According to club insider EXWHUEmployee, Jordan Hugill could leave West Ham United on loan this summer in search of first-team football.
What’s the story?
It would be fair to say that eyebrows were raised when West Ham brought Hugill to the London Stadium in the latter stages of the January transfer window.
The West Ham fans were expecting high-profile additions during the winter window, and the signing of Hugill did not exactly capture the imagination.
The 26-year-old moved to the London Stadium off the back of scoring eight times in 27 Championship appearances for Preston North End in the first half of the 2017-18 campaign.
However, the centre-forward hardly kicked a ball in the second half of the season, and according to club insider EXWHUEmployee, could well leave the Hammers on loan this summer.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”253217″ player=”12034″ title=”Watch The FM18 Two Minute Challenge Pellegrini at West Ham”]
Sheffield Wednesday are believed to be interested in Hugill, although it is understood that a number of other Championship clubs are closely monitoring developments.
Should Hugill seek a loan move?
To be blunt, yes. Hugill only played 22 minutes of Premier League football in the second half of the 2017-18 campaign as West Ham battled to stay in the top flight.
The forward had a decent scoring record at Preston, but has become a bit of a joke figure at West Ham, with even his club’s own supporters poking fun at him on social media.
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Hugill, who is valued at £7.2m by transfermarkt.co.uk, will be desperate to earn a spot in West Ham’s starting XI, but it is really difficult to believe that new Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini will select the forward on a regular basis.
Indeed, it is understood that Pellegrini is desperate to keep Javier Hernandez, whilst Marko Arnautovic has developed into a centre-forward at the London Stadium.
Hugill will not be short of interest from the Championship, and the Middlesbrough-born striker should seek a loan move this summer for the sake of his career.
According to reports in the Liverpool Echo, Everton are currently weighing up whether to send out of favour winger Ademola Lookman out on loan for the rest of the season.
The 20-year-old has found first-team minutes hard to come by this term and he has failed to make the squad for four of the Toffees’ last six Premier League matches.
The arrival of Theo Walcott from Arsenal and the return of Yannick Bolasie from a long-term injury only look to have pushed the England U21 attacker further down the pecking order.
The report adds that while the Merseyside outfit are currently reluctant to let Lookman go, they have yet to make a definite decision on his short-term future.
Meanwhile, four Championship matches without a win – including last weekend’s crazy 4-3 defeat at home to Millwall – has seen Leeds United drop down to 10th in the table, although they are still only four points adrift of the play-off positions.
Manager Thomas Christiansen will be keen to freshen up and strengthen his squad before the January transfer window slams shut on Wednesday, and bringing Lookman to Elland Road for the remainder of the campaign could prove to be a shrewd move.
Here are three reasons Leeds must sign the Everton winger on loan before the end of the month…
Competition for places
While the likes of Ezgjan Alioski, Pablo Hernandez and Kemar Roofe have done relatively well in the wide positions for Leeds so far this season, they haven’t had the quality competition needed to perhaps push them that little bit little harder.
Bringing Lookman, who can play on either wing, as a second striker or even in the No 10 role behind the striker in a 4-2-3-1 formation, in would certainly solve that issue for Thomas Christiansen and it would make his team more dangerous going forward.
His qualities
Lookman is quick, direct and loves to run at opposition defenders, and there is no doubt that he would cause headaches for Leeds’ Championship opponents.
While first-team opportunities have been few and far between for the 20-year-old this season, according to WhoScored.com he has successfully completed 23 of the 35 dribbles he has attempted in 10 appearances across the Premier League and Europa League this term.
The winger also showed his finishing abilities with a goal against Manchester City on his Premier League debut last year, while he scored an impressive brace against Apollon Limassol in Europe in December too.
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Point to prove
If Lookman is allowed to leave Everton on loan before the end of the month, he will certainly have a big point to prove to his parent club and Sam Allardyce.
Having enjoyed a successful breakthrough campaign in 2017 following his move from Charlton this time last year, the 20-year-old will want to show the Merseyside outfit that he deserves to be starting – or at least involved regularly – for them with some impressive and consistent performances.
That is something that will only benefit Leeds if they manage to bring him to Elland Road before Wednesday, and he could be a key figure in their promotion push in the last few months of the season.
Chelsea’s move for Benfica’s Nemanja Matic this month makes the most sense. Though that’s strictly from a footballing point of view.
The club are heading back to Portugal to negotiate the purchase of a player, rumoured to be around £20 million, who only three years ago they exchanged in a deal which saw David Luiz go the other way to Stamford Bridge. This is exactly what UEFA had in mind with Financial Fair Play.
But it’s the best move Jose Mourinho can make to improve his squad. From the offset, it appears strengthening the at times lifeless attack is the priority. Samuel Eto’o now looks to be a pointless signing, while Demba Ba is largely forgotten. Add the inconsistent Fernando Torres to the mix and the easiest conclusion to arrive at is that Chelsea need a genuine world-class centre-forward, one who is currently in or at least approaching his prime.
Scoring goals, though, hasn’t been a problem for Mourinho’s side. It’s stopping them going in at the other which has limited them to a role among the chasing pack rather than a constant at the top of the Premier League table.
Chelsea simply don’t have a influential figure in the centre of midfield, and the term influential is purposely ambiguous.
The game is catching up to Frank Lampard. There’s good reason to believe that this should be his final season at the top of the game. As a figure in the dressing room and a mentor to younger players, he can be invaluable. But as a player trying to keep up with the swashbuckling style of the front three, he’s simply out of place.
Ironically, Rafa Benitez tried to use David Luiz in the midfield last season. The Brazilian’s kamikaze style would never see him at centre-back for a prolonged spell in a Mourinho team, and even in midfield, the Portuguese coach doesn’t fancy the former Benfica player.
Matic, however, who has blossomed into one of Europe’s best holding midfielders, is the answer, albeit an expensive one. It’s further evidence of Chelsea’s profligacy in the market that they could so easily dispose of the Serbian a few years ago, only to turn to him when in need of strengthening. Not only is he an excellent shield in front of the back line, he’s also capable of springing attacks, a player who can be hugely influential at both ends of the pitch.
It’s something that was present at Real Madrid, with so much importance owed to Xabi Alonso. Chelsea, for all the good that they have just in front of that central midfield pairing, don’t have a player who can command the centre of the pitch.
Mourinho should have no trouble extracting goals from this side. Even if you look past the fleeting threat of Torres; Eden Hazard, Oscar, Andre Schurrle, Willian, and, provided he stays, Juan Mata can be regular sources if goals. Perhaps the best for the forward line isn’t to invest in a new striker now, but to offer the best option, Torres, a consistent run in the team. At the very least he should be allowed to build up some fluidity, rather than being rotated in and out of the side.
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Matic will give Chelsea a strong base to work with. The players are in place in other parts of the pitch, but it’s that central midfield area that needs to be addressed.
Arsenal assistant manager Steve Bould has praised the form of Ivory Coast International Gervinho after his successful start to the season continued against Olympiakos.
Gervinho has made an impressive start to the season, with Wednesday’s 3-1 Champions League win against the Greek side he was on target and grabbed an assist.
With five goals netted already this season, Gervinho has scored more goals than he did during the entirety of the 2011/2012 season.
“He is scoring goals so his confidence is sky high.
“He is a danger with his pace and movement- he could be a top player,” Bould told the BBC website.
After a poor first season in English football, it looks likely that Arsenal can finally get some goals from the player they spent £10,500,000 on. With five goals in the first seven games this season, it’s exactly what Arsenal fans needed after the departure of last season’s top scorer Robin van Persie.
His form could be contributed to the fact that he is being employed as a front man this season, unlike last season where he was more of a wide man, something which is similar to the development of Arsenal top goal scorer Thierry Henry.
“If he gets anywhere near Thierry Henry we’ll take that all day long.
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“He is learning his trade there (centre forward). I don’t think he has played there an awful lot,” added Bould.
Arsenal’s European win puts them top of Group B and was a big boost for the club after defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.
Manchester United attacking midfielder Jesse Lingard caught the eye of supporters up and down the country on Saturday evening, starring for England in a 2-1 win over Nigeria at Wembley.
The 2017/18 football season is over, but the summer is just beginning with all eyes turning to the upcoming World Cup in Russia.
England said goodbye to their home supporters with a final match at Wembley and produced a decent first half performance to do enough work to see off their African visitors.
Jesse Lingard was at the heart of much of the action during that first 45 minutes, finding space and combining with the likes of Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane in the final third.
Fans of all persuasions appeared impressed with his performance, feeling he should be one of the first names on Gareth Southgate’s team sheet in Russia.
While the second 45 minutes turned into more of a typical friendly encounter, Lingard can be pleased with his display before being substituted off in the 67th minute.
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Is he guaranteed a spot in England’s World Cup starting eleven?
According to reports in The Times, Arsenal are ready to steal a march on a number of their Premier League rivals in the race to sign £45m-rated Bordeaux winger Malcom, who has scored seven goals in 18 Ligue 1 appearances this season.
What’s the word, then?
The Times reports that Gunners representatives met the agent of the 20-year-old starlet on Wednesday in an attempt to bring the wide-man to the Emirates before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month, with any deal likely to pave the way for Alexis Sanchez’s exit.
The Times says that Arsenal’s arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur have also been monitoring the Brazilian, while French media outlet Mercato 365 claimed in November that Manchester United and Chelsea are also keen.
How has Malcom done this season?
He has been brilliant.
The left-footed winger has often played on the opposite flank and he has caused havoc by cutting inside, with seven goals and a further four assists in 21 appearances in all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit this term.
Those seven goals have included a number of strikes from outside the penalty area to show the goal threat that the 20-year-old would bring to Arsenal.
According to WhoScored.com, Malcom has averaged 2.3 shots per game in 18 French top flight outings this season, while he is also quick and has successfully completed 50 of the 72 dribbles he has attempted.
Will they get him this month?
It’s difficult to say.
It is unclear whether Arsenal’s interest in the Brazil U23 international depends on them selling Sanchez this month, or whether they will push ahead with a deal even if the Chilean stays in order to win the race for the in demand 21-year-old.
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With Sanchez looking to be on his way out and the future of Mesut Ozil still in doubt, the Gunners certainly need to start making some statements in the transfer market to convince their current players – and potential new additions – they are ambitious, and bringing Malcom to the Emirates before the window slams shut on January 31 would certainly do that.
While £45m may seem like a lot of money, it is the going rate for a good player these days and the young Brazilian certainly looks to be one with a big future ahead of him.
New research by BT Sport has revealed that over a quarter (27%) of sports fans aged 18-24 would give up their Christmas dinner to be able to watch sport on the TV.
– More than a quarter (27%) of sports fans* aged 18-24 would give up Christmas dinner to watch sport on the TV.
– 26% of sports fans would sacrifice family time to watch sport on the TV over Christmas.
– 39% of UK adults watch sport on the TV over the festive period.
– More than one in ten men (11%) arrange their Christmas plans around football TV schedules.
The survey shows that one in four (26%) sport fans in the UK would also sacrifice spending time with their family over Christmas in favour of watching their team on the television, a figure that rises to over a third (35%) amongst 18-24 year olds. A further one in five (19%) sports fans would be prepared to miss opening presents with the family to watch sport on the TV.
The research reveals that 39% of UK adults will watch televised sport this Christmas with further 25% saying they would watch live Barclays Premier League football if it was played on Christmas Day. Over half of all (56%) of men will watch sport on the TV over the Christmas and New Year period compared to just over a fifth (22%) of all women. People aged between 25 and 34 are most likely to watch sport over Christmas with almost half (47%) planning to tune in.
More than one in ten of UK men (11%) will plan their Christmas and New Year celebrations around the Barclays Premier League TV schedule. People in the North East are most likely to put TV sport first with 15% of all adults willing to change their Christmas plans to make sure they can watch sport on TV compared to just 5% in the East Midlands.
The research show that London has the lowest number of festive sports followers, with only a third of adults (33%) planning to watch sport over the Christmas period, while in the North West as many as 47% will be tuning in to watch their team. Sport fans in the North East are more willing than anywhere else to give up family time with 53% saying they would rather watch their team on the television.
Marc Watson, CEO TV Group BT, said: “The UK is a nation of sports fans and our research shows that watching live sport is a priority for a large proportion of the people over Christmas. The festive season is one of the busiest periods in the sporting calendar and it seems Christmas is a popular time for watching your favourite team on the television.”
He adds: “BT Sport aims to bring more sport to people’s homes and we have a fantastic line up of exclusively live sport over the festive period with top pick Barclays Premier League matches, Aviva Premiership Rugby and five NBA matches from the US on Christmas Day.”
BT Sport has a packed schedule over Christmas with top pick Barclays Premier League ties including double header feasts of football on Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. On Boxing Day, viewers can enjoy West Ham United v Arsenal at 3pm, followed by Manchester City v Liverpool, kicking off at 5.30pm. On New Year’s Day, fans can nurse their hangovers by tucking into the double delight of Southampton v Chelsea at 3pm and then Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur at 5.30pm.
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Rugby fans can also enjoy some top rugby fixtures as 2013 Aviva Premiership champions Leicester Tigers take on current leaders Saracens on the 21st December. Exeter Chiefs also travel to Twickenham stadium to meet Harlequins for the “Big Game” on 28th December.
BT Sport will also show five exclusively live games from the NBA on Christmas Day with a further eight live match-ups before New Year Day.
Patrice Evra has endured one of the most difficult years in his career so far, as he struggles to perform consistently at the highest level for club and country. The Metro reports.
Since joining Manchester United from Monaco in January 2006, Evra has stamped his authority on the left-back position and proved to be a real attacking threat down the left-hand side for United.
But the France international admits it has not always been plain-sailing during his time at Old Trafford.
He said: “When I hear people say ‘Patrice never had someone to fight him for his place’, I think they have bad memories.
“I fought with two great players in Gabriel Heinze and Mikael Silvestre.”
The 31-year-old now faces a fresh challenge from Alexander Buttner, who made an impressive home debut in this month’s 4-0 win over Wigan- scoring the Red Devils’ third goal.
Meanwhile, Evra’s defensive fallibilities have been highlighted in recent months, with the 2011/12 campaign arguably being his poorest season in a United shirt.
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Evra was reinstated to the side in Sunday’s 2-1 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, but Buttner could start again when United host Newcastle in the Capital One Cup tomorrow night.
The rivalry between Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool has never been intense until this season.
The competition between Spurs striker Harry Kane and Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah heated up as both fought for the Premier League Golden Boot.
In the end, Salah took home the individual award, but it was still an impressive campaign for Kane as he netted 30 top-flight goals.
This week, the 24-year-old was given a very big honour as he was named England captain for the World Cup in Russia this summer.
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Manager Gareth Southgate has not had a permanent skipper since taking over as England boss in November 2016, but on this occasion, Kane is the lucky one.
Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson would also have been a contender, but he was overlooked.
Unsurprisingly, Reds fans were disappointed with Southgate’s decision, and even the Liverpool Echo launched a dig at Kane by reminding Tottenham of their failed Champions League campaign.
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Liverpool are one win away from lifting the European trophy, but they will have to get past Real Madrid this Saturday in order to do so.
Tottenham fans were not best pleased with the publication’s tweet.
Over the course of the last month, managers of the so-called top six sides in the Premier League – Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur – have all been guilty of criticising and moaning at the tactics deployed by some of the teams they have been playing against.
While it may be getting towards the stressful and busy festive period, their comments certainly won’t have painted them in a good light to the bosses and fans of the other 14 teams that make up the English top flight.
Southampton travelled to leaders Manchester City at the end of November on the back of an impressive 4-1 win at home to Everton at St Mary’s, but with Pep Guardiola’s men looking almost invincible and winning 12 of their 13 Premier League fixtures – drawing the other – Mauricio Pellegrino decided to set up with a defensive 5-3-2 system at the Etihad Stadium.
The hosts also had a goal difference of +34 at that time, so it was no surprise that the Argentine boss decided to ultimately keep things tight at the back and then try and use the pace of Nathan Redmond and Shane Long up top on the counter.
Soccer Football – Premier League – Manchester City vs Southampton – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain – November 29, 2017 Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reacts as Southampton’s Nathan Redmond prepares to restart play Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/play
Saints came so close to a point before Raheem Sterling’s cruel 96th minute winner, but the final whistle was followed by an unsavoury looking incident where Guardiola was right in Redmond’s face and appearing to shout at him after what would have been a bitterly disappointing end to the game for the forward.
The Spaniard – and the winger – confirmed afterwards that they were just chatting about why Southampton had played quite defensively and been happy to play for a point considering the attacking players they have, but Guardiola did not come over well in the incident.
He has no right to tell any of his counterparts how they should play against him – especially when he has a free-scoring team put together with the biggest budget for transfers and wages in the division – and it showed a complete disrespect to Pellegrino.
Arsene Wenger had a similar moan against the south coast outfit in the Gunners’ 1-1 draw at St Mary’s earlier this month, when he accused them of time-wasting before Olivier Giroud scored an 87th minute equaliser.
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As reported by the Daily Mail, the Frenchman said: “The waste of time is becoming a real problem in England in the last two seasons. First, it has to be in the head of the players to respect the game and to play.”
On the same night that Guardiola spoke to Redmond, Chelsea boss Antonio Conte was sent to the stands during his team’s 1-0 win against Swansea City at Stamford Bridge.
The Italian shouted in the face of fourth official Lee Mason and referee Neil Swarbrick after Swans goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski was accused of taking too long over a goal kick.
As reported by The Independent, Conte said: “I hope also the referee will learn something about this, because Swansea were wasting time. In this situation the referee has to protect the team that wants to play football, to try to win the game.”
Soccer Football – Premier League – Chelsea vs Swansea City – Stamford Bridge, London, Britain – November 29, 2017 Referee Neil Swarbrick send Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to the stands Action Images via Reuters/Peter Cziborra EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publications. Please contact you
The club that has perhaps got it most in the neck in the last few weeks is undoubtedly West Bromwich Albion though.
It all started against Tottenham at Wembley last month when they came into the game managerless and on the back of four successive Premier League losses.
The Baggies were slipping ever closer to the relegation zone and they managed to secure a 1-1 draw in the capital, but Mauricio Pochettino and his players weren’t impressed with the tactics of the visitors.
As reported by The Sun, Spurs’ Eric Dier said: “If you watch the game from the first minute and add up the amount of time wasted by their keeper [Ben Foster], it would be a big number.”
Soccer Football – Premier League – Tottenham Hotspur vs West Bromwich Albion – Wembley Stadium, London, Britain – November 25, 2017 West Bromwich Albion’s Ben Foster is shown a yellow card by referee Mike Jones Action Images via Reuters/John Sibley EDITORIAL USE ONLY. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or “live” services. Online in-match use limited to 75 images, no video emulation. No use in betting, games or single club/league/player publicatio
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp was similarly unimpressed by the west Midlands outfit as they picked up a goalless draw at Anfield last week, and according to Sky Sports the German said: “I told the ref after the game, three minutes [added on] in a game like this where there are six changes, time played from the first second from the opponent, and he said it was right.”
According to ESPN FC, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was concerned about the Baggies’ time-wasting ahead of their clash at the Hawthorns on Sunday, although he had little to worry about afterwards as they ran out 2-1 winners.
At the end of the day though, West Brom haven’t won a Premier League match since August, so why shouldn’t they go to the likes of Wembley and Anfield and play tactically to pick up what could prove to be a crucial point come the end of the season.
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The reality is that staying in the top flight is arguably more important and lucrative than it has ever been, and the managers of those clubs fighting to stay in the division know what they have to do – even if it means setting up not to lose rather than trying to win.
If they want to waste a bit of time here and there then it should be accepted – the top six clubs would do exactly the same in the Champions League or if they were winning by a one-goal margin against one of their Premier League rivals.
With the money he has spent on his squad and the fact that his team had been so prolific in front of goal, Guardiola had no right to call out Pellegrino on his tactics at the Etihad – ones that almost got his team a point.
If Southampton had have attacked up there, they probably would have lost 4-0 or 5-0, and it would have been the same for West Brom and Swansea too.
The budget and the quality of players available to the top six managers means that they have no right to moan and whinge for something that is part and parcel of the modern game, and they should perhaps concentrate on why their teams are struggling or failing to beat the sides towards the bottom of the league instead.