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West Ham United are faced with the possibility of missing out on European football next season, trailing unstoppable Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 after the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final tie, also failing to hit a vein of consistency in the Premier League.

The Hammers have been in and around contention for continental qualification for most of the campaign but after falling to defeat against Fulham at the London Stadium on Sunday, David Moyes resting several players ahead of the return fixture against Leverkusen, they have fallen to eighth in the standings.

While there is plenty of time to recover, Newcastle United thrashed Tottenham Hotspur to take sixth place, while Manchester United's poor form has not been poor enough to see them fall below the Hammers – Chelsea are also just one point behind in ninth, holding two games in hand.

It's going to be a thrilling if nail-biting finale and West Ham will need to bring about their richest performance level to ensure that a promising season does not fizz out.

While the squad triumphed in the Europa Conference League last season, the cracks of the domestic efforts were papered over following glory on the continent, and with Declan Rice sold to Arsenal in the summer, it's remarkable that United are fighting at the top end of the division after finishing 14th.

There are still issues, with one of the most concerning the defensive struggles that have seen the likes of Nayef Aguerd plummet.

The fee West Ham paid for Nayef Aguerd

Aguerd arrived with a weight of expectation, signing from French side Rennes in a £30m transfer in 2022 to improve a backline that had been so impressive under Moyes' tutelage for the past couple of seasons.

The Scottish manager hailed Aguerd's "attitude and character" following his signing, with his displays in Ligue 1 the campaign prior establishing him as one of the division's most exciting defenders.

He was awarded third place in West Ham's Player of the Season honours for the 2022/23 campaign, finishing behind Rice and Said Benrahma, having overcome an ankle injury suffered in pre-season to play 30 times in all competitions and win the Conference League.

He is endowed with aerial dominance and an aggressive approach that makes him a valuable option for his side, even heralded as a "superstar" by journalist Mohamed Salad.

That said, journalist Zach Lowy mused the year before his transfer to English shores that he had "had a good start to last season but still far too raw as a passer & often coughs up possession in dangerous areas", proving to be flaws that niggle at his displays to this day.

Nayef Aguerd's season in numbers

While Aguerd displayed plenty of promise throughout his first season at West Ham, he has failed to evoke the awe of supporters despite the club seeing a pleasing upswing on the domestic front.

The £50k-per-week defender has completed 21 Premier League fixtures this term but has only started twice across the past eight opportunities, as per Sofascore, having only completed 80% of his passes, made two errors leading to a shot and committing one penalty.

As such, it would appear that West Ham are willing to leave their Moroccan centre-half leave this summer, with Football Insider revealing that he could be one of the high-profile players the club ships on this summer.

Aguerd is still a talented centre-back but his error-streaked season has seen Moyes lose faith in his presence, as evidenced by his two Premier League starts from eight games – both of which, it must be said, left much to be desired, with West Ham drawing 2-2 against Burnley in one and slumping to defeat against Fulham, last time out, in the other.

With all this occurring, it's only natural that his market valuation would take a slide…

Nayef Aguerd's market value in 2024

According to Football Transfers' player valuation model, Aguerd is actually worth just £11m at present, a by-product of his seasonal slump and an illustration of the flaws that have been found out in the Premier League.

This depreciation actually marks a 63% decrease in valuation since arriving, and given that he has drifted in and out of Moyes' starting line-up in recent months, it's not looking to be the greatest of investments that the club have made.

Nayef Aguerd

£11m

£30m

Kurt Zouma

£14m

£30m

Kalvin Phillips

£13m

n/a

Konstantinos Mavropanos

£12m

£19m

Maxwel Cornet

£9m

£17.5m

It's worth noting that if Moyes – who is out of contract at West Ham this summer – does not renew his terms, the board may well seek to secure the services of a manager canvassing a more progressive, forward-flowing style of play, and given Aguerd's issues in regard to his ball-playing, this might not prove fruitful for him.

An effective attacking outlet and a robust challenger, Aguerd ranks among the top 9% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for goals scored, the top 19% for shots taken and the top 11% for blocks per 90, as per FBref.

However, he also ranks among the bottom 13% for pass completion, the bottom 38% for progressive passes and the bottom 36% for tackles per 90, highlighting the deficiencies that have alienated him from a regular starting berth over the past several months.

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Having struggled to impress this season, it's no wonder that his market value has plummeted £19m since joining his Premier League club less than two years ago.

He's got enough in his locker to produce a good performance in a West Ham shirt, but, ultimately, Aguerd is facing a meek departure from the club, who are unlikely to recuperate a figure nearing the initial outlay for his signature.

Wants to “become a better option for the skipper in the middle overs” with the ball

Andrew McGlashan19-Aug-2020Marnus Labuschagne hasn’t been idling away his time since the Covid-19 enforced hiatus in cricket began, instead focusing on how he can improve on what was a spectacular 2019-2020 season.From the moment he was parachuted into the second Ashes Test at Lord’s as Steven Smith’s concussion substitute, Labuschagne barely put a foot wrong, piling up 1249 Test runs at 83.26. That included a home summer against Pakistan and New Zealand which brought four centuries, the last of which was a career-best 215 at the SCG.Shortly before sport came to a grinding halt, Labuschagne earned his first call-up to the ODI side and, unsurprisingly, tasted early success with an emotional maiden century against South Africa in front of extended family in Potchefstroom. His last innings before lockdown was another half-century against New Zealand in Sydney.It will probably be in the ODI format where he resumes action unless he earns a first call-up to the T20I side for the initial part of the England series. While he has been working on all areas of his game, it is elements of one-day cricket where he is eyeing strides, notably his legspin and being able to hit strongly late in an innings.”It doesn’t matter what the format is; you want to get better,” he told reporters in Brisbane. “There are some areas in one-day cricket where I’m continuing to develop: my bowling and making sure I get a bit more consistent, so I become a better option for the skipper in the middle overs and, with my batting at the death – I want to keep working on that. So it’s been nice to have five months to be able to work on those skills, where if I’d been playing cricket you might not have had the opportunity. It’s all about using the time wisely. Hopefully that’s the way it comes across.”Labuschagne, who under normal circumstances would have been in county cricket for Glamorgan during the English season, is the only Queensland player in the 21-man squad for the England tour. He has been able to take advantage of more favourable circumstances in the state to prepare, both from the situation of fewer Covid-19 restrictions and the warm winter climate that allows for outdoor training and practice which included an inter-squad game to the rules of the Hundred.”There have been so many areas that I’ve found I can keep working on in the nets or at home, finding cricket in different ways,” he said. “The lack of games is definitely something I’ve missed but there’s been plenty of other areas and we’ve been lucky here that we’ve been able to train outdoors on turf.”That’s what this pre-season has been about, making sure I prepare, improving those areas I needed to to take my game to the next level. I had a really good summer but you want to be better than that, I want to go one better, so making sure you are using this time wisely.”

West Ham United could well be on the hunt for a new manager this summer as David Moyes' contract continues to tick down, but TalkSPORT pundit Jamie O'Hara has been left baffled by one of the names in the mix.

Moyes pressure grows after defeat at Newcastle

The Hammers will consider themselves extremely unlucky after Saturday's trip to Tyneside, coming away with nothing despite scoring three brilliant goals. Moyes was left particularly frustrated by the second penalty incident involving Anthony Gordon, which he felt could have easily been given as a foul for the hapless Kalvin Phillips rather than the other way around.

“I actually think that the boy kicks Phillips if you want to look at it a different way, he puts his foot in front of Kalvin and stops him kicking the ball so I don’t see how that’s really a penalty kick but there you go, it was given," he told TNT Sports.

“Very similar to the first one in some ways, but those decisions didn’t go, they were really tough decisions, close decisions that didn’t fall in our favour. I think at 3-1 if we don't give away the penalty we start to ease the game out, but I think the referee played a huge part in the result today, I really do.”

The Scot is now facing an extremely uncertain future, with club insider ExWHUEmployee confirming last month the club will wait until the end of the season to make a decision on a potential new contract.

There have been plenty of possible replacements doing the rounds in the rumour mill in recent weeks, with Darren Bent tipping Ipswich sensation Kieran McKenna to take over while Julen Lopetegui is said to be "waiting" for the job to become available, but it seems fans are hoping for a bit more of an ambitious statement from the club.

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ByEmilio Galantini Mar 14, 2024 O'Hara reacts to West Ham links with "unbelievable" manager

Another one of the names to have been put forward as a possible successor – and perhaps the most exciting of the lot – is Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel, who is set to leave the Bundesliga outfit after a disappointing campaign.

Speaking on TalkSPORT after the defeat to Newcastle on Saturday however, pundit O'Hara ripped into Hammers fans for touting the German as a serious candidate.

Called "unbelievable" by Ben Chilwell during his time at Chelsea, Tuchel has league titles in Germany and France on his résumé, as well as a famous Champions League triumph with Chelsea, and while former Spurs man O'Hara wasted no time shooting down the links, perhaps the 50 year-old could be tempted by a move back to London after his unceremonious exit from Stamford Bridge.

Atletico Madrid have reportedly held talks with Chelsea over signing midfielder Conor Gallagher this summer.

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Gallagher in last year of Chelsea dealMidfielder yet to sign new contractAtletico hold talks with Blues over transferWHAT HAPPENED?

According to , the Spanish side have had discussions with Chelsea about signing the England international, who is out of contract next summer. The report adds the 24-year-old has not been offered a new deal and Tottenham, Aston Villa and more are still interested in the ex-Crystal Palace loanee.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

According to , Atletico made an initial offer worth €20 million (£17m/$22m) but have been told by Chelsea that they will have to increase that offer as the Blues are pushing for closer to double that figure for the 24-year-old.

DID YOU KNOW?

Gallagher has been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in recent months and Chelsea are said to be eyeing former Manchester United player Andreas Pereira as one of their favoured candidates to replace him in Enzo Maresca's team.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

Gallagher, who made 50 appearances in all competitions last season for Chelsea before going on to feature in five of England's seven Euro 2024 matches, will hope to have his future wrapped up soon with the new season approaching.

Bravo wants to concentrate on playing and enjoying the game, says Venky Mysore

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jul-2020West Indies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard will continue to lead Trinbago Knight Riders for the upcoming CPL season.Pollard had been named Knight Riders’ replacement captain after regular captain Dwayne Bravo was sidelined from the entire CPL 2019 with an injury. After captaining Knight Riders to the playoffs – they were beaten by eventual champions Barbados Tridents in the second qualifier – Pollard took over as the captain of West Indies’ ODI and T20I sides.ALSO READ: Trinbago v Guyana to kick off 2020 seasonIt was Bravo who had led Knight Riders to back-to-back title victories in 2017 and 2018, but, according to Venky Mysore, the CEO of the team as well as Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, Bravo wasn’t keen to lead the side earlier too, and instead wanted to focus on his career as a player.”We are happy that Kieron who is the West Indies captain is our leader at TKR,” Mysore was quoted as saying by . “The champion DJ Bravo has been coming to me year after year and asking me to give someone else the captaincy because he wants to just concentrate on playing and enjoying the game. I always told him not until I am ready and that time has come and he is very happy to play under Pollard.”

They are great friends and they will both come together to give us the best chance at the CPL this yearVenky Mysore

Pollard and Bravo also share a great relationship and when Bravo announced his decision to come out T20I retirement last December, he talked up Pollard’s captaincy.”They are great friends and they will both come together to give us the best chance at the CPL this year,” Mysore said. “Bravo said he has played under Pollard before and this will be the best thing at this time for all parties. Pollard was kind enough to accept the position to lead the team at the tournament. He said if we wanted him to do it he will and we said that we will be delighted to have him as captain again.”During the draft that was held virtually on June 24, Knight Riders snapped up 48-year old Indian legspinner Pravin Tambe, Zimbabwe allrounder Sikandar Raza and local quick Anderson Phillip. Earlier, Knight Riders retained their core from last season and signed New Zealand wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Seifert, Australian legspinner Fawad Ahmed and fast bowler Jayden Seales, who had represented West Indies in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year.Knight Riders will play five-time finalists Guyana Amazon Warriors in the CPL 2020 opener on August 18. Due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the entire tournament will be held in Trinidad & Tobago this year, with the final scheduled for September 11 at the Brian Lara Stadium.

Despite all the off-the-field turmoil at the club, Everton have enjoyed success in recent seasons in the transfer market, signing youngsters who have been a hit at Goodison Park.

The club's financial issues have often seen the Toffees resort to investing in youth, with the hope the club can make a hefty profit after they've made an impact at the club to avoid any future FFP problems.

Jarrad Branthwaite and James Garner are just two examples within Sean Dyche's squad who have made a brilliant impact since joining – with the pair joining for a combined £10m from Carlisle United and Manchester United respectively.

The duo are now worth a combined £44m, according to Transfermarkt, with the club now operating in a much more sustainable way than a couple of years ago in a period which saw the Toffees spending over £20m on players such as Yannick Bolasie and Jean-Philippe Gbamin with the pair both leaving Goodison on free transfers.

With the summer transfer window set to open in a couple of months, Everton are already being linked with another young talent who could see the club make a huge profit in the years ahead should they win the race for his signature.

Everton linked with young English talent

According to Football Insider, Everton are one of a number of sides who are being linked with a move to sign Juventus youngster Samuel Iling-Junior, with the 20-year-old out of contract in just under 18 months.

The report states that the Toffees face competition from fellow Premier League sides Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Brighton and Hove Albion for the Englishman, with the Italian side set to sell Iling-Junior to avoid losing him for nothing.

The young "menace", as dubbed by scout Antonio Mango, is believed to be up for grabs for around £17m – as per a prior report from the same publication – and has made 17 appearances for the Old Lady in Serie A this campaign, but most of his game time has come from the bench after only featuring for 465 minutes.

Everton are claimed to be long-term admirers of the youngster, with the Toffees needing to address their lack of goals given their tally of just 29 league goals this season – the second lowest in the Premier League.

Illing-Junior could be Moise Kean 2.0 for Everton

The youngster wouldn't be the first player to swap Juventus for Everton in recent seasons, with the Toffees signing striker Moise Kean from the Italian side for £27.5m back in 2019.

At the time, it was seen as brilliant business by the club, with Kean impressing in Serie A after scoring six times in 13 league outings. However, the striker would flop at Goodison, scoring just four times in his 39 appearances before returning to Juve in 2021.

Despite his lack of impact, it was a good move from the club as they started to prioritise younger additions to the squad, with Everton needing to do the same again with Iling-Junior.

He might not have featured as much as he would've liked this campaign, but the 20-year-old has the ability to be a huge hit under Dyche should the club pursue any deal for him this summer.

His stats per 90, given his limited minutes this campaign, are remarkable, with the attacker consistently ranking highly among other players within Europe's top five leagues.

Touches in penalty area

3.8

Top 3%

Progressive carries

3.6

Top 9%

Shot creating actions

3.6

Top 5%

Shots

1.5

Top 7%

Assists

0.4

Top 1%

Given Everton's lack of goals, coupled with the youngster's impressive stats in the final third, the club should be doing everything they possibly can to win the race for his signature.

They would face tough competition trying to convince him to join the Toffees instead of Tottenham, who could even secure Champions League football this season, but a move to Goodison could allow him to receive more consistent first-team minutes and develop his game further, which could result in a hefty profit further down the line.

Everton want to complete signing of prolific gem compared to Bukayo Saka

An offer is being prepared by the Blues.

ByHenry Jackson Mar 26, 2024

The Australia captain has spent the last three seasons with the Perth Scorchers

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Jul-2020Australia women’s captain Meg Lanning will return to the Melbourne Stars for the Women’s Big Bash League following three seasons with the Perth Scorchers.The move had been expected for some time but the contracting embargo for the tournament was only lifted last Friday due the disrupted off-season with Covid-19.Lanning, who has signed a three-year deal, previously played for the Stars in the first two editions of the WBBL where she scored 1062 runs and was the team’s leading run-scorer in both campaigns. She then missed her first season with the Scorchers due to a shoulder injury before scoring 920 runs across her next two competitions.ALSO READ: WBBL to feature three-week Sydney hub amid Covid-19 contingenciesWhile the move brings her back to her home state – she also plays for Victoria in the Women’s National Cricket League – Lanning talked of the chance of being able to work with a group of young players and new coach Trent Woodhill as a key factor. Whether Lanning will take the captaincy is still being discussed.”His knowledge of the T20 game and to have worked with so many great players and different franchises in different tournaments is great experience to have,” Lanning said. “So I’m certainly looking forward to working with him and seeing what his philosophy is on T20 cricket especially.”I’d like to thank everyone in Perth for their support during my time there but it’s great to be back in Melbourne”I’m proud to have been part of the first couple of years at the Melbourne Stars and I’m looking forward getting back involved with the club. We’ve got an exciting group and I can’t wait to start working with those players and the coaching staff as well.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe Stars finished bottom of the table last season with just two victories in 14 matches and are the only team never to reach the finals series in the WBBL.”Having Meg back at the Stars is huge, it’s almost like starting again,” Woodhill said. “It’s the chance for the Stars to reset. We won’t be putting too much pressure on Meg to be the star of the show, but we know Meg is a star of world cricket.”We want to be able to provide her with the environment where she can thrive, and bring out the best in her by having as much fun as possible through success and establishing a winning culture.”The WBBL is set to begin on October 17 with the final on November 29. Lanning won’t have the chance to play on home soil in Melbourne until the end of the league stage with the season having been centered around a three-week Sydney hub following the opening two weekends in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide and Tasmania.Part of the reasoning behind that was to give the tournament extra flexibility if Covid-19 forces changes to the schedule and it has also aided in getting an increase in broadcast matches.

Wrexham have updated their official squad page to list Paul Mullin as ‘Welshpool’ after his cameo role in Ryan Reynolds’ latest Deadpool film.

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Palmer makes guest appearance in filmNot the only Red Dragons star involvedWelsh outfit having fun with player creditsWHAT HAPPENED?

Ollie Palmer has confirmed that he features as an extra in Deadpool & Wolverine, with the Red Dragons forward “blagging” his way into that blockbuster production. He is not the only Wrexham frontman to be given a credit.

AdvertisementDID YOU KNOW?

Mullin was listed on the Deadpool cast list by IMDB, with Reynolds later sharing images of the 105-goal striker on set. The 29-year-old does not get his face on screen, but he plays one of several alter-egos that feature in a big-money movie – alongside Reynolds’ wife Blake Lively.

THE GOSSIP

Wrexham have delighted in seeing a couple of star turns on their books join co-owner Reynolds in his day job. In playful recognition of that, Mullin has seen his profile changed on the club’s to ‘Welshpool’ – with his image also being updated.

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WHAT NEXT?

Mullin is currently working his way back from surgery, which forced him to sit out the Red Dragons’ latest pre-season tour of North America, with Phil Parkinson hoping to have his No.10 available as early as possible in the 2024-25 League One campaign.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have been absolutely fantastic this campaign, with the Midlands side currently sitting in ninth place in the Premier League.

Gary O’Neil has done a remarkable job, leading the team up the table and matching last season’s point tally already.

What’s even more impressive is that he’s been able to get results with a rather thin squad, especially during spells without Pedro Neto, Hwang Hee-chan, and Matheus Cunha due to injury.

However, it’s important that the Wanderers strengthen their attacking options in the summer, with potential outgoings on the cards.

Wolves’ search for a new centre forward

According to journalist Mike McGrath, via The Telegraph, Wolves are interested in signing Che Adams in the summer.

The Scotland striker currently earns £32k-per-week at Southampton, but his contract is set to expire in the summer, which means Adams would become a free agent.

The report mentions that O’Neil’s side is currently leading the race to sign the former Birmingham City ace on a free transfer.

Wolves were already reportedly in the market for a striker in January after the exit of Sasa Kalajdzic on loan, and their search will continue to intensify.

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The Wolves ace has only made seven Premier League starts for the club.

ByTom Lever Mar 24, 2024 Why Che Adams would be the perfect Hwang rival

Although Hwang has become the focal point of the Wolves team this season, scoring ten goals and providing three assists in 19 league starts, he isn’t exactly an out-and-out striker like Adams, with the current team not having a true centre forward.

The South Korean has featured as a left-winger, a right-winger, and a centre-forward this campaign already, and therefore, not only could the Saints star be a direct rival or replacement, but he could feature alongside Hwang in the starting lineup, giving the Wolves boss more tactical flexibility.

For Southampton this season, Adams has been brilliant considering the role he has taken up as more of a back-up than a consistent starter, which would most likely be the case once again if he were to move to Wolves.

The 27-year-old “clinical” finisher, as dubbed by journalist Brian Dick, has proven to score some important goals as his side look to return to the top-flight, boating the exact same record as Hwang, ten goals and three assists.

Goals

0.55

0.53

Shots total

3.10

2.03

Touches (Att pen)

5.04

4.28

Progressive passes

3.49

1.68

Passes into final third

1.99

0.79

Passes completed

18.87

19.03

However, as you can see from the table above showcasing their statistics from the past year, Adams seems to have a slightly different style of play from the former RB Leipzig player, with the Scotland marksman looking to drop deeper and progress the play.

As well as this, Adams takes more shots at goal and has more touches in the opposition penalty area, which proves he’s more of a presence in the box than Wolves’ number 11.

With Adams offering a slightly similar profile to Hwang, it would provide O’Neil with a different option in attack that they don’t currently have, with Cunha being classified as a similar player to Hwang by FBref.

Furthermore, the fact that Adams would arrive on a free transfer means that there’s minimal risk in the deal, if any at all, and if he can continue to perform how he has this campaign, he’d be a very smart acquisition.

Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah is reportedly looking to leave the Gunners this summer with Marseille having shown interest in his services.

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Marseille open talks with ArsenalWant to sign Nketiah on permanent dealLooking for Aubameyang's replacementGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

Following a poor Ligue 1 season that saw Marseille miss out on European football, Les Phoceens have decided to overhaul their squad starting with the appointment of Roberto de Zerbi as head coach and the signing of Mason Greenwood, with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg reportedly also close to joining the club. They now reportedly have their eyes set on yet another Premier League star in the form of Nketiah.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

As per Foot Mercato, De Zerbi and Marseille have their eyes set on Arsenal's Nketiah for a summer move following the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah. Nketiah is under contract at Emirates Stadium until the summer of 2027, but due to a number of names being ahead of him in Mikel Arteta's pecking order, the Englishman wants to leave the Gunners.

GettyDID YOU KNOW?

As per the report, Marseille also had an eye out for Wolves' Hwang Hee-chan to fill up their striker demands, however, if possible, they would prefer to sign Nketiah this summer. The 25-year-old has shown a lot of promise during his time at Arsenal and Marseille believe he would be the right man for their needs.

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WHAT NEXT FOR NKETIAH?

Nketiah will likely travel to the United States for Arsenal's pre-season tour and he will hope that his future will be decided before the start of the 2024-25 Premier League and Ligue 1 seasons.