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Recent reports by Calcio Napoli 24 have claimed that Chelsea will demand €18m (£15.5m) for rumoured West Ham United target Tiemoue Bakayoko this summer, but David Sullivan must prevent David Moyes from reviving any hopes of a deal.

The Irons were heavily linked with interest in the French midfielder last summer before he sealed a last-ditch season-long loan with SSC Napoli, with Transfer20 claiming in June that the London Stadium natives were favourites after pushing hardest for a move.

West Ham ultimately did not strengthen the engine room beyond the permanent arrival of Tomas Soucek, and could again strive to add depth behind the Czech Republic star and Declan Rice this year despite Mark Noble’s recent one-year contract extension.

Bakayoko may emerge as an option for the Hammers once again at the end of the season, as Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis is noted to be opposed to paying Chelsea’s £15.5m asking price to purchase the 26-year-old.

The Serie A side ‘will never accept’ paying the Blues a fee in that region and could return to the negotiating table at some stage, as Bakayoko has started 17 of his 23 league games under Gennaro Gattuso this term and only failed to feature twice in 25 available fixtures.

Bakayoko’s preference would be a return to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium for the 2021/22 campaign if the option presents itself, but is not opposed to taking on a new adventure in hopes of finding a regular role.

He has not featured for Chelsea in a competitive game since his maiden year at Stamford Bridge in 2017/18, having been sent on loan to AC Milan and a temporary return to AS Monaco before joining Napoli in October.

Chelsea paid Monaco £40m to sign Bakayoko in 2017 under Antonio Conte against rival interest from Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United, and handed him a £110,000-per-week contract that is due to expire next year.

West Ham could strive to capitalise on Bakayoko entering the final 12-months of his deal in June to add depth to Moyes’ engine room, but Sullivan must block any efforts to revive the east London outfit’s previous interest.

Bakayoko flopped heavily in the Premier League when signed for more than the £30m that Chelsea paid Leicester for their title-winning hero N’Golo Kante, and has now been passed on by four managers with Thomas Tuchel seemingly opposed to offering a second chance.

It took Maurizio Sarri less than a month of seeing Bakayoko in training before he sanctioned a loan with AC Milan, and it was no wonder that the Italian’s successor Frank Lampard chose against bringing the one-time international back.

Before taking the step into management at Derby County, Lampard was highly critical of Bakayoko after seeing the Frenchman struggle in big games for his former side.

“He sleeps,” Lampard said, via quotes by the Independent, after Bakayoko lost sight of Saul Niguez as the Atletico Madrid midfielder scored in a 1-1 Champions League Group Stage draw with Chelsea in December 2017. “His concentration goes and at this level, if you sleep for a second, and it’s an easy goal for Atletico.

“I don’t know with Bakayoko. I think it’s well documented that he hasn’t settled quickly at Chelsea and English football in the Premier League as well, and he has to come to grips with that.”

Days earlier, Rio Ferdinand had also slammed Bakayoko after offering nothing to protect Chelsea’s backline in a 1-1 draw with Liverpool and instead caused problems for the Blues.

“If I was Gary Cahill out there, I would be screaming at Bakayoko,” Ferdinand said, via quotes by the Daily Star. “I think, defensively, he’s been an absolute disgrace today. He’s doing nothing, he’s letting people run off him [and] he’s leaving Gary Cahill isolated.”

With four Chelsea managers now seemingly passing on offering Bakayoko a chance to show himself in a better light than his initial efforts, it is clear that he has not proven he can improve and Sullivan must block West Ham from reviving their interest this summer.

AND in other news, a £70k-p/w dud with “wonderful feet” intends to quit West Ham this summer…

Fans of Manchester City have been reacting to a post on Twitter, which relayed recent comments made by former City left-back, Angelino.

Angelino joined Manchester City’s youth setup back in 2013 and went on to make just 15 appearances for the first team over two spells with the club, before joining Leipzig in an €18 million (£16 million) deal earlier this season.

And, speaking in an interview with Sky Sports, the RB Leipzig defender discussed the differences between his former manager, Pep Guardiola, and his current boss, Julian Nagelsmann, with the 24-year-old claiming that “one gave me confidence and played me, the other didn’t”.

The £31.5 million-rated Spaniard’s comments followed on from his previous remarks about his frustrations at City, in which the left-back claimed Guardiola “killed” him, before suggesting that he was “judged on two games in pre-season”.

However, after City Xtra relayed Angelino’s comments on Twitter, fans of Manchester City flocked to have their say on the matter, with many stating their belief that the reason the left-back was not played more often by Guardiola was down to the simple fact he was not good enough.

So, what exactly did these Manchester City fans have to say in reaction to Angelino’s comments?

“His attitude stinks.”

@MorganMCFC_

“I wonder why. Pretty clear to see that Angelino thinks that he’s the next Roberto Carlos and obviously has more attitude than talent, bang average (at best).”

@THEK1NGPIN

“Starting to realise this guy had more attitude than talent. Exactly the type of player Pep hates.”

@CitySection

“The difference between Angelino in the Bundesliga and Premier League is night and day. Whenever he played he was dreadful.”

@ChaseWhalen3

“This guy needs to get over the fact that he wasn’t up to standard and move on. He was a joke at left-back when he did get game time.”

@Jag905

“He wasn’t good enough. Simple.”

@kieranbeardmore

“I honestly don’t care anymore he didn’t bring anything to our team.”

@MCFC_Samm

“Guy has such a big ego for someone who stunk with us.”

@GoatedVision

“This guy still crying? lol.”

@bigjerries

“Man’s obsessed.”

@DiasMcfc

“Does he ever shut up?”

@Chimuelinho

In other news: some Man City fans also flocked to this Romano claim, find out more here!

In a recent interview, Kevin Phillips suggested that West Ham United could make a summer move for Celtic striker Odsonne Edouard.

According to a recent report by the Daily Mail, former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes his Leicester City side have “won the race” to sign Edouard this summer, with the £13.5m-rated 23-year-old said to be keen on a reunion with the Northern Irishman, as well as a fee of around £15m “close to being agreed” between the Hoops and the Foxes.

However, speaking recently to Football Insider, Phillips stated his belief that, although Rodgers’ influence could sway the striker towards Leicester, should West Ham finish in a European spot at the end of the season, they too could be a contender for the Frenchman’s signature.

He said: “If Edouard is set to leave this summer I think West Ham and a few others would be looking at him. It will ultimately be down to the player but where West Ham and Leicester finish in the league could determine where the player goes. Having worked under Rodgers though, and knowing his style of football, I think he would opt for Leicester.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Having scored a quite remarkable 81 goals over his 161 appearances for the Bhoys, including 20 across his 33 fixtures in all competitions so far this season, it would be a difficult argument to make that Edouard would not be an inspired signing for West Ham.

Considering that David Moyes only has Michail Antonio as an out-and-out centre-forward in his current first team squad, a summer move for a player in Edouard’s position would indeed appear to be a priority for the Hammers. If the Celtic striker is available for a mere £15m as reported, he would not be far off representing the ideal candidate for Moyes given his value and goal return.

In other news: Many West Ham fans responded to this club update, find out more here!

On Thursday, the news finally broke that Crystal Palace have completed the signing of Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta on an 18-month loan with an obligation to buy.

It won’t have come as too much of a surprise as the story had been circulating for some time, but most fans certainly wouldn’t have predicted that Steve Parish appears to have made a rather shrewd move in the transfer market.

Signing Mateta on loan has given Roy Hodgson try him out on a short-term basis without the need for spending huge sums of money on a transfer fee and wages.

After the Alexander Sorloth debacle which ended in the Danish striker departing Selhurst Park for £20m last year, it is this type of due diligence that suggests Parish has learned from the errors of his ways with a transfer strategy designed to end any further embarrassment and one that is considered vital to their hopes of staying above the Premier League relegation battle.

To Parish’s credit, he has backed Hodgson to the hilt by bringing in marquee signings like Eberechi Eze and Nathan Ferguson, but the Sorloth misstep is still a sour note for Palace over the past few years.

The centre-forward has become a bit of an issue for Palace heading into the second half of the season, as Christian Benteke is 30 and Michy Batshuayi can’t be trusted, especially in front of goal.

There have been several players who have struggled to cope in the Premier League having had stormers in the Bundesliga – former West Ham striker Sebastien Haller is a fine example as his struggles at the London Stadium were well-documented.

The Frenchman was signed for a club-record £45m fee by GSB and scored just 14 goals in 53 games for the Irons before departing for £20m to Ajax earlier this month.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United attacker Joelinton has netted only seven times in 66 appearances for the Tyneside outfit, having cost Mike Ashley a club-record £40m after arriving from Hoffenheim.

Mateta’s form has somewhat tailed off after he enjoyed a sensational start to the season, but anybody who watches the Bundesliga regularly knows how good he is, given his excellent goal return for Mainz.

The 23-year-old bagged ten goals and an assist in 17 appearances across all competitions this season. In an ideal world, you’d expect him to replicate this form for Palace.

Despite this, even in the event the transfer doesn’t work out as planned, the Eagles will still have gained a useful asset for a snip of the price they would have to pay to sign him on a permanent basis.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace should keep Christian Benteke or face consequences…

Many Wolves fans praised midfielder Ruben Neves after he made an astonishing admission following his side’s 2-1 victory against Arsenal on Tuesday night.

Speaking to WolvesTV (cited by Jacqui Oatley), the 23-year-old said that he missed the birth of his third child on Saturday, stating that he had to watch it on his phone on the way back from Crystal Palace.

He added that he hasn’t seen his family for a long time due to the pandemic, but simply added “it’s my job”, in an incredibly humbling statement.

Neves has been a regular feature in Nuno Espirito Santo’s side since his £16.1m move from FC Porto in 2017, and has gone on to score 18 goals and provide nine assists in 160 appearances, with two and a half years left on his contract (TransferMarkt),

Unsurprisingly, this news earned the respect of the majority of the supporters and some of them heaped praise on him for his recent displays and his commitment to the cause.

Neves gains Molineux respect

“Wow, just makes you love him even more.”

Credit: @julie_cooling

“The penalty made it all worthwhile. Massive respect to him and his wife for prioritising his team.”

Credit: @thebriankeen

“The guy is a legend!”

Credit: @Dan_Vincent

“Incredible, I love the man”

Credit: @Matt_Vaughny

“Neves, that is top class to Wolves”

Credit: @WwfcFnhe

“The boy is different gravy. Lifetime contract needed”

Credit: @butlerwwfc

In other news, Willian Jose tipped to hit the ground running at Molineux – find out more here.

Andriy Yarmolenko betrayed David Moyes with a sloppy horror show at Southampton as West Ham United were forced to settle for a point on Tuesday night.

Moyes awarded the Ukraine international a rare Premier League start at St. Mary’s, with the 92-cap winger earning his first inclusion in an opening line-up since the Hammers lost at Burnley in July.

Yarmolenko had featured for a mere 151 top-flight minutes this season before travelling to the south coast, where he would replace joint-top goalscorer Jarrod Bowen in the squad, but saw his evening end in the 72nd-minute after leaving an underwhelming representation of his potential on the field.

Moyes has previously described Yarmolenko as being “good competition” for the wide roles in his West Ham squad, but will be unlikely to look fondly on the £7m-rated dud anytime soon after his wasteful efforts against Southampton.

The Saints often struggled to find an answer to the 31-year-old when the former Borussia Dortmund forward made the right decisions, though often opted for the wrong route with a relentless preference to cut in onto his favoured left foot.

His lack of an end product ultimately ensured Moyes introduced Bowen in search of a winning effort in the closing stages, having seen his sole striker, Sebastien Haller, left to cut an isolated figure with service into the Ivory Coast international too thin and far between.

All in all, Yarmolenko accounted for two of West Ham’s total attempted crosses at St. Mary’s yet completed just one delivery while falling short with three of five attempted dribbles, per SofaScore.

He additionally offered no key balls from 17 accurate passes, just one more than goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, while losing five of 10 ground duels and possession on 13 occasions.

The assistant referee further flagged Yarmolenko offside twice, while referee Andy Medley whistled for one foul on the Ukraine star who left the field with one successful tackle, an interception and a clearance to his name.

Moyes likely offered Yarmolenko a chance to impress with West Ham playing twice in 48 hours, but will think again before handing the £17.5m Manuel Pellegrini signing another start anytime soon.

AND in other news, West Ham are considering offering a 6 ft 1 brute with a “terrific range of passing” a mid-season move to the London Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with many central defenders since the summer transfer window. However, that’s hardly a surprise.

They let Jan Vertonghen leave on a free transfer to Benfica, Juan Foyth was shipped to Villarreal on loan whilst Davinson Sanchez’s future is by no means certain, according to The Athletic.

Interestingly, one of their mooted targets is almost a like-for-like of the then club-record £42m signing – Eder Militao.

Reports in Spain have emerged linking the Real Madrid man with a switch to north London this month. Mundo Deportivo claim that Jose Mourinho is keen to bolster his backline with the addition of Militao, who is heavily out-of-favour at the Bernabeu.

Indeed, the 23-year-old has been restricted 344 minutes in all competitions, his latest appearance was on Wednesday night as the La Liga giants crashed out of the Copa del Rey to third-tier CD Alcoyano in extra time.

That was only Militao’s third start this campaign, so he may well be expendable to Zinedine Zidane.

It’s easy to see why Mourinho would be so keen on him too, even despite the £27m-rated Brazilian failing to cement a regular spot in a team like Madrid.

Arch-rival superstar Lionel Messi dubbed Militao “a phenomenal talent and fierce competitor” – his time at Porto may show why one would think that.

He does not have the luxury of consistent game time right now, but his form in Portugal earned him that €50m (£45m) move to Spain.

At the end of the 2018/19 Liga NOS season, Militao graded as the best central defender in the league with a 7.63 rating on WhoScored, which was also the fourth-highest overall in a leaderboard trumped by Bruno Fernandes (7.83).

One of his best traits was his physical ability as he averaged 2.1 tackles per 90 minutes, meaning opposition attackers found it very tough to manoeuvre past him, especially as he also chipped in with 1.9 interceptions per 90 minutes, via WhoScored.

The six-time Brazil international was also prepared to bring the ball out of defence regularly and with a hit-rate of 65.5% of completed dribbles shows he was successful more often than not.

As mentioned earlier in the article, Militao has been likened to Sanchez by South American football expert Tim Vickery, who told talkSPORT:

“He’s not too dissimilar to Davinson Sanchez, Eder Militao. He’s a strapping lad, and he’s quick,” before adding: “Jose likes him according to the Portuguese press so let’s see what happens.”

If you’re a Spurs fan, this probably doesn’t provide much encouragement given how underwhelming the Colombian has been since his move from Ajax in 2017.

The 24-year-old is currently averaging a mediocre 6.48 WhoScored rating in the Premier League and has been snubbed 11 times since that devastating West Ham comeback in October.

That said, if Militao can come in and perform to the standards that Sanchez should be setting himself, then the Hotspur faithful will undoubtedly be delighted.

So hold fire on any angst over those comparisons and wait and see if Spurs can secure a deal for the 6 foot 1 powerhouse.

Mourinho will need bodies if he’s to contend across all competitions and evidently if the Portuguese manager can get that Porto form back out of him, then he’d be a wise addition.

AND in other news, Spurs must offload “magic” Spurs man this month, he’s robbed Levy blind…

Sadio Mane produced a shocking performance in Liverpool’s surprise 2-0 defeat against Atalanta in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

The Senegalese winger put in an uncharacteristically poor display against the Serie A side, with Gian Piero Gasperini’s side able to effectively shut him out of the game.

As per SofaScore, Mane picked up a 6.4 rating for his performance, with only Divock Origi and Konstantinos Tsimikas rated lower of any Liverpool player who started the game.

The 28-year-old was unable to register a single shot on goal during his 90 minutes on the pitch, with the Italians producing a superb defensive performance.

Mane was also successful in just one of his four attempted dribbles on Wednesday night, whilst his passing was also not at his usual high standard, with just 16/25 of his passes finding their mark, resulting in a poor accuracy rate of 64%.

The former Southampton man has earned a reputation during his time at Anfield for being able to bully his opponents and win the ball back high up the pitch, but he was very much second-best against Atalanta.

Of the 13 ground duels he was involved in, he was able to win just six; whilst he also failed to win any of his three aerial duels, meaning he won just 37.5% of his duels on the night.

To complete a shocking display, Mane managed to lose possession on no fewer than 19 occasions, with it clear that the Reds were beaten by the better team on the evening.

Klopp described the winger as the “complete player” in a press conference during the summer but considering he has now failed to find the back of the net in his last three Liverpool games, it appears that he is in something of a slump.

However, Mane has still had an excellent start to the Premier League season, having averaged a superb 7.72 rating across his eight appearances in the top-flight, so hopefully, it won’t be long until he ends his mini drought and gets his name back on the scoresheet.

David Moyes must unleash Manuel Lanzini over West Ham United’s hectic festive schedule to afford the Argentine midfielder one final chance to save his London Stadium career.

What’s the word?

According to Claret and Hugh, the Hammers are yet to receive any offers for Lanzini ahead of the January transfer window despite putting the 27-year-old up for sale.

Lanzini is among an array of unwanted players the Irons are looking to move on in the winter market as they look to raise funds for a pursuit of AFC Bournemouth striker Joshua King.

West Ham had hoped to offload Lanzini in the summer but also received no offers for the £70,000-per-week playmaker, who has found himself shunned to the fringes thus far this term.

Moyes has afforded the five-cap international just 332 minutes of game time across all competitions and is yet to hand Lanzini a start outside of the Carabao Cup, with his longest Premier League appearance of the campaign lasting only 18 minutes.

The Irons boss had backed Lanzini to re-establish himself at the London Stadium earlier in the year, noting how the serious knee injury that ruled the £12.6m-rated maestro out of the 2018 World Cup could be seen as nothing but a blip in his career.

“When I had him the first time, he was terrific. No doubt, the injury has had an impact on where he is in different ways, but I don’t see it as a reason for him not to get back to those levels. His training has been improving and he’s got competition and he realises that. He’s not the number-one pick,” Moyes said in October.

Last chance saloon

While Moyes was echoing belief in Lanzini only two months ago, the midfielder remains no closer to re-establishing himself in the first-team with the 27-year-old’s game-saving wonder goal against Tottenham Hotspur the only highlight he can recall.

Moyes stated West Ham were “really crying out for Manuel Lanzini” back in January, but that is far from the case now with the Scottish coach overlooking the Argentine for any involvement in seven Premier League fixtures including last Friday’s win at Leeds United.

Instead, Said Benrahma was drafted in to play in behind striker Sebastien Haller after a late injury for Arthur Masuaku forced Moyes to deviate away from the five-man defence West Ham had begun to favour.

Lanzini would have seen his hopes of featuring smashed with Benrahma excelling at Elland Road, but Moyes must look fondly on the Argentine in the coming weeks with West Ham set to play five games in the next 18 days, including London Derbies with Crystal Palace and Chelsea plus a trip to Everton.

It will prove to be Lanzini’s final window to impress Moyes and verify why he still deserves a future in claret and blue, while even mediocre displays will put him firmly in the shop window ahead of the winter market.

AND in other news, West Ham have been dealt a massive blow in pursuit of the January answer to David Moyes’ “worst nightmare”.

West Bromwich Albion’s search for their first win back in the big time rumbles on after playing out the Premier League’s first 0-0 stalemate of the season against Burnley on Monday evening.

Baggies boss Slaven Bilic somewhat made a statement with his team selection, dropping both Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley for the experienced duo of Ahmed Hegazi and Branislav Ivanovic.

Romaine Sawyers was also dropped whilst late summer addition Karlan Grant made his debut.

There was even a return for Darnell Furlong at right-back despite Dara O’Shea’s recent debut outing for Ireland, but the 24-year-old failed to repay the faith put in him with a disappointing display at the Hawthorns.

Albion largely dominated the game, raking in 56% possession and 13 shots to the Claret’s nine, though the visitors had the richer chances in front of goal.

And even though they kept their first clean sheet of the campaign, Furlong was particularly wasteful.

He lost possession a whopping 30 times, considering he was up against the exciting Dwight McNeil, this could have ended poorly for the Baggies whilst Furlong also landed just one accurate cross from seven attempts, committed one foul and made only 64% of his passes, via SofaScore.

On a different day, or against a more lethal player like Sadio Mane or Raheem Sterling, he’d have certainly been punished for his mistakes.

This was backed up by BirminghamLive’s review – they graded him a 6/10 and said: “McNeil had a lot of space down the left in the first half and Albion’s centre halves had to cut out crosses that came from the flank, but going forwards Furlong gave as good as he got. Deliveries were often disappointing.”

Furlong was dropped for the Southampton defeat but his performance here fails to prove why he should be trusted over O’Shea going into Monday’s tie with Brighton & Hove Albion.

He’s way more suited to playing as a wing-back, which this four-at-the-back system does not account for.

AND in other news, Baggies may have unearthed the next Shane Long in their “bull of a number nine”…