, he let the team down at both ends of the pitch with a disappointing display as he looked lost offensively and defensively. Hopefully, this was a one-off display and he will be back to his marauding best when the Magpies host Wolves next time out on Friday night in the Premier League.

AND in other news, PIF set to “lead the race” to sign forward for NUFC who will be a “joy to watch”…

Sunderland travel down south this afternoon to take on Oxford United in a crucial clash to try and bolster their play-off chances in League One, with three points today potentially taking Alex Neil’s men into the top six if Wycombe were to slip up.

With Oxford only one point behind the Wearsiders in eighth, the game will be equally important for both teams, and Sunderland will need to ensure that they can capitalise on their better form compared to the U’s, who have lost their last two games.

In terms of injury news, the Black Cats remain unchanged from last week, with the long-term absences of Aiden McGeady (knee), Jordan Willis (ruptured patella) and Niall Huggins (stressy fracture) all leaving them out of contention.

With that in mind, this is how Football FanCast anticipate Sunderland to line up against Oxford United this afternoon…

Predicted XI: Patterson; Winchester, Wright, Batth, Cirkin; Neil, Evans; Roberts, Pritchard, Broadhead; Stewart

We expect to see two changes to the team which won against Gillingham last weekend, and a 4-2-3-1 formation deployed by 40-year-old Neil.

The first change we predict to see in the Sunderland starting XI today is Daniel Neil coming back into the side to replace Luke O’Nien in midfield alongside Corry Evans, who will maintain his place in the line-up.

Neil has made 35 appearances this season, scoring three goals and contributing seven assists so far; and with the Black Cats desperately needing to take all the points from today’s match, having the attacking output of the 20-year-old back in the team would surely give them the best opportunity to achieve that.

The second change we expect to see this afternoon is the axing of £25k-p/w Spurs loanee Jack Clarke, who was dubbed “talented” by Noel Whelan, to be replaced with Nathan Broadhead.

The 24 year old forward, who was hailed as “fantastic” by former Sunderland manager Lee Johnson, scored the last-minute winner against Gillingham after coming on for Alex Pritchard last weekend and Neil could give Broadhead, who has scored nine goals so far this season, the deserved nod in the starting XI today.

Sunderland are in a good position to gain a spot for potential promotion to the Championship this year, and with only six games left in the current campaign, there is little room for error in the race to secure a play-off position.

In other news: Alex Neil handed Sunderland injury lift which will leave Wearside faithful buzzing 

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Michael Bridge of Sky Sports has now backed some big reports out of Tottenham Hotspur involving West Bromwich Albion keeper Sam Johnstone.

The Lowdown: Tottenham enter battle…

As per Sky Sports, Football League World and The Sun – Spurs are firmly in contention to sign the Baggies ace who is set to leave on a free transfer at the end of 2021/2022.

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Johnstone, set to be in high-demand, is attracting interest from Man United as well as the Lilywhites – with the likes of Southampton and West Ham also having been mentioned.

The Sun and FLW in particular both claim that Tottenham are ‘confident’ of sealing the deal with the two reports suggesting those within the club believe Johnstone will move to north London.

The Latest: Bridge backs Johnstone interest…

Speaking to GMS, Sky reporter Bridge has now backed reports of the Lilywhites’ interest as they eye the England international for manager Antonio Conte.

He explained: “Sam Johnstone is English and he ticks most boxes. I think that one has got legs and I know they’ve been scouting in the Championship, so I think there’s legs in that.”

The Verdict: Seal the deal…

On a Bosman, Spurs could simultaneously solve their homegrown quota issue, sign a back-up to Hugo Lloris and seal the Frenchman’s eventual heir – making this move a no-brainer.

Paddy Kenny, an ex-Premier League shot stopper, certainly believes Tottenham should make a move – branding Johnstone ‘unreal’ and a would-be ‘top signing’ for Spurs (Football Insider).

For zero initial cost, Spurs and transfer chief Fabio Paratici seemingly have very little to lose.

In other news: Spurs officials sent to club as Paratici also eyes ‘imperious’ ex-Man City man for Conte! Find out more here.

Tottenham Hotspur may forever regret letting Juan Foyth depart north London on a permanent basis as his stock continues to rise in Spain.

After winning the Europa League with LaLiga outfit Villarreal last season, the Argentine defender has once again played a key role under former Arsenal boss Unai Emery, helping guide the Yellow Submarines to an impressive semi-final run in the Champions League.

The 24-year-old was sold by chairman Daniel Levy and co for a measly £13m in the summer and with Spurs’ differing defensive issues throughout the campaign, that is now looking to be a costly – and gutting – mistake.

Due to a lack of quality options, manager Antonio Conte has often turned to full-back Ben Davies to line up in his back three, alongside Eric Dier and Cristian Romero, whilst injuries and inconsistencies at right-back saw the position emerge as something of a priority in January amid links to Wolves’ Adama Traore.

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Foyth is now merely one game away from another Champions League final. Meanwhile, Spurs will be looking at what went wrong in their recent defeat to Brighton, which has put their quest for a top-four finish in jeopardy.

Alongside other Premier League and Lilywhites rejects, Giovani Lo Celso and Etienne Capoue, the £25m-rated colossus – who is capable of playing centrally and out on the right – ranks as Emery’s fourth-best performer in the Spanish top-flight and his sixth-best in UEFA’s elite tournament, as per WhoScored.

He is averaging a whopping 3.4 tackles per game, as well as 1.6 headers won and two clearances per outing across the two competitions. Foyth also surpasses the 80% accuracy mark in terms of passing, too.

Spanish press has regularly waxed lyrical about the Argentine’s performances this season and as a player that Mauricio Pochettino is claimed to have “loved” by Sky Sports reporter Lyall Thomas, it appears that Spurs may have let the 6 foot 2 titan leave prematurely.

Heading into the 2020/21 campaign, there was a serious chance at Foyth, who was dubbed a “fantastic talent” by ex-Goal editor James Dickens, was going to emerge as the first-choice right-back under his fellow countryman but an injury quickly curtailed that and by the time he was fit, Pochettino was sacked and Jose Mourinho was in charge.

With a Europa League winners’ medal around his neck and a UCL semi-final soon on the horizon, it appears that Foyth is certainly thriving away from the Lilywhites.

They could well live to rue this ghastly decision forever, thanks to Levy and co incorporating an option-to-buy in his loan to the Yellow Submarines.

AND in other news, Talks underway: Paratici in negotiations for £41.5m deal, it’d be a big coup for Spurs…

Leeds United have been touted with a move for Chelsea outcast Ross Barkley this summer…

What’s the story?

90min have suggested that Jesse Marsch’s side, along with fellow Premier League outfits Everton and Newcastle are possible landing spots for the former England man in the upcoming transfer window.

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His contract at Stamford Bridge comes to an end in the summer of 2023, and it’s been claimed that a cut-price sale is a “dead-cert”.

Marsch heading for a mistake

The £100k-a-week ace was on loan at Villa Park last year, and endured a rather nightmare spell in the Midlands, managing just three goals and the solitary assist in the Premier League.

It was no surprise then that he came in for some harsh criticism from those who watched him week-in and week-out, with The Athletic’s Villa correspondent, Gregg Evans, saying: “He doesn’t do enough for me now. I’ve seen enough of Ross Barkley now to realise that he’s becoming a bit of a liability for Villa. He’s not helping out enough as he should, really.”

This campaign has seen him completely fall out of the reckoning back at Chelsea, having initially seemed like he was at least a rotational part of Thomas Tuchel’s side.

But after playing 25 minutes against former club Everton back in mid-December, Barkley has not taken to the field at all for the Blues, and it’s been a real indication of how he’s slipped down the pecking order that there have been occasions when he hasn’t even made the match-day squad for them.

At 28, Barkley simply hasn’t shown enough in recent seasons to indicate that he would be someone Marsch can really count on in the hustle and bustle of the Premier League, and his troublesome injury record certainly doesn’t make him more of an appealing signing either.

It’s a move that seems like a real mistake on the part of Marsch, and one that won’t have the Elland Road faithful delighted at all.

AND in other news – Leeds could finally axe shocking £50k-p/w liability with “extraordinary” 6 ft 2 star

West Bromwich Albion have sealed their first signing of the summer transfer window.

What’s the word?

That is according to their manager Steve Bruce, who has claimed that a deal to sign Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby is “done.”

After Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Coventry City Bruce revealed all when asked about Molumby’s future. He said: “Molumby’s done.

“Molumby was done weeks ago. The deal was kicked in weeks ago, so he’s our player now.

“He’s a young player who’s got a lot to learn still, but he wants to win; he’s got a bit of an attitude with him, which I like, so, yeah he’ll be here next year.”

Fans will be delighted

The capture of Molumby is promising for a West Brom side who will be eager to demonstrate their ambition to the Baggies faithful, with their Championship play-off hopes gone.

The 22-year-old, who was initially on loan from Brighton, has failed to assert himself as a Baggies regular this season, starting just 38% of their 44 games in the Championship.

Though he will surely start the final two games of the campaign with Alex Mowatt out for the season.

His statistics also demonstrate why supporters will be excited to see him sign on the dotted line, with the 22-year-old remaining composed in possession, completing 84.5% of his passes and producing 1.1 tackles per match.

Now that he has signed permanently, he will be looking to leave a lasting impression on Bruce who acknowledges that the Republic of Ireland international “has a lot to learn.”

The fact that Potter has allowed the youngster to leave on a permanent deal serves as a shock, as he spoke well of him in an interview with The Argus as recent as 2020: “Jayson is a good guy, he is ambitious and he wants to play which is a good quality to have and we enjoy working with him.”

After previous Championship loan spells with Millwall and Preston North End, Molumby boasts exceptional amounts of experience in the league, considering the fact that he is not even 23-years-old yet.

His experience can benefit the Baggies, whilst Molumby himself will mutually benefit through a platform that will aid his development.

Both parties will have big ambitions of playing Premier League football in the near future, and the fact that West Brom have made the deal permanent shows the potential that they see within the No.14 midfielder.

In other news: Bruce could now save WBA millions with £9m-rated “monster”, he’ll be key next season – opinion