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Flocking to Twitter, many West Ham United fans have raved over a fresh transfer claim as new head of recruitment Rob Newman seemingly sets his sights on a brand new target.

The transfer chief, brought in to work with manager David Moyes and identify a mix of first team stars and talent for the future (The Athletic), comes in with plenty of credentials.

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Having worked with some prestigious figures at former club Manchester City, including their sporting director Txiki Begiristain, Newman has been credited with playing a role in the transfer of Aymeric Laporte among others (The Athletic).

As he now looks to orchestrate West Ham’s dealings, it appears the 57-year-old has his eyes on a new target as ExWHUemployee shares news on Norwich City star Todd Cantwell.

The club insider, speaking on his West Ham Way Podcast, explains that the Irons have been linked with a move for the Canaries playmaker.

His contract expires at the end of this season, meaning West Ham could sign him as a free agent in 2022, with many supporters raving over this update.

West Ham fans rave…

According to WhoScored, only 2020/2021 star men Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard averaged a higher rate of shots on goal per 90 than Cantwell domestically last season.

As well as this, out of West Ham’s squad, only Aaron Cresswell could match the 23-year-old’s impressive rate of 1.6 key passes per match in the final third (WhoScored).

Taking his creative quality into account, not to mention the fact he still has years ahead of him and could be on the move for absolutely nothing, it’s no wonder Irons supporters are raving over this link – even if his impressive 20/21 numbers to come from the Championship

Find all of their best verdicts down below:

“I think he would thrive under Moyes! Young, English, if we can get him for cheap/free it would be a steal!”

Credit: @WestHamNRU

“He’s a baller”

Credit: @prior19042000

“this makes me happy”

Credit: @WestHamAimee97

“Oh yes please”

Credit: @whualfie1

“Would love him tbh”

Credit: @Kayron27

“This is at the top of my wish list for us”

Credit: @SamSton13741567

“Yes yes yes”

Credit: @StefGoodridge

In other news: ‘Increasingly likely’…Sky reporter breaks news on ‘clinical’ striker in big boost for West Ham, find out more here.

Some Southampton fans have been left blasting the performance of Oriol Romeu in their 4-0 loss at Liverpool on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League.

Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men got a real battering at Anfield, with two goals from Diogo Jota and one each from Thiago and Virgil van Dijk more than enough to give the home side all three points.

Romeu was simply run ragged in the centre of midfield at times, as he lost out on four of his duels, while he also failed to block any shots on his goal and made no key passes, losing possession of the ball 12 times, the seventh-most out of any of his teammates to have set foot on the pitch (SofaScore).

Nonetheless, he will now be hoping to make amends when his team host Leicester City in midweek.

Southampton fans on Romeu performance

These members of the St. Mary’s faithful blasted his display on Twitter, with one Saints supporter even going as far as to claim that he was a ‘disgrace’:

“Romeu and JWP are too slow to play PL football together in a two”

Credit: @DanJean09

“Bednarek, Livramento and Romeu have been awful. Should be subbed at half time and dropped until they earn there place back”

Credit: @willdebruin27

“Romeu laughing and smiling with Thiago at the end of that shocking half. Absolute disgrace, how can you be doing that after being hammered for 45 minutes and not having a care in the world?”

Credit: @ralphexpress

“Romeu leave out of respect thanks”

Credit: @Im_Jammyyyy

“Romeu has been way off it today, don’t know what’s wrong with him today, but he could have done a lot better on 3 of the goals”

Credit: @EddySFC

“Jesus, Romeu is having an absolute shocker today”

Credit: @babarussi

In other news, find out whose performance against Liverpool was also slammed here!

Eddie Howe has requested that a centre-back and full-back be signed in January amid Newcastle United’s defensive struggles. 

That’s according to Chris Waugh, the club’s correspondent for The Athletic.

The lowdown

Newcastle find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League after suffering a seventh defeat in 13 matches on Saturday.

Their tally of 15 goals scored is actually better than seven teams, including Wolves and Tottenham in sixth and seventh positions respectively. However, it’s their league-worst defensive record which is costing them – they’ve shipped 29 goals so far, an average of more than 2.2 per game.

Continue at the current rate, and they could concede 85 before the end of the season. For context, Derby County’s 11-point side in 2007/08, statistically the worst in Premier League history, shipped 89.

The latest

In tweeting a link to his article for The Athletic outlining the Newcastle manager’s transfer wishes, Waugh said that “Howe wants defenders in January” but fears that it “could be too late by then” to fix a “porous, ageing & error prone defence”.

A further tweet from the journalist claimed that centre-backs and full-backs are ‘being scouted’ heavily by the club’s recruitment staff, with Howe regarding these reinforcements as crucial.

Waugh added that scouts have been scanning Europe for players entering the last six, or last 18, months of their contracts, while the manager also has some British-based targets in mind.

The verdict

It’s hard to argue with Howe’s assessment, but who could Newcastle actually end up signing?

The club are said to be ‘reasonably confident’ of striking a deal for Burnley’s James Tarkowski, who has failed to agree a new deal at Turf Moor. The Clarets defender is valued at £22.5m by Transfermarkt, while one potential full-back target in Kieran Trippier is rated at £18m.

Tarkowski featured in the WhoScored Premier League team of the season for 2020/21, while the Atletico Madrid right-back has been capped 35 times by England.

The duo also boast plenty of English top-flight experience, with 171 and 107 appearances respectively in the division, so both could be ideal recruits for January if Newcastle can persuade them to join the Howe revolution.

In other news, this Newcastle trio struggled against Arsenal

An update has emerged on Flamengo gem Gabriel Barbosa, regarding Newcastle United’s interest in his services.

What’s the talk?

According to 90min, the Magpies are considering a bid for the Brazilian centre-forward, who is set to be available for a fee in the region of £30m.

The report claims that he is interested in a move to the Premier League, with Arsenal, Aston Villa and West Ham among the other clubs keen on landing him.

Imagine him & Wilson

PIF could land a dream deal for Howe and Newcastle by signing Barbosa as it could help the ex-Bournemouth boss in using his favoured formation.

The 43-year-old likes to deploy a 4-4-2 and that requires two strikers who can function alongside each other as an effective pair. In the Flamengo man, they could find an ideal foil to Wilson – who has 17 league goals since the start of last season – and create a deadly strike pairing that could excite supporters in the second half of the campaign – just imagine that.

His goalscoring record at club level is phenomenal. He has scored 84 goals in 122 games for Flamengo, including 11 goals in 13 Libertadores matches and 12 in 17 in the Serie A this year. This shows that he has the quality to score goals at a consistent rate, whilst he has also been tipped for bigger things.

Former Brazil international Zico once claimed that the attacker has what it takes to become one of the greats. He told O Dia (via TNT Sports):

“I think Gabigol has everything to be the greatest striker in Flamengo’s history. It’s getting there. His performance got better and better, consolidating himself as one of the greats.

“He’s already gone down in history. He is young and can do much more, and hopefully, he can do it. Doing this is always good to give joy to the Rubro-Negro fan and, logically, we always expect this from a guy who has the potential that he has.”

These quotes suggest that there is more to come from Barbosa and, at the age of 25, he could fulfill his potential at St. James’ Park. His goal return for Flamengo is exceptional but it remains to be seen whether or not he can have a similar impact in England, with a move to Newcastle in January potentially a career-defining transfer for him.

He could benefit from playing in a front two with Wilson as he would not be tasked with shouldering the responsibility of leading the line on his own. Therefore, it could be a dream deal for all involved, with Howe getting a player to suit his system, Barbosa offered a Premier League opportunity and Newcastle bolstering their squad.

AND in other news, Fewer touches than Dubravka: NUFC flop who lost 62.5% duels let Howe down badly…

Leeds United have entered the race to sign Penarol striker Agustin Alvarez as the transfer competition hots up for the Uruguayan starlet.

What’s the story?

According to La República (via Sport Witness), Marcelo Bielsa’s side are battling Russian giants Zenit St Petersburg for the 20-year-old’s signature, although a number of clubs across Europe are also said to be in the running.

The report added that Leeds, as well as Serie A outfit Fiorentina, could make a bid for him during the January transfer window.

Would be an exciting signing for Leeds

With Patrick Bamford remaining Leeds’ only senior centre-forward, the Whites could desperately do with some strength in depth up front.

In a scouting report done by HUDL, they revealed of Alvarez: “El Canario is much more than purely a penalty box poacher. While he is clearly a striker who benefits from getting good service into the area, he can also fashion and finish chances for himself.

“Another of Alvarez’s best qualities is his heading. At 1.80m, he may not be the tallest but has shown himself to have a great aerial ability, timing and a fantastic leap. His strength and physicality also make him very adept with his back to goal, while his time at youth level as a midfielder means he is also good at dropping deep to link the play too.”

Indeed, North American football commentator Maximiliano Bretos even declared that Alvarez “has a little Luiz Suarez about him”.

Despite his youth, he has been in electric form for one of Uruguay’s biggest clubs and has been particularly impressive in the Copa Sudamericana, South American football’s second-most prestigious club competition. In that tournament, he has bagged ten goals and provided another two assists in just 14 games.

That kind of all-action energy makes the 20-year-old a perfect fit for Bielsa and Leeds.

Meanwhile, Marcelo Bielsa should give this academy starlet a chance…

Newcastle suffered their eighth defeat of the Premier League season on Sunday as they lost 4-0 to Leicester away from home.

The Magpies are 19th in the table and have only won one of their 16 matches so far, scoring 17 goals and conceding a whopping 34.

Scoring and conceding goals has been an issue for Newcastle and Eddie Howe could look to the January transfer window to rectify some of his problems.

Better than Joelinton

Mais Futebol, via Sport Witness, reported earlier this month that the Magpies have held talks over a possible deal for Benfica attacker Darwin Nunez. The report claims that the Portuguese side would like a fee in the region of £42.7m (€50m) for the striker. That price tag would break Newcastle’s transfer record but it would surely be worth it.

Whilst Newcastle were being hammered by the Foxes at the King Power, Nunez was putting on a sensational showing for Benfica in a league clash with Famalicao on Sunday.

As per SofaScore, he won five of his ten ground duels and completed an impressive four dribbles in 90 minutes on the pitch. He also scored a stunning three goals from just three shots as Benfica won 4-1, scoring his hat-trick and managing four dribbles in just 33 touches of the ball – proving that he can work effectively without needing a constant supply of service.

The forward showed Howe exactly why he should sign him in January, as they are badly lacking a player of his quality at the top end of the pitch to support Callum Wilson, with this performance taking him to 14 goals in 18 games for Benfica across the Liga Bwin and Champions League. At the end of the day, goals win games and Newcastle do not have enough goalscorers in their side.

Wilson (six) and Allan Saint-Maximin (three) are the only players with more than one league goal this season. Joelinton has been supporting the former in a front two of late, but he has only managed one strike and the signing of Nunez could prove to be a major upgrade in that position, given that he scored three times as many goals on Sunday as the Brazilian has managed all campaign.

The 22-year-old played off Haris Seferovic in the match, which shows that he is capable of being deployed in a wider, or deeper, role rather than purely as a centre-forward. This means that he could come in and offer help to Wilson with his clinical edge in the final third, having shown that he has more of an eye for goal than Joelinton.

His manager Jorge Jesus previously stated that he has all the qualities to become world-class in his position, saying: “All this decision-making ability, finishing and speed… He was Benfica’s most expensive purchase, and when there is no pandemic, he will be the most expensive sale. He will be a world-class player. Unfortunately for me, maybe I will lose him in a short time.”

Based on that, they simply have to sign him.

AND in other news, NUFC heading for disaster on “embarrassing” 30 y/o dud, Howe once locked him in a room…D

Sharing the latest on West Ham United’s interest in Manchester United star Jesse Lingard, transfer ‘insider’ Dean Jones has some news for supporters.

The Lowdown: Irons eye permanent Lingard move…

As has been reported, the 29-year-old is a top target for Irons manager David Moyes as the January transfer window looms next month, alongside the possible additions of a centre-half and a backup striker for Michail Antonio (Evening Standard).

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This comes after West Ham failed to land the 2020/21 loan star on a permanent deal in the summer as he opted to stay at his current club and fight for a place under his former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

After playing just 88 minutes in the Premier League for Manchester United so far this term, Lingard is now open to leaving in January as contract talks stall (ESPN), with some sources even reporting that the Red Devils could let him for leave for over 50% less than what they wanted in the summer.

Indeed, The Sun recently claimed that they could now sanction a £10 million sale, down from their previous £25m price tag.

Jones has now shared an update on West Ham’s pursuit of the England international.

The Latest: Insider makes claim…

As per journalist and transfer insider Jones, writing for Eurosport, it is believed that the Hammers are currently preparing an offer to sign Lingard behind the scenes, along with Newcastle United.

In case a bid for the 29-year-old falters, the reporter also claimed that West Ham are watching Dele Alli’s situation at Tottenham closely as he emerges as an alternative target.

The Verdict: Get it done…

Already a proven player under Moyes, having notched nine goals and four assists in 16 league starts for him last season, a swoop for Lingard is surely a no-brainer.

Labelled ‘sensational’ by former Arsenal defender Nigel Winterburn for his spell at the Irons, the 29-year-old could bring a wealth of quality and experience to the London Stadium.

As West Ham continue to battle on all fronts, Moyes will need as much help as possible to maintain their push for a Champions League qualifying spot as well as contend for a possible Carabao Cup, FA Cup or Europa League triumph.

In other news: Newman also exploring offer to sign ‘underrated’ £28.8m ace who’s now keen to join West Ham, find out more here.

Crystal Palace have made young forward Rob Street available for loan for the second half of the season, as per Football Insider.

The lowdown

The 20-year-old ‘target man’, in the words of The Athletic’s Matt Woosnam, has made 31 appearances for Palace’s under-23 side and bagged 13 goals. He penned his first professional deal with the Eagles in the summer of 2020.

He spent the second half of last season with National League outfit Torquay United, but only made one start and five appearances overall.

The latest

According to Football Insider, Palace envisage Street as part of their first team going forward, but a source from the south London club told the publication that, for now, the priority is getting him regular games at senior level.

In order to accomplish that goal, they are looking to loan him out, and ‘several EFL clubs’ have already lodged enquiries.

The verdict

Another loan move, this time to a club in the Football League, looks the right step for Street.

He is clearly highly regarded at Palace, deservedly so given his under-23 exploits, and one of his coaches has even compared him to a young Ian Wright, who went on to rack up more than a century of Premier League goals.

However, it seems they don’t quite think he’s ready to feature for Patrick Vieira’s side just yet. He was named on the bench twice in the early part of the season, but he is still awaiting a full Eagles debut. The right loan move will hopefully prove a springboard towards that landmark being ticked off in 2022.

In other news, many Eagles fans flocked to this recent dressing room revelation

An update has emerged on Leeds United’s transfer plans, regarding Reading midfielder John Swift…

What’s the talk?

According to LeedsLive, the Yorkshire giants are not actively looking to pursue a deal for the former Chelsea man in the January window.

The report claim that Swift is out of contract at the end of the season and is currently expected to see out the rest of the Championship campaign.

January disaster

Leeds are on course for a January disaster following this update as failing to sign Swift could be a missed opportunity for Victor Orta.

The Whites have struggled in front of goal this season, with Raphinha the only one in the squad who has been a consistent threat in the final third, and could improve their chances of avoiding relegation by improving their attacking options in January. This is why they must make a move for Swift as he has the potential to come in and make an impact.

Raphinha is the only player in the squad with more than two Premier League goals, whilst Patrick Bamford is the only player with more than one assist (two). Swift, meanwhile, has 17 direct goal contributions in the Championship for Reading, with eight goals and nine assists.

Royals boss Veljko Paunovic previously lauded the midfielder’s talents, saying:

“Now he’s back, it is important we keep him healthy and motivated as he is now because that will help us a lot.

“He is super talented and he showed an urgency that he wanted to decide the game.”

Back in November, Athletic reporter Phil Hay dropped this line in a Q&A: “Was interesting to see John Swift linked over the weekend because Swift is someone Bielsa quietly admires.”

This suggests that he is a player Bielsa would love to have at Elland Road, with his statistics for Reading also backing the potential he holds to make it at the top level. He is in outstanding form in the second tier and deserves an opportunity to show that he can perform in the Premier League, which is why Orta must make a move for him.

Bielsa’s squad, based on their stats this season, are in dire need of more creativity in the final third and Swift is a player who has shown – in the Championship at least – that he can score and provide goals at an impressive rate. With his contract up at the end of the campaign, it also seems unlikely that it would take a fortune for Leeds to prize him away.

AND in other news, Leeds could sell “shocking” Christiansen flop by signing “wonderful” £9m-rated star…

Patrick Bamford missed Leeds United’s FA Cup defeat to West Ham with a fresh hip problem, according to reliable journalist Phil Hay.

The Lowdown: Leeds dumped out of FA Cup

The Whites were beaten 2-0 away to the Hammers on Sunday afternoon, exiting the cup at the third round stage.

A weakened Leeds team never really got going at the London Stadium and their focus turns solely to Premier League commitments between now and May.

Bamford was one of numerous key players not present in east London, but it turns out that he was due to feature until a late setback emerged.

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The Latest: Fresh Bamford injury

Taking to Twitter after the game, Hay confirmed that the striker was in line to face West Ham after another injury absence, only to be ruled out with a hip problem. The severity of the injury remains unknown, so Bamford could be set for yet more time on the sidelines.

The journalist revealed: “Bamford was due to start today but had a problem around his hip. Bielsa still waiting to find out the full extent of it.”

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The Verdict: Potential big blow

Bamford has been an enormous loss for Leeds for much of this season, with the entire attack blunted without him leading the line and proving to be a reliable source of goals and assists, like he was last term.

The 28-year-old has been limited to just five starts in the current Premier League campaign and Marcelo Bielsa desperately needs him back as his side look to pull clear of the relegation zone.

Aside from Raphinha, the Whites have been rather short on reliable scorers this season, so if Bamford’s latest injury is a long-term one, Leeds must look to bring in a striker in the January transfer window. Otherwise, they risk getting themselves into real trouble in the league.

In other news, Leeds are reportedly eyeing up a move for a young British player. Find out who it is here.