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Antonio Rudiger could be a perfect signing for West Ham if a transfer manages to materialise, according to Irons legend Frank McAvennie.

The Lowdown: West Ham linked with Rudiger move

The Hammers may have stumbled a bit in recent weeks, failing to win any of their last three Premier League games, but their start to the season has still been very promising.

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However, one major setback for David Moyes has been the injury to Angelo Ogbonna, with the Italian ruled out for the rest of the campaign with cruciate ligament damage.

For that reason, a new centre-back is needed in January, and Rudiger has been linked with a move to the Hammers despite being a key figure for Chelsea this season, starting 13 league matches.

The Latest: McAvennie wants transfer to happen

Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie claimed that Rudiger would be the perfect addition for Moyes’ squad next month. He said:

“Rudiger’s a good player, he’s David Moyes’ kind of player. No airs and graces, he goes and wins the ball, he’s a hard-working player.

“He would fit right into the West Ham way of playing at the moment. I’m all for bringing good players and Rudiger is definitely a good player.”

The Verdict: No-brainer for Hammers

In truth, it is hard to see why Rudiger would suddenly want to leave Chelsea at a time when he is an undisputed key player under Thomas Tuchel and potentially on track for winning the Premier League title in May.

That being said, if he decides that he wants to join West Ham, he could be a wonderful addition, having been hailed as ‘amazing’ by Rio Ferdinand earlier this year.

He could slot in alongside Kurt Zouma and help fill the Ogbonna-shaped void, with his average of 2.7 clearances per game in the league superior to the injured Irons centre-back’s tally (2.4).

Not only that, but Rudiger’s experience could also be invaluable, having won 49 caps for Germany to date as well as a plethora of trophies with Chelsea, most notably the Champions League earlier this year. McAvennie is quite right to talk him up.

In other news, some West Ham fans have flocked to a transfer claim regarding an attacker. Read more here.

West Bromwich Albion travel to face Midlands rivals Birmingham City on Sunday afternoon in what could make for a fierce clash.

On Friday, Steve Bruce revealed that the Baggies had just 11 fit players over the international break, whilst the rest of the squad were representing their respective nations.

According to the 61-year-old, notable injuries include “exciting” 21-year-old striker Daryl Dike, Kenneth Zohore, Kean Bryan and Matty Phillips, who are all at different stages of the rehabilitation process after suffering injury setbacks.

Apart from the injury to Dike, the squad is in the same shape as before the international break, which is a big positive for Baggies fans. However, Bruce still has a lot to consider, as Albion will be looking to add to Birmingham’s disappointing pattern of failing to score in any of the last three games.

Andy Carroll will be hoping to start, having not played a full 90 minutes since late February, but that may be a tough ask, with the partnership between Karlan Grant and Callum Robinson starting to blossom over the last few weeks, with five goals in the last three games for the pair.

In terms of system, it’s expected that West Brom will continue to deploy their defensive three formation, and it would not be a surprise if we saw both teams shaping up in a 3-5-2 system and going man-for-man.

Here is our predicted Albion XI ahead of the clash with Birmingham on Sunday:

Johnstone; Ajayi, Bartley, Clarke; Furlong, Gardner-Hickman, Livermore, Mowatt, Townsend; Robinson, Grant

It could be the case that Steve Bruce will stick rather than twist, despite a relatively disappointing performance last time out against Bristol City.

In terms of form coming into this game, West Brom hold the advantage, having bagged two wins and two draws across the last five fixtures; including an impressive 1-0 defeat of Championship leaders Fulham.

Meanwhile, Lee Bowyer’s Birmingham side come into Sunday’s clash having picked up just five points from a possible 15, not the sort of form you’d want to be in during the business end of the season.

Despite failing to score in four out of their last five games, it is certain that the Blues will feel the pressure from their home support coming into this tie and will look to disrupt Steve Bruce’s side as the Baggies look to add to their ascending momentum.

In other news – Sold for £2.5m, now worth 180% more: West Brom had a howler on gem who scared Luis Enrique

A big Newcastle United transfer update has emerged on the final day of the January window regarding the future of Jamal Lewis.

What’s the talk?

According to The Athletic’s Chris Waugh, the Magpies are set to sanction a temporary exit for the former Norwich academy product.

He tweeted: “Another outgoing possibility for #NUFC before window closes is Jamal Lewis, whose opportunities will be limited by Matt Targett’s arrival. It’s understood #NUFC will let Lewis go out on loan, but unsure where yet.”

Deadline day error

PIF are heading for a deadline day error with this decision to allow the Northern Ireland international to leave the club on loan.

Prior to his recent injury, he showed signs of promise at left-back. In the 1-0 win over Burnley (one of only two Newcastle victories in the league this season), the defender recorded a solid SofaScore rating of 7.0. He won five of his nine ground duels in that game whilst making an impressive four clearances, one interception, one block and four tackles throughout the clash, as per SofaScore.

At the age of 24, he also has plenty of time left to develop his game. This means that he could benefit from a direct battle with seemingly impending arrival Matt Targett for the left-back spot, and it could push both of them on to improve themselves, whereas that may not be the case with Matt Ritchie.

The 32-year-old Scot has been poor this season in the Premier League, and fans will surely be frustrated if he ends the window as the back-up to Targett instead of Lewis. He has averaged a SofaScore rating of 6.66 in the Premier League this term, showing that he has been able to deliver consistently reliable performances in the Newcastle side, which is why supporters will surely not want to see him kept in place of the ex-Canaries defender.

Therefore, PIF would be making a glaring deadline day error if they sanction an exit for Lewis instead of trying to cash in on Ritchie. Eddie Howe could enjoy having Targett compete with the Northern Irishman at left-back as it could give him plenty of options from which to choose, rather than hoping that the former stays fit so that Howe is not forced to call on the veteran ex-Bournemouth player.

AND in other news, Newcastle now agree “terms” to sign “fantastic” £20k-p/w warrior, Howe surely buzzing…

Tottenham Hotspur are the latest team to be linked with a move for Jonathan David…

What’s the word?

That’s according to Canadian outlet The Sports Network, who claim that Spurs are one of many teams to have enquired about the availability of the Lille talisman, though any move seems more likely to happen in the summer.

Premier League rivals Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool are mooted with interest, alongside LaLiga giants Real Madrid.

It’s thought that the 21-year-old is “open” to every possible destination after his agent, Nick Mavromaras, told TSN that David would “benefit from a summer move.”

Imagine him and Kane

Finding a new frontman is amongst Antonio Conte’s top two priorities in the transfer market, as revealed by the Evening Standard earlier this month.

That’s hardly a surprise considering the Italian head coach only has Harry Kane at his disposal and he’s been out of sorts this campaign, having found the net only five times in 18 league appearances.

But Conte may well want another striker for more than just cover, after all he won the Serie A with Inter Milan last season by utilising a two-man attack.

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Both Lautaro Martinez and Romelu Lukaku scored for fun at the San Siro, contributing towards a whopping 46% of their 89 goals scored on their way to the club’s first Scudetto in over a decade.

He could well look to recreate that perfect frontline with the addition of David to Spurs.

The Canada international has been in electric form this campaign, scoring 16 goals across 29 appearances in all competitions, which is one goal every 139 minutes, via Transfermarkt.

David also contributed towards glory as his goals last season helped steer Les Dogues to the Ligue 1 title over Mauricio Pochettino’s big-spending Paris Saint-Germain.

Once dubbed a “phenomenon” who is “the best player in the country” by his former Club Brugge boss Hein Vanhaezebrouck, the 5 foot 11 marksman is an absolute speedster who can attack the space with his rapid acceleration and close control on the ball.

We saw on Wednesday night that Kane still has his remarkable passing ability in his locker as he fed Steven Bergwijn through for a last-second winner at Leicester City, so just imagine seeing that every week but with an actual striker next to him in David.

Conte would surely be buzzing to sign the £45m-rated Lille star in 2022, so sporting director Fabio Paratici and co must look to get the deal done.

AND in other news, “Tottenham are..”: Reliable journo drops exciting transfer claim, fans will be buzzing…

Everton have appointed Frank Lampard as their new manager, and he wasted no time using his only opportunity of the transfer window on Deadline Day to bring in two players to work with him in his efforts to save the side’s season.

Donny van de Beek and Dele Alli joined the Toffees in the final hours of the January transfer window, becoming the fourth and fifth signings of the month, suggesting that the ex-Chelsea boss has plans to overhaul the midfield and attacking threat of the team which has currently failed to make a significant impact, scoring 11 fewer goals than the side has conceded in the Premier League this season.

With that being said, the first player that Lampard can ruthlessly axe from his team is Alex Iwobi, who has been with the club since 2019, scoring just six goals in 80 appearances from his forward position.

That’s one more goal than he has had managers, with Lampard remarkably becoming the fifth permanent manager that the 25-year-old has worked under in his time at Goodison Park.

The left-winger was branded “embarrassing” by Everton journalist, David Prentice, back in 2020 and things haven’t improved for the Nigeria international, with his most recent indiscretion at AFCON where he was brought on to save his nation from crashing out of the competition in the last 16 knock out clash against Tunisia.

Iwobi was sent off within five minutes of coming off the bench after a red card decision went against him when he made a tackle with his studs up on his marker who went straight to the floor. That eventually led to Nigeria crashing out of the competition.

If the Premier League midfielder turned manager deploys his most favoured formation of 4-2-3-1, it would push Iwobi out of the team completely as Richarlison would presumably go out onto the left side of the three to accommodate the new addition Alli, who could play in one of his favourite positions behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, and as a result, would see Iwobi unlikely to start for the Toffees in the future.

Lampard has always been a big fan of the £22.5m-rated former Spurs star claiming he is “ahead of the game” in a complimentary analysis of the player back in 2017, so there is no doubt that he will want to integrate the attacking midfielder in his starting line up as soon as he can to get the very best out of him to pull Everton away from a relegation battle.

Combine that with the fact that Darren Anderton once called him a “freak of a talent” and it’s evident there is plenty more that Dele could offer than the former Arsenal forward.

Everton will return to action this weekend at Goodison Park in the FA Cup, where the 43-year-old Toffees manager will lead out his first squad selection in front of the home fans and it will be interesting to see what direction he goes in to secure progression in the domestic competition for the side.

In other news: Lampard already enduring major dilemma at Finch Farm

Transfer insider Dean Jones has now dropped some big news with regards to summer plans at Glasgow Rangers.

The Lowdown: Targets lined up

The Ibrox faithful are reportedly now considering moves for both Ross Stewart and Gareth Bale in the summer, so they are clearly already eyeing up ways to strengthen with the current season drawing closer to an end.

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They find themselves six points behind leaders Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, but are in the UEFA Europa League semi-final after they knocked out Braga over two legs – if they can win the competition and secure Champions League football, new quality and depth in the market will be a necessity.

The Latest: Planning already

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones has shared that the hierarchy at the Teddy Bears have ‘already been speaking’ about possible transfer targets for the summer, while other clubs have not got that far yet:

“I know they’ve already been speaking about potential targets for the window, which is quite interesting given we’re still only halfway through April.

“A lot of clubs aren’t that far down the road in terms of defining where they want to head.”

The Verdict: Big

The fact that the Light Blues are planning ahead already is big for their ambitions for next season.

It looks as if they are going to miss out on the SPFL title, but should they end up winning the Europa League, then they would automatically qualify for the Champions League group stages.

Thus, they could potentially attract big names like Bale to the football club, and so deals will need to be in place in order to fight off the likely competition.

Nonetheless, it is always better to get your business done early in the window, so that everything is prepared in time for the start of the new campaign.

In other news, find out who Gers’ three worst performers were against Braga here!

As per Eurosport journalist Dean Jones, sharing what he’s heard from club ‘insiders’, a promising update has emerged on West Ham’s pursuit of Jesse Lingard.

The Lowdown: West Ham eye Lingard move…

According to numerous reports, West Ham are very much in contention to sign the Manchester United man who thrived on loan at the London Stadium last season.

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The Sun recently claimed that the Irons and manager David Moyes could even be boosted by the fact that United could let him go for just £10 million in January as his price tag crumbles by £15 million – with the Red Devils originally demanding around £25 million.

Lingard has even dropped cryptic Instagram posts of him playing for West Ham in a teasing hint surrounding his future, with reporter Jones now sharing what he’s heard.

The Latest: Jones shares Lingard update…

According to Jones’ information, ‘insiders’ around West Ham are being ‘led to believe’ that a swoop for Lingard is now ‘back on’ and they intend to ‘open discussions’ as soon as the January window allows.

While other clubs are watching his situation, it is believed that the 28-year-old ‘likes the set up’ at West Ham and knows he would fit in.

The Verdict: Priority for Moyes…

Lauded as ‘absolutely phenomenal’ and the ‘best player on current form’ in the Premier League at one point last season by talkSPORT pundit Adrian Durham, there is little doubting Lingard would greatly strengthen Moyes’ options.

Scoring nine goals and assisting four others in 16 league starts over a temporary 2020/2021 West Ham spell last year, Lingard was briefly back in England contention after being left out in the cold at United.

Finding himself in a similar position this year, we believe a swoop for Lingard should still be among the top priorities even despite the need for an emergency centre-half.

In other news: ‘Oh my’, ‘Yes yes yes’…ExWHUemployee’s news on ‘perfect’ striker has these West Ham fans talking, find out more here.

Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch would be foolish to not turn to Crysencio Summerville over the closing stages of the Premier League season as he continues to impress for the U23s.

On Monday evening, the Dutch U21 international bagged a hat-trick in their rout over Crystal Palace, taking his total for the campaign to six goals from ten starts in the Premier League 2 Division One, a feat only bettered by first-team duo Sam Greenwood and Joe Gelhardt, as per FBRef.

The Whites’ academy boss Andrew Taylor waxed lyrical about the 5 foot 5 winger following the display, he told LUTV:

“For me, Cry is a pleasure to work with. He works hard defensively and then, his ability going forward is sensational. He just needs to keep doing that, keep performing.

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“He’ll get his opportunities in our first team I’m sure. As you’ve seen tonight, he’s such a danger, such a threat, an outlet for us. But he doesn’t stop there. He gets back, he gets into position. He took on board a lot.”

Marsch’s current options in the senior squad all have question marks for differing reasons – both Raphinha and Jack Harrison have been linked with moves away ahead of the summer transfer window, for example, whilst the form of £30m club-record signing Daniel James has been poor, to say the least.

Now valued at just £16.2m by Transfermarkt, the Wales international has delivered only four goals across 32 appearances, and he is currently in a nine-game run without a goal.

The Yorkshiremen are among the lowest scorers in the Premier League and that is in part to Patrick Bamford’s continued injury problems, but with Summerville in such fine form, it surely wouldn’t hurt to give him a go?

LeedsLive reporter Beren Cross claimed the 20-year-old gem was “unplayable at times” in the U23’s rout of Palace on Monday night, with Marsch in attendance.

With Summerville only playing 225 minutes for the first team and barely any in the Premier League, he could well emerge as something of a secret weapon for the American in the final months of the season.

He’s well worth a look heading into an important summer off the pitch for Leeds.

AND in other news, Marsch could unearth Leeds’ next Dallas in 18 y/o prodigy who’s “a dream to coach”…

West Ham are still interested in completing the signing of Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

The Lowdown: Lingard excels at West Ham

The 29-year-old spent half of last season on loan at the London Stadium, becoming a hero in no time and spearheading the Hammers’ European challenge.

Lingard scored nine goals and registered four assists in just 16 Premier League appearances for West Ham, prior to returning to the northwest.

He has again struggled for playing time at Old Trafford this season, however, and the Hammers have been tipped to re-sign him in the near future.

The Latest: Hammers still in the fight

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke claimed Lingard remains on David Moyes’ radar, with their interest never going away:

“He has been on West Ham’s list since last summer when he had that great loan spell at the London Stadium last season. He doesn’t figure in Manchester United’s plans going forward.”

Newcastle are now strongly linked with the 32-cap England international, so it appears Rob Newman could have a fight on his hands for his signature in the next ten days.

The Verdict: Newcastle favourites

While it would be great to see Lingard back in east London, it does look increasingly as though he could be part of the Tyneside revolution, following their recent big-money takeover.

The Magpies have made a second loan bid for the England international and their newfound financial power could give them the edge over West Ham, in terms of wages.

Should the player opt for London living and a club currently thriving instead of fighting relegation however, Lingard would be a fantastic addition to Moyes’ squad this month. He has been hailed as ‘exceptional’ by the Hammers boss in the past and showed in his temporary stint last term just how much he can inject into the Irons’ attack.

In other news, some West Ham fans are excited after an update on one target. Find out who it is here.

Despite only managing to win three of their 18 Premier League games so far this season, drawing seven and losing eight along the way, one figure at Leeds United that has been rather crucial for the Yorkshire club is Raphinha.

With eight goals, one assist and an overall performance rating of 7.21/10, making him Leeds’ highest-rated player according to WhoScored, this shows just how much of a key player he is for Marcelo Bielsa’s side.

After ending his debut season with Leeds as their highest-rated player according to WhoScored last season, the Brazilian was linked with a move away from Elland Road last summer with the likes of fellow Premier League clubs Liverpool and Manchester United reportedly interested in him.

A recent report from TNT Sports claims that German club Bayern Munich are closing in on a deal to sign the attacker in January and while this may not be as bad as selling him to another Premier League side, it would still be an unforgivable disaster if the winger were to leave Leeds in January.

It would certainly be a big blow for Bielsa given how important Raphinha has been to his side since arriving from Rennes back in October 2020, scoring a total of 14 goals and providing ten assists in 47 appearances across all competitions.

Labelled as a “relentless” player due to his work on the pitch by Noel Whelan, it would surely be a scary thought for a lot of Leeds fans to think about how this season could end if the forward leaves next month.

Taking into account his goals and overall performances this season, it’s safe to say that Raphinha has the ability to keep Leeds away from the relegation zone and in the Premier League next season if he can continue playing well and scoring goals.

If he ends up staying at Elland Road for the remainder of the season, it should be one of the club’s top priorities to secure the winger, who is currently valued at £36m according to Transfermarkt, with a new deal to keep him in Yorkshire beyond 2024, which is when his current contract expires.

After all, losing him is an eventuality that Leeds simply cannot face given their perilous position in the league table. If Raphinha leaves and they fail to beat the drop, the whole scenario will border on unforgivable from Victor Orta.

In other news: Bielsa can finally axe Leeds’ “absolute disaster” by signing “spectacular” 5 ft 9 gem…