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West Ham United host Everton in the Premier League this afternoon in what proves to be a crucial contest at both ends of the table.

However, the Hammers’ fortunes could be boosted by the return of their top scorer Jarrod Bowen ahead of the Toffees’ visit to East London.

What’s the latest?

According to West Ham manager David Moyes, Bowen could be in contention for a return to the Scotsman’s squad as they take on Frank Lampard’s side at the London Stadium. Right-back Vladimir Coufal could also be available after a hernia issue.

Ahead of the clash, the 58-year-old said: “A chance that both could make it. Both did a bit of training over the international break so a chance both can be there. I’m not quite sure they are match ready yet. That’s my only concern.”

Bowen has been absent for a month since limping off against Liverpool in early March with scans later revealing a fractured bone in the winger’s foot.

On the chalkboard

Although there’s no guarantee that he will be ready for the matchday squad, the idea that Bowen could be in contention today and is close to returning to action ahead of a hectic run-in will be music to the ears of Hammers supporters.

The Englishman has arguably been the Irons’ player of the season, particularly this side of the turn of the year, with the wide man in electric form prior to his setback and currently sits at the top of the scoring charts ahead of Michail Antonio.

The 25-year-old has netted 12 goals and registered 11 assists in 39 appearances across all competitions thus far, a goal contribution every 1.7 games. Moreover, seven of those goals have come in 2022.

Moreover, the former Hull City man ranks top for successful dribbles per game in the West Ham squad with 1.6 per league game and joint-second for key passes with 1.3.

Granted, without the Englishman the East London outfit have been able to manage, with the Hammers progressing to the Europa League quarter-finals with an aggregate victory over Sevilla whilst also beating Aston Villa in the Premier League.

As well as that, wide man Andriy Yarmolenko has come off of the bench twice to score decisive goals whilst winger Said Benrahma netted in the 3-1 defeat to Tottenham last time out whilst attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals was on the score sheet against Aston Villa whilst Bowen was on the sidelines.

Over the course of the season though, Bowen has three more goals than Benrahma whilst scoring double that of Fornals and Manuel Lanzini.

Moreover, the Algerian’s effort against Spurs was the 26-year-old’s first in the league since 28 December, suggesting that if Bowen is fit to start he could be the man to make way.

In fact, the wide man was likened earlier this season by former Hammers coach Stuart Pearce to Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, saying: “The comparison between him and Mo Salah, we have looked at the way Salah stands the defender up and stops and then goes again or uses the defender to curl the ball around into the far corner.”

Looking at the bigger picture, Moyes’ side have temporarily dropped out of the European places after yesterday’s results in the top flight, making today’s clash with relegation-battling Everton particularly crucial.

Furthermore, the Irons now have eight league matches as well as at least two Europa League clashes against French side Lyon before the end of May, with the battle for European qualification seriously hotting up as we approach the back end of the season.

Therefore, the return of such a crucial player in Bowen will be incredibly welcome.

In other news: Moyes axes £43k-p/w dud and unleashes “fantastic” talent: West Ham predicted XI

Transfer insider Dean Jones has now dropped a claim involving Newcastle United and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s (KSA) Public Investment Fund.

The Lowdown: FFP thoughts

Of course, with the riches that the consortium possess, they will have to have one eye on Financial Fair Play (FFP) before they start splashing the cash in the summer.

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The St James’ Park club had already spent around £90m on five signings in the January transfer window, but The Daily Telegraph have reported that the owners have ruled out making ‘expensive superstar signings’ when the summer market opens.

They want ‘room for manoeuvre’ under FFP regulations, but that does not mean they won’t spend a lot of money providing that the club can stay within the parameters.

The Latest: Jones reacts to PIF/FFP development

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones has now claimed that PIF will put FFP in the back of their minds if an ‘amazing’ transfer opportunity comes up for Newcastle over the summer.

He stated: “They’ve always got that ability to land big signings based on the fact that their budget is almost limitless.

“I know people talk about FFP, but to be honest, that’s something they’ll think about further along the line if an amazing opportunity crops up.”

The Verdict: Exciting for Newcastle fans

It is certainly exciting for the Toon Army that it seems as if PIF will look to spend big this summer.

Newcastle have already been linked with some star names like Kalvin Phillips, Jarrod Bowen and Victor Osimhen, so if they can bring in a few players to strengthen their starting XI, then the Tynesiders can well and truly kick off their long-term project.

Nonetheless, they will need to comply with FFP rules, but everything appears to be pointing towards a busy summer for the Magpies on the transfer front.

In other news, find out what could be the ‘best money’ that NUFC have ‘ever spent’

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Loads of Liverpool fans have been reacting to some news that could have an effect on the title race, as Marko Arnautovic left West Ham’s defeat at Wolves on crutches.

Newcastle did Liverpool a huge favour on Tuesday evening, but that wasn’t the only advantage they gained in the title race on the night.

West Ham will host the Reds on Monday night, and it looks fairly certain they will be without talisman Arnautovic.

The Austrian international, who recently signed a new contract amidst talks of a move away from East London, has scored seven times in the Premier League this season, per Whoscored.

He left Molineux in crutches on Tuesday though, as confirmed by injury expert Ben Dinnery.

Football.London’s Sam Inkersole has since said the injury “isn’t as bad as initially feared” but popular insider ExWHUemployee does expect the Austrian to miss one to two weeks.

The 29 year-old joins a long list of key first team players nursing injuries, such as Fabian Balbuena, Manuel Lanzini, Jack Wilshere, Carlos Sanchez and Andriy Yarmolenko.

The Irons have conceded seven goals across their last two games in all competitions, and the Twitter reactions down below are expecting a trouncing on Monday…

West Ham United are once again interested in a deal to bring Hugo Ekitike to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that, after failing with a bid for the Stade Reims centre-forward in January, West Ham remain interested in a move for the 19-year-old at the end of the current campaign.

The report goes on to state that the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Arsenal are also keeping a close eye on the situation of the France U21 international – for whom the Ligue 1 side are believed to be demanding a figure in the region of €20m (£17m) in order to part with this summer.

“The next Mbappe”

Considering just how much potential Ekitike quite clearly possesses, in addition to the fact that David Moyes is in rather desperate need of a new centre-forward this summer, the argument that the teenager would be something of a dream signing for West Ham is a rather easy one to make.

Indeed, over his 21 Ligue 1 appearances this season, the £18m-rated forward has been in sensational form for Reims, bagging nine goals, registering three assists and creating two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.3 shots and making 0.6 key passes per game.

These returns have seen the striker who Graeme Bailey dubbed an “outstanding talent” – as well as claiming that “many in France believe he could be the next Mbappe” – average an incredibly impressive SofaScore match rating of 6.88, ranking him as Oscar Garcia’s 10th-best player in the top flight of French football.

As such, with Moyes currently only having the option of the 32-year-old Michail Antonio up top – a player who has suffered terribly with injuries in recent years – it would indeed appear an extremely wise move for the West Ham board to finally provide the Jamacia international with adequate backup and competition in leading the Hammers line, with Ekitike very much looking to be an extremely exciting prospect for the Irons.

AND in other news: Sold at £37m, now worth £58.5m: Moyes had a WHU nightmare on “unplayable” £56k-p/w ace

According to a report from RMC Sport (via Sport Witness), Liverpool are interested in a move for Angers striker Mohamed-Ali Cho.

The lowdown: Rising stock

The 18-year-old has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence in France and has previously attracted interest from Leicester City and Eintracht Frankfurt.

Despite not boasting an impressive goal return in domestic football, Cho has netted two goals in three outings for France at under-19 level.

A fresh update has now emerged suggesting that Liverpool could be among the clubs looking at the talented youngster…

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The latest: Premier League giants watching Cho

As per RMC Sport, as translated by Sport Witness, the Anfield club and their Premier League rivals Chelsea are both ‘keeping an eye’ on Cho.

It is claimed that RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, AC Milan and Atletico Madrid are also interested in the teenager as the Ligue 1 outfit eye a ‘record’ sale exceeding the €25m (£20m) they received from Lyon for Jeff Reine-Adelaide.

Formerly of Paris Saint-Germain and Everton at academy level, leaving the Goodison Park club in 2020, the report states that Cho is ‘one of the most highly-rated youngsters on the market’.

The verdict: Firmino successor?

Possessing a perceived market value of £13.5m and out of contract in 2023 (Transfermarkt), signing the French teenager – who was described as possessing ‘bags of potential’ by Alan Hutton when discussing Tottenham Hotspur’s previous interest – would be a relatively inexpensive deal for the Reds.

As Jurgen Klopp and outgoing sporting director Julian Ward prepare for life after Divock Origi and (potentially long-term) Roberto Firmino, adding a new centre-forward to the squad will be necessitated over the coming transfer windows.

Although a lowly two goals in 49 senior appearances from Cho doesn’t make for excellent reading, the ‘intelligent’ starlet – as hailed by his manager Gerard Baticle – has been a regular feature this season, starting on 18 occasions in Ligue 1. That makes him a viable option to continue the pattern of Liverpool turning lesser-known prospects into eventual stars.

In other news: Liverpool could now sign South American beast for a bargain as price drops by 38%

Leeds United return to Premier League action this afternoon with another trip down to the capital.

Marcelo Bielsa’s depleted squad were frustratingly knocked out of the FA Cup by West Ham United last weekend and will have to face them again later today.

He is faced with plenty of selection decisions as the injury crisis at Thorp Arch begins to ease up, so it will be interesting to see what sort of side he fields at the London Stadium.

Here’s our predicted XI for the Whites’ trip to east London…

There could be as many as four changes to the side that tasted defeat last Sunday.

Between the sticks, Illan Meslier is likely to remain but there’s an alteration to his back four as Diego Llorente is facing suspension. As a result, we could see Robin Koch drop back into defence to partner academy gem Leo Hjelde, who impressed despite the loss.

Bielsa is still without skipper Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk is only just returning from injury, so the 18-year-old could keep his place. Luke Ayling and Junior Firpo also remain.

In midfield, Adam Forshaw returns after being rested, as should Stuart Dallas and the pair may feature alongside Mateusz Klich.

Further up the pitch, Raphinha is a shoo-in to come back into the fold, having also been named on the bench last week. Jack Harrison may be preferred to Daniel James for the spot on the other flank.

The £52k-per-week Welshman is, therefore, axed due to his poor form in the Whites colours.

Meanwhile, in a big boost, we could see Patrick Bamford finally return from injury – as revealed by The Athletic’s Phil Hay this week, he is likely to be available for selection. If fit, you’d imagine he comes straight in given the lack of alternatives.

Predicted Leeds United XI vs West Ham (4-1-4-1): Meslier; Firpo, Hjelde, Koch, Ayling; Forshaw; Harrison, Dallas, Klich, Raphinha; Bamford

AND in other news, Phil Hay reveals triple injury boost for Leeds United…

Another update has emerged regarding Ruben Neves’ future at Wolves, with a summer move to Barcelona once again popping up in the press this week.

The Lowdown: Neves on his way?

The 24-year-old has matured into arguably the Wanderers’ most influential player over the years, providing endless quality in the middle of the park.

Sadly, Neves is being continually linked with a move away from Molineux this summer, with Barcelona looking like the front-runners to snap him up.

The Portuguese may feel the need to move on to pastures new, having possibly outgrown the club after their push for European football faltered.

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The Latest: New rumour emerges

According to Sport [via Sport Witness], Neves ‘creates absolute consensus’ at Barca among those high up at the club, being seen as a primary summer target within the Catalan board.

His agent, Jorge Mendes, has been given the job of ‘reformulating everything’, with the La Liga giants ‘willing to study ‘ the move ‘carefully’.

It is also stated that the Portugal international is ‘crazy to join’ Barca, who see him as a long-term replacement for Sergio Busquets.

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The Verdict: Time to plan for life without him

With each passing week, the more it looks like a matter of time until Neves leaves Wolves – the key now is to use the funds wisely and replace him with a top player.

He will leave a gaping void in the middle of the park, having averaged 2.3 tackles per game and registered six goal contributions (four goals and two assists) in the Premier League this season, with rumoured target Joao Palhinha someone who could offer similar, having averaged 3.1 tackles in the Primeira Liga.

It is hard to begrudge Neves a move to Barca, given the magnitude of the club, but it is now vital that Wolves’ positive trajectory continues without him

In other news, Wolves are reportedly eyeing up a move for an exciting player. Find out who it is here.

The January transfer window is just days away from being over and Rangers have completed three signings so far this month.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has brought in James Sands and Amad Diallo on loan from New York City FC and Manchester United respectively, whilst John Souttar has been signed on a pre-contract agreement and will officially arrive in the summer.

It remains to be seen whether or not they will make further additions to the squad before Monday’s deadline, but one player with whom they have been linked this month is Peterborough forward Siriki Dembele.

Reignition

Rangers must now reignite their interest in the attacker, who could come in and be a replacement for underperforming winger Scott Wright.

The ex-Aberdeen man has so far failed to make his mark at Ibrox, and his latest performance for the club was extremely worrying. He started on the right wing in the 1-0 win over Livingston in midweek and delivered a frustrating display, as he completed 0% of his attempted dribbles and just 25% of his crosses and lost possession of the ball 13 times in 76 minutes, as per SofaScore.

Wright has two goals and zero assists in 14 Premiership outings this season, and the arrival of Dembele could allow Van Bronckhorst to axe him from the team.

Dembele has five goals and two assists in 24 games for a struggling Peterborough side in the Championship, having managed 11 goals and 14 assists in League One the previous campaign. He is a constant threat to opposition defenders with his ability to score and create goals, and he could be an exciting option for Van Bronckhorst to call upon.

This suggests that he could be a far better player than Wright, as he is able to regularly deliver quality in the final third, instead of failing to make a sizeable impact for the team.

He could also get the fans excited, with Peterborough chief Barry Fry previously lauding his ability on the ball. The 76-year-old told Football FanCast: “Siriki can get the ball in his own half and with dazzling dribbling ability, he can beat four or five players and score a wonder goal or cross it for somebody else to score.

“He’s very, very exciting. He’s got the best stats outside the [English] Premier League, I think. We’ll try to keep hold of him if we go up, and we’ll make him an offer he can’t refuse! So watch this space.”

The 25-year-old is out of contract in the summer and Rangers could either snap him up on a pre-contract ahead of next season or look to secure a cut-price deal to bring him in immediately. Either way, Van Bronckhorst could land a big upgrade on Wright by sanctioning this move, and he must reignite his interest in the Peterborough winger in the coming days.

AND in other news, “Monitoring”: Journalist delivers key Rangers transfer update which Van Bronckhorst will love…

Aston Villa confirmed on Thursday evening that defender Kortney Hause has signed a new deal at Villa Park.

And, as to be expected, a number of Villa supporters were quick to give their thoughts to the update on social media.

Hause was set to be out of contract in the summer, however, he has now put pen to paper on a new deal through to 2025.

The 26-year-old has made eight appearances this season and is one of three centre-backs available to Steven Gerrard alongside Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa.

Villa are still keen to bring in another centre-back before the month is out as well as a defensive midfielder, however, it is Hause who is line to start against Everton tomorrow due to Konsa’s injury.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa fans had to say in reply to the club’s official Twitter post, with one labelling it as ‘great news’ and another hailing Hause as a ‘class act’.

“Gwarn big dog! What a signing”

Credit: @1153Simon

“Great move!”

Credit: @Jelly31807434

“Delighted. Great news. One of the best deals of the transfer window.”

Credit: @pgjf1

“Top man Kortney. Great player and a class act . VTWD”

Credit: @GuestRod

“An important deal for the club that won’t get headlines. Hause has always been a guy who steps up well when called upon. Glad he’ll be here a while longer.”

Credit: @TheTGF4

“Excellent news for all concerned, every club needs a Kortney House”

Credit: @JUSTIN_AVFC_

In other news: ‘Give them what they want’ – Many Villa fans flock to transfer update on potential ‘superstar’. 

Leeds United look set to miss out on long-term target Noussair Mazraoui, who is edging closer to a move to Bayern Munich, Fabrizio Romano reports.

The Lowdown: Leeds links

The Whites were first linked with a move for Mazraoui back in October, with reports in November then suggesting that Victor Orta was readying a move for the 24-year-old.

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As we know, a move for the versatile right-back never materialised in the January window, however, Leeds were still name-checked with an interest in Mazraoui just last month.

The Morocco international is out of contract with Ajax in a matter of months so Orta could have snapped him up for free this summer, but it doesn’t look as if Elland Road will be his next destination.

The Latest: Romano’s post

Romano took to Twitter on Tuesday morning, revealing that Bayern are prepared to complete a deal for Mazraoui ‘in the coming days’.

The transfer expert added that a ‘verbal agreement has been reached’ following a productive meeting with agent Mino Raiola.

The Verdict: Dest instead?

It could well be a busy summer at Elland Road in regards to incomings and outgoings, with journalist Pete O’Rourke believing the Whites will be ‘looking at a right-back’.

Barcelona’s Sergino Dest has been linked with a move to Yorkshire, a transfer that O’Rourke labelled as a possible ‘big deal’ ahead of Jesse Marsch’s first full season in charge.

One thing we do know is that it looks extremely unlikely that Mazraoui will be joining the club, which is a blow for Orta and co, so they may decide to step up their interest in Dest as a result.

In other news: ‘Set to leave…’ – Journalist says Leeds midfielder will now quit Elland Road this summer.