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There has been a transfer update at West Ham United, although it is not about a player coming in but one possibly leaving as it is being reported that Grady Diangana could depart.

According to The Telegraph, and as tweeted out West Ham Central, the Hammers have accepted a bid of around £12m for the player from West Bromwich Albion, who have just been promoted to the Premier League.

The Baggies know the winger well as he was on loan at them in the Championship last season, and he performed well as he scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 30 appearances, per Transfermarkt.

Check out the latest West Ham United news, transfers, gossip and social media reaction on the Hammers news hub at Footballfancast.com.

He also managed on average 1.6 shots, 1.4 key passes and 2.4 successful dribbles per game, via WhoScored, and he showed plenty of attacking intent and potential for West Brom last season. Also, at at 22 and developing rapidly as a player following his best campaign in 2019/20, it seems a risky decision to let him leave for a fellow Premier League side for such a price, and a lot of Irons fans are not at all happy with the news.

Here is what these Hammers fans said following the update on Diangana:

Hammers fans, were you shocked to hear that the club accepted WBA’s offer for Diangana? Let us know your views in the comments below!

Liverpool U23s snubbed bitter rivals Everton in the reserves league onÂSunday thanks to a goal from Jake Cain.

The 19-year-old grabbed the only goal of the match after firing a lovely low-driven ball into the net past goalkeeper Harry Tyrer.

Cain played alongside fellow youngsters who have dabbled in the senior squad, including the likes of Caoimhin Kelleher in goal and Ben Woodburn, whose Liverpool future is currently hanging in the balance.

The official LFC Twitter account has uploaded footage of Cain’s goal and praised him for his match-winning display. Loads of Reds fans have similarly flocked to the comments to congratulate him on his performance.

One supporter has managed only to tweet ‘wow’ in reaction to his goal whilst another has said ‘Firmino could never’.

The Brazilian forward has played more of a backseat role as of late when it comes to goalscoring. Whilst his work ethic cannot be faulted, Roberto Firmino scored just 12 goals in 52 appearances last season, which is an unusually low number for a No.9 (via Transfermarkt).

Read more replies from the Twitter selection here:

Do you think Jake Cain should be given some time in the first team? Join the conversation in the comments below…

Former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson is foolish to urge West Ham United to cash-in on Sebastien Haller for not celebrating his late strike against Wolverhampton Wanderers last weekend.

What’s the word?

Speaking on Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday [3/10/2020] ahead of the fourth round of Premier League fixtures, Merson suggested that thee Irons would be wise to seek a late transfer for Haller after the forward chose not to celebrate his 93rd-minute hit during the Irons’ 4-0 rout of Wolves.

Haller entered the action at the London Stadium as a late substitute for the third week in succession, as boss David Moyes once again opted against naming the £32.4million-rated striker in his Premier League starting line-up.

West Ham already had the game under wraps by the time Haller struck home his first league goal since February, but Merson feels the 26-year-old choosing not to celebrate portrayed worrying concerns of his commitment – or rather lack of – to the Hammers.

“You’ve got to celebrate,” Merson stated on Soccer Saturday. “For me, I’d sell him tomorrow morning after that.

“I would look at him and think, ‘you don’t really want to be here’. You’re playing the best sport in the world, you’ve just scored a goal. There’s no better feeling.”

Foolish suggestion

Merson is simply foolish to suggest West Ham ought to cash-in on Haller a year on from his club-record arrival, worth up to £45m, for not celebrating a goal that made no difference to the result, as the acclaim the Frenchman would truly be after is a starting role in Moyes’ plans.

Haller opened 24 of his 32 Premier League appearances during his maiden term in England but has not taken to the field for a kick-off since before last season was paused in March, some 12 fixtures ago now.

Moyes has offered the 26-year-old starting opportunities in the Carabao Cup since, in which Haller has found the net four times and penned one assist, and yet he remains on the bench when the league action resumes.

Celebrating against Wolves deep into stoppage-time, having only entered the action with two minutes of regular time on the clock, would show Haller to be content with his new back-up position to Michail Antonio, something that would be a far graver concern to Moyes than a striker not celebrating an almost meaningless goal in the grand scheme of things.

AND in other news, West Ham risk unsettling David Moyes’ plans with a move to sign a 39-cap player once signed for £47.5million.

Carlo Ancelotti is set for his first major test of the season as a potential injury to star forward Richarlison could derail Everton’s unbeaten start.

What’s the word?

Richarlison has been one of Everton’s standout players in the new campaign, with the Brazilian helping himself to four goals and two assists across all competitions – only Dominic Calvert-Lewin (eight goals, no assists) has been involved in more.

But in a cruel twist during the Toffees’ Carabao Cup rout of West Ham United on Wednesday night, Richarlison was forced off nursing what the Liverpool Echo suspect to be an ankle injury.

The 23-year-old appeared to be in real discomfort early in the second-half moments after striking the back of the net to restore Everton’s one-goal advantage, having tracked back to aid his teammates in preventing Ben Johnson from fashioning an instant reply.

Richarlison attempted to carry on deeper into the Round of 16 tie but fell back down in a heap within moments after failing to shrug the limp and was soon brought off for Alex Iwobi, sparking fears on Merseyside of a potential absence for the star forward.

Losing Richarlison for any lengthy period of time would deal Ancelotti his first major test of the campaign ahead of hosting Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday, with the Italian potentially without a dangerous spearhead of his boisterous front line.

Everton have only faced one serious test in Tottenham Hotspur to date but went into the Premier League curtain-raiser with relatively low expectations, given the Blues had failed to win any of their trips to a top-six side since 2013.

No one like Richarlison

Ancelotti will be hopeful that Richarlison’s potential injury will be nothing to worry about as the Italian has no like-for-like replacement in line to fill the void the 23-year-old would leave behind.

Richarlison offers his side their most lethal option on the left-hand of the pitch with his drifting runs and relentless effort hard for any player to match, and hard for any defender to contain for a full 90 minutes.

That was certainly the case in Everton’s only real test of the term thus far against Tottenham, when the 19-cap winger recorded by far the most dribbles (11) with a 100% success rate and contributed seven shots, a key ball and five successful tackles, per WhoScored.

He again shone brightly against West Ham with three successful dribbles, three shots and one key ball while finding teammates with 92% of his 26 attempted passes before departing the action after 61-minutes.

Brighton may not be a level above the rest but with Liverpool around the corner on October 17 following the international break, Ancelotti will be hoping for positive news when it comes to Richarlison’s potential availability.

AND in other news, a long-time Everton star has emerged as a transfer option for a Premier League competitor.

Southampton transfer target Kristoffer Ajer impressed on international duty despite his side’s narrow 2-1 loss to Serbia on Thursday.

Norway were pipped to a result in their most recent European qualifier match after a brace from Sergej Milinkovic-Savic cancelled out Mathias Normann’s last-gasp equaliser. The Lazio midfielder got his country ahead with an extremely late opener in the 81st minute, netting again in extra time to seal the all-important win.

With the Saints conceding 60 Premier League goals last season, Ajer’s display for Norway could have pricked up Ralph Hasenhuttl’s ears.

Kristoffer Ajer vs Serbia

The Celtic man played the full 120 minutes of tense regular and added time for his country last night. His determination to keep Serbia at bay carried Norway through an agonising two hours of football. According to Sofascore, Ajer made a monstrous eight interceptions and four tackles, as well as five clearances.

The highly-sought after defender also completed 10 of his 12 attempted duels and made a total of 91 touches, keeping an 85% pass accuracy rating.

A potential partner for Salisu

Southampton have the ever-impressive Danny Ings at their disposal up front, with new loan signing Theo Walcott to help create chances in attack. However, Hasenhuttl must look to crack down on last season’s leaky defence, one that has already conceded six goals in four league games this season – five of which came in one match against Tottenham.

First choice option Jan Bednarek has just two years left on his current contract and the club may be starting to think about a replacement in case he doesn’t sign a new deal. Meanwhile, Jack Stephens and Jannick Vestergaard are both older than Ajer, who is impressing for both club and country at just 22-years-old, and have had their respective difficult spells at St Mary’s.

Not only has the Norwegian kept five clean sheets in ten Premiership appearance this term, he has also contributed a goal and an assist. Last season he played all but two league matches for the Hoops, keeping 13 clean sheets and notching three goals and two assists for good measure (via Transfermarkt).

Towering at a huge 6 foot 5, Ajer could partner new signing Mohammed Salisu, who is also a young centre-back. The Ghana international is left-footed, meaning Ajer’s sweet right peg could be the perfect addition to Southampton’s backline.

Football Insider reported that Celtic would allow the centre-half to leave if a £20million price tag is met, which is the same amount the Saints spent on Ings last year. As an investment for the future, the asking price is very low and Ajer could bring an enormous impact to St Mary’s.

In other news, Southampton should steer clear of reported transfer target Danny Welbeck…

West Ham United risk repeating the errors made by Manuel Pellegrini in 2018 by adhering to Carlton Cole’s suggestions of signing Arsenal outcast Mesut Ozil.

What’s the word?

Speaking on talkSPORT (22/10, 08:15), Cole suggested he would happily welcome Ozil to the London Stadium after the 32-year-old was omitted from Arsenal’s 25-man Premier League squad.

Gunners boss Mikel Arteta has conceded he feels guilty of failing the German after overlooking the 2014 World Cup winner for his confirmed squads in both the Premier League and Europa League, but stated that “it is just a football decision”.

Ozil has not featured for the Emirates Stadium natives since March 7 and has not been named in any of Arsenal’s matchday squads this term, with Arteta happy to persist without the £350,000-per-week midfielder the Gunners signed for a then club-record £42.4m in 2013.

But the situation is not one Ozil is willing to just walk away from, having stated that he will see out the final year of his contract.

“Things have been difficult but I love Arsenal,” he told The Athletic. “I’ll decide when I go, not other people.”

Ozil’s situation has not prevented Cole from suggesting the midfielder would suit the calibre of players West Ham have sought to sign in recent years.

“Of course, of course,” Cole told talkSPORT when asked if he’d sign Ozil. “West Ham have always liked those kind of players, those magician-like players. Arsenal would have benefitted from having him in their squad, but he clearly doesn’t fit in at the moment.”

Wilshere 2.0

Once upon a time, Ozil was one of the best attacking midfielders in the world and has enjoyed a trophy-laden career with Real Madrid and Arsenal, featuring glory in La Liga, the Spanish Cup and the FA Cup.

But the days where the 32-year-old flourished are well behind him, leading former Gunners boss Unai Emery to drop the German and Arteta to do likewise after Ozil earned a reprieve during Freddie Ljungberg’s spell as caretaker boss last season.

Altogether, Ozil managed to record just three assists across all competitions last term, adding to three in 2018/19 after 14 in 17/18, and would arrive at the London Stadium far from match fit if West Ham were able to fulfil Cole’s desires and reach an agreement with the FC Schalke 04 product.

Ozil would also stand to demand a lucrative contract given his career despite the events which have developed in north London, something West Ham would be wise to avoid or risk repeating the mistakes Pellegrini made in signing Jack Wilshere in 2018.

The Chilean went against the Irons board in acquiring the Englishman following his release by Arsenal and handing him a three-year, £100,000-per-week contract, with the Hammers hierarchy reluctant to lock themselves into paying vast sums to a player who boasted frequent injuries.

West Ham had hoped to sign Wilshere only to a one-year deal, and were proven right earlier this summer when they agreed to mutually terminate his contract 12-months early after just 19 games for the club thanks to a groin injury and multiple ankle issues.

If West Ham learnt anything from Wilshere’s time at the club, they would know better than swooping in to salvage the twilight years of Ozil’s career – no matter what the German once brought to the field.

AND in other news, West Ham frustrated a rival club with one of their summer deals and could spark greater anger by reviving efforts to sign a 6 ft 1 ace.

Crystal Palace may have had the majority of possession but they were often outfought and at times outplayed by Wolves at the Molineux in the Premier League fixture on Friday night.

Wolves started strongly, as teenager Rayan Ait-Nouri opened the scoring mere minutes after Palace striker Michy Batshuayi’s effort was correctly flagged for offside, whilst Nelson Semedo and Leander Dendoncker both narrowly missed from outside the penalty box, before Daniel Podence doubled the home side’s advantage, which means that the winger has now scored twice against the Eagles in the English top flight.

Roy Hodgson’s side will now go back to the drawing board, having suffered an inconsistent start to the season, which has seen them beat Manchester United in a thrilling 3-1 win but lose to both Everton and Chelsea in quick succession. They have drawn one and lost two out of their last three games against Wolves in the Premier League, via Transfermarkt.

Several players were at fault for the below-par performance but Wilfried Zaha was one player who stood out from the rest for all of the wrong reasons.

Just a few weeks since Hodgson insisted that “he has got to offer more” after the 1-1 draw in the A23 derby with Brighton, the Ivory Coast international struggled to make much of an impression.

Per SofaScore, the 27-year-old was given one of the lowest grades out of all of the players on the pitch, as he received a low rating of 6.2 for his poor performance, whilst he lost possession 17 times, only won two out of 11 duels overall, failed to even register a single shot on target and didn’t manage to complete a successful dribble attempt all game.

Sky Sports also gave Zaha a grade of 6/10, whilst 90min were far harsher in their assessment, claiming he “was at the heart of everything positive Palace did, but the problem is that they barely did anything positive”, whilst he “clearly grew frustrated with his lack of impact.”

It’s fair to say that the £45m-rated ace was uncharacteristically lightweight, which is rather baffling given his performances in recent weeks, but he was largely anonymous as well with both Batshuayi and Jeffrey Schlupp winning more one-on-one situations.

Granted, this may only be a minor blip, but the warning signs are there for all to see, and Zaha may be rested for the home game against Leeds United next Saturday. It’s worth remembering that the Ivorian has started every Premier League game so far, whilst he has also played every single minute, via Transfermarkt.

Hodgson has attacking options at his disposal once again, as Jordan Ayew came off the bench to replace Andros Townsend. So, he may decide to make several changes next week.

AND in other news, Steve Parish must convince Crystal Palace’s Tyrick Mitchell to sign new contract…

Do you remember the name John Bostock? Once upon a time, he was the next big thing at Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs poached him from Crystal Palace in a controversial deal which saw a tribunal set the fee at just £700k, leaving then Eagles chairman Simon Jordan furious.

That was hardly a surprise given his revelation several years later that La Liga giants Barcelona were once courting him aged 14. Chelsea even had a bid turned down for him in the region of £900k prior to his move to N17.

Bostock was at Spurs for five years, first arriving under Juande Ramos in 2008 before Harry Redknapp and then Andre Villas-Boas took the reigns. He made only four senior appearances in north London.

During that time, he was sent out on loan to five different clubs, ranging from League Two Swindon Town to MLS outfit Toronto.

Though, he could never hit the heights he had once been touted for. Bostock was among the same age group as Harry Kane yet it was often the former that was tipped for greatness.

The Daily Mail dubbed him “the golden boy of English football”…

Where is Bostock now?

The short answer is nowhere. The 28-year-old does not currently have employment with any club anywhere.

At the start of October, he was released by Ligue 2 outfit Toulouse, who were relegated from France’s top tier last season, after a loan spell at Championship side Nottingham Forest.

His journey to France came via a spell in Belgium for Thursday night’s Europa League victors Royal Antwerp and then OH Leuven.

It was then Lens and a short stay at Turkish Super League club Bursaspor before returning to French football.

At international level for the England U17 squad, Bostock captained the side but now at 28, he finds himself at a crossroads without a contract.

Whether it was a decision from Villas-Boas or from chairman Daniel Levy, they were clearly right to dump him for free in 2013.

He evidently wasn’t going to make it at Spurs and that call has been fully vindicated as proven in the interesting path his career has taken since.

AND in other news, £63m-rated lightweight may have blown his final chance at Spurs…

Wilfried Zaha once again faces questions about his future at Selhurst Park, Roy Hodgson seemingly has no plans to retire anytime soon, so many senior players are out of contract in the summer – it’s shaping up to be an interesting season at Crystal Palace.

Next year, let alone next season, still seems some way off for the Eagles, who travel to Turf Moor to take on Burnley on Monday night, before facing Newcastle United at home in the same week.

Palace have made a promising start to the season, beating Southampton, Manchester United and Fulham so far this season, although they suffered back-to-back defeats to Everton and Chelsea, as well as Wolves, whilst a dull draw with Brighton in the A23 derby did little to brighten the mood.

But Hodgson’s side bounced back by battering Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in a 4-1 win at home before the international break which means they are already 10 points clear of the relegation zone. However, Hodgson will still have his work cut out, if recent reports are to be believed.

What’s the story?

According to Football Insider, Palace chairman Steve Parish is currently holding contract talks with Patrick van Aanholt, but these are in danger of imminently collapsing at any moment.

It’s claimed that talks between the two sides have stalled as it looks increasingly likely the left-back will leave the club as a free agent when his contract runs out in the summer, amid interest from an unnamed elite club who are keen to tie him down to a pre-contract agreement in January.

Although Tyrick Mitchell has become a first-team regular starter in recent weeks, Hodgson must convince Van Aanholt to stay at Selhurst Park before it’s too late.

Mentoring can mould Mitchell

There will always be a debate over when it would be the best time to let a senior player leave for pastures news. Palace have been more guilty than most clubs of clinging on to bygone relics from the past for far too long as Christian Benteke arguably should have been sold years ago, but Mitchell can benefit massively by learning from a player who has been there and done it at a decent level of the game.

Van Aanholt, who is currently valued at £7.2m via Transfermarkt, could prove to be an important mentor to the 21-year-old as he has vast levels of Premier League experience, especially when you consider the fact that he won the title during his time at Chelsea. He began his professional career at the Blues but spent several loan spells away from Stamford Bridge before being sold to Sunderland.

Once hailed as a “brilliant” beast by former Premier League striker Alan Shearer, the 30-year-old has scored 14 goals and supplied 5 assists in over 100 games for the Eagles in all competitions.

In 29 appearances in the Premier League season, the Netherlands international bagged three goals and two assists, whilst he made 1.5 tackles, 1.5 clearances and 1.6 interceptions per game, via WhoScored. Whether or not Mitchell will be able to match these statistics remains to be seen but he is on the right track so far, as he is averaging 4 tackles per game in the Premier League so far this season, as per WhoScored.

Given his age, the Palace academy graduate cannot be expected to shoulder the burden alone on the left flank, that’s for sure. Swallow your pride Parish, and get it done, Eagles.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace must avoid Chelsea left-back Marcos Alonso at all costs…

People at Liverpool believe that Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland will end up at Anfield, according to reports.

Haaland to Anfield?

The 20-year-old turned into an overnight sensation last season and moved to the Bundesliga giants for £17m almost 12 months ago (via BBC Sport), where he has scored an eye-watering 33 goals from 31 appearances (TransferMarkt).

Manager Jurgen Klopp openly spoke positively about him when he was at the Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, describing him as a “confident” and “clear-minded” talent after Liverpool’s 4-3 victory in the Champions League group stage last season (cited by Ronaldo).

According to Dean Jones of Eurosport, the feeling from ‘figures within the club’ is that Haaland will be the club’s next seismic signing on Merseyside.

The report added that it would not be a surprise if Dortmund were to demand a fee in excess of £100m for his services.

This comes a few weeks after officials at Salzburg said they expect he will eventually become a Red.

Transfer Tavern Verdict

This would compare to the deal that Liverpool pulled off for Virgil van Dijk back in January 2018, and possibly top it.

While the Reds are currently short of defenders due to their injury crisis, Liverpool would not turn their noses at the opportunity of signing the Norway international, if the chance was there.

That being said, Klopp will have to be patient and keep his cards close to his chest, along with Michael Edwards, to get this deal done for the £90m-rated striker.

And in other news, Liverpool star drops enticing three-word Instagram message.