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Speaking ahead of West Ham United vs Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium on Sunday, Lilywhites manager Jose Mourinho explained how the Irons have ‘one week to prepare’ and ‘one week to rest’ – hinting it could hand them a Premier League advantage.

Commenting on the Hammers’ superb season so far on Tottenham’s YouTube channel, Mourinho hailed West Ham for doing ‘very well’, but claimed they have a ‘much better chance’ due to their lack of European competition.

“They are doing very well,” said the Portuguese.

“I believe that in the end of the season their position and our position, they are not going to be the same as where we are now.

“One week to prepare, one week to rest, less injuries, less fatigue. It gives them a much better chance.”

As a result of his comments, many West Ham United fans didn’t appear too pleased, dropping their takes in full reaction on social media.

Find all of their verdicts on Mourinho’s admission down below.

West Ham fans react to Mourinho claim

“Team talk sorted for Sunday, cheers mourinho. Bitter boy.”

Credit: @WestHam_Central

“he’s getting his excuses in which means he’s scared”

Credit: @westdan1895

“Getting his waffle excuses in ready”

Credit: @Up_TheHammers

“The man has no class or humility.”

Credit: @ANDAMA73x

“moyes – get it pinned on the changing room wall!”

Credit: @ga02njd

“He does know that over the Christmas period and right through to end of January we were undefeated right?????”

Credit: @TheIronKing_

In other news: West Ham fans flocked to this ExWHUemployee update, find out more here.

David Sullivan must not sanction a summer swoop for West Ham United to sign Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah, despite the reported intentions of head coach David Moyes.

What’s the word?

According to the Daily Star, Nketiah is one of three homegrown forwards that Moyes is considering as he strives to add competition at the London Stadium for Michail Antonio.

Chelsea’s top-scorer Tammy Abraham and Brentford sensation Ivan Toney are also on the Irons’ radar after they opted against bringing in a striker during the recent winter window once a deal for Sevilla star Youssef En-Nesyri fell through.

It was claimed by The Athletic that West Ham saw a €25m (£22.5m) plus €5m (£4.5m) in add-ons offer rejected by En-Nesyri’s La Liga outfit, who were holding out for at least an initial €40m (£34.5m) on the forward signed for just €20m (£18m) 12-months before.

Moyes now hopes to land a hungry, young and homegrown option to offer Antonio some competition, after the 30-year-old was left as United’s sole recognised senior centre-forward when the club sold Sebastien Haller to AFC Ajax for £20m in January.

Arsenal are expected to part with Nketiah in the upcoming off-season as the striker will enter the final 12-months of his £45,000-per-week contract in June.

Former Gunners forward Kevin Campbell believes the north London side will look to make around the fee West Ham sold Haller for, should the academy graduate leave the Emirates Stadium.

“[Mikel] Arteta has to chop and change that squad. There are a couple of tough decisions coming up,” he told Football Insider. “If you can get £20m for Nketiah, that could be put to good use somewhere else in the squad. There is more of a need in other positions.”

Should West Ham sign Nketiah?

West Ham were said to have tracked Nketiah’s situation at the Emirates during the winter transfer market as they weighed up potential Haller replacements, but were blocked in efforts to land the England U21 international by Arteta.

The Spanish coach has since frozen the forward out of the first-team picture entirely, with Nketiah failing to feature in a single Premier League squad since the mid-season window shut.

He was also an unused substitute during each leg of the Gunners’ Europa League Last 32 ties with SL Benfica last month, a competition in which Nketiah had started all six Group Stage fixtures and scored three goals.

Premier League strikes have not been as forthcoming for the London-born frontman, who has netted just once in 2020/21 with a goal against West Ham during the Irons’ 2-1 loss on matchday two back in September.

Nketiah’s fall from Arteta’s plans, despite him being able to name nine substitutes has not been surprising, really, with the 21-year-old only directing six of his 22 shots in the top-flight all term on target before he was frozen out.

That level of output would be unlikely to challenge Antonio – who has scored seven goals from 21 on-target shots out of 41 attempts – and thus Sullivan must block Moyes from pursuing Nketiah at the end of the season.

AND in other news, West Ham have been slapped with a £20m asking price to sign an “outstanding” talent this summer…

This season has been a troubling one for Wolves; one that’s more or less been a product of Nuno Santo’s desire for further numbers in attack.

On paper, he was right to urge his side to be more attacking. That being said, moving from a system that’s been so successful for the best part of three years was a brave move.

In switching to a four-man defence, it didn’t provide them with much success, something testified by their position in the table of 12th place.

They have since reverted to a three-man defence again, and it’s providing better results.

That being said, their display at Villa Park on Saturday evening lacked a cutting edge. Plenty of chances went begging as the likes of Conor Coady and Romain Saiss spurned opportunities that looked easier to score.

Yet, the burden of scoring goals should not fall on the shoulders of Wolves’ defenders as it did versus Manchester City. Instead, they need more from their front line.

Adama Traore has been the very definition of enigmatic this term. In 2019/20, he was one of the most feared players in the top-flight. The Spaniard dazzled on his way to providing 13 goal contributions and amassing a truly ridiculous five dribbles per game.

Yet, this term, very much like Wolves, he has been disappointing. Traore hasn’t scored or assisted and his threat was incredibly minimal against Villa on Saturday.

The Midlands rivals played out a 0-0 draw with their wing sensation failing to have a positive impact on proceedings. Villa’s defenders got out to him quickly and prevented Traore from ever getting up to speed.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-news-on-wolves-from-molineux” title=” Check out the latest news on Wolves from Molineux!”]

Indeed, Wolves reporter Tim Spiers claimed during the game that the forward “offered nowt” and the statistics provide plenty of evidence.

The 25-year-old was playing as an inverted winger on the left-hand side on this occasion but despite completing four dribbles, his end product deserted him. The Spain international failed to have a single shot at goal while all four of his crosses into the area evaded an Old Gold shirt.

A player like Traore will naturally lose the ball more often than not, but surrendering it on 15 occasions, as he did on Saturday, was incredibly poor when he offered very little elsewhere.

In total, the attacker played just 23 passes, one fewer than Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez. His tally was only worse than Willian Jose and Rui Patricio’s in the Wolves team.

If anything summed up Traore’s poor campaign, this was it. He struggled to get out of second gear and provided very little goal threat. In short, he let his manager down.

How Wolves lust for Raul Jimenez’s return.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Kilman: Shi could replace Wolves talent with swoop for £20m “special player”…

Alasdair Gold has criticised the display of Dele Alli despite Tottenham Hotspur beating Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.

Harry Kane got himself on the scoresheet twice to give Spurs a decent home lead going into the away leg in Croatia, but while there were some very good performances for Jose Mourinho’s team, Gold was critical of Alli’s.

Writing in his latest ratings piece for football.london, the journalist claimed that the former MK Dons star looked “rusty” and gave him a mere 5/10 overall rating, the worst out of any Lilywhites player to have started the game in North London.

Alli looked rusty

Alli did look quite rusty throughout the match in what was not one of his best by his usual high standards.

The attacking midfield player failed to record a single shot on goal, successful dribble or key pass, and also lost possession of the ball no fewer than on 10 separate occasions in total throughout the clash (Sofascore).

The performance will certainly put question marks over whether he should be starting in the derby away at local rivals Arsenal on Sunday afternoon, as THFC will surely be looking to stamp their authority on the fixture and continue their climb up the Premier League table.

In other news, find out who Mourinho is planning to start ‘virtually every game’ here!

Former Tottenham Hotspur captain Gary Mabbutt has lavished praise on Harry Kane in an interview with Football FanCast and compared him to some of the great strikers of his era, including Netherlands icon Marco van Basten.

The Dutch striker is one of the all-time great centre-forwards, having won the Ballon d’Or no fewer than three times.

Van Basten also won the Champions League twice with AC Milan, the European Championships with the Netherlands in 1988, while winning the league three times each with Milan and Ajax.

Kane, of course, doesn’t have a similar laundry list of accolades but he was in electric form as Spurs beat Crystal Palace 4-1 last weekend.

The England captain scored twice, including a brilliant first-time strike from 25 yards that curled into the top left-hand corner, and also laid on an assist for Gareth Bale.

This season, Kane has scored 24 goals in 36 games in all competitions and has also laid on a staggering 16 assists, taking him to 40 goal involvements overall.

Mabbutt, of course, played against the likes of van Basten and he believes that the current Spurs striker is every bit as good as the Dutchman, while also name dropping the likes of Ian Rush and Kenny Dalglish, who both became Liverpool legends.

He told FFC: “When you look at the best strikers in the world, you expect them to be able to do things others can’t do.

“I played against some great strikers, the likes of Marco van Basten and Karl Heinz Rummenigge, Dalglish, and Rush, and all those sorts of players.

“They have something that no other strikers have got and certainly, Harry has got those credentials.”

Kane will be out to lift a trophy this season, with Spurs still competing in both the League Cup and the Europa League.

They will play Manchester City in the final of the former and Dinamo Zagreb in the last-16 of the latter, with the second game coming later this week, prior to a north London derby clash with Arsenal.

Reports by Todo Fichajes earlier this week claimed Everton are keeping tabs on Martin Braithwaite’s situation at FC Barcelona, as well as that of Miralem Pjanic, but Marcel Brands must block a move for the striker to head to Goodison Park this summer.

The Toffees are understood to be eying a raid on the Camp Nou to improve Carlo Ancelotti’s squad, having built a strong relationship with the European giants through their deals to sign a string of the Catalan natives’ outcasts in Andre Gomes, Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne.

Braithwaite completed a controversial €18m (£15m) move to Barca last February, having been given permission by La Liga to leave CD Leganes outside of the winter market after injury ruled Ousmane Dembele out of action for six months.

Braithwaite has faced uncertainty over his long-term future at the Camp Nou ever since his arrival, despite having a €300m (£251m) release clause in his four-year contract, as Barcelona made the 29-year-old available for a transfer last summer to recover the fee they paid.

Reports by Sport claimed West Ham United approached Barca to open negotiations over the 46-cap Denmark international in the off-season but baulked at the £15m asking price, and again snubbed a deal at £13mduring the recent winter market.

The Irons were not alone in probing Braithwaite’s situation in January with West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United also sounding out his availability, despite the £105,000-per-week attacker having no interest in leaving Catalunya.

Everton now seem to be giving Braithwaite yet another route back to England after his two years on the books at Middlesbrough, where he only scored nine goals in 40 games across all competitions.

Braithwaite found some form in front of the net with Leganes after a permanent move to the Estadio Municipal de Butarque in 2019 following an initial loan spell, netting six goals in 24 La Liga fixtures before moving to the Camp Nou where he has three goals in 34 league games to date.

It remains to be seen how highly Barcelona intend to value Braithwaite in the upcoming summer market, when his services are again expected to be touted around as new President Joan Laporta strives to begin reducing the club’s debt of more than €1.1bn (£942m).

But, regardless of Barcelona’s asking price, Brands must step in and block any deal for Everton to sign Braithwaite at the end of the season, as the Danish dud – with a TransferMarkt valuation of £8m – will not improve Ancelotti’s options at all.

The 29-year-old rarely fashions chances to score when on the field with just 0.7 shots a game, and he rarely creates chances for his teammates with a mere 0.5 key passes from a woefully low nine accurate passes a game, per SofaScore.

Those efforts have also seen Braithwaite miss seven clear-cut chances to find the back of the net, which is the seventh-most across the entire Spanish top-flight, despite only playing an average of 46 minutes a game having started just 11 of his 23 outings to date.

Convert Braithwaite’s record into shots per 90 minutes and his average increases to 1.7 with 0.6 on target, per WhoScored, which would be enough to rank fifth at Everton for total attempts but with 0.9 fewer than Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the Premier League, who has provided 14 of his side’s 40 goals.

With Joshua King yet to score since his Deadline Day arrival on Merseyside last month and endless speculation on Moise Kean’s future, the Blues may be looking into signing a new striker this summer.

But they will not improve with a deal for Braithwaite, even if Koeman has praised the attacker as he has “worked hard” to earn his chances to feature at the Camp Nou this term.

AND in other news, Carlo Ancelotti has set his eyes on bringing a £59m flop to Everton…

Liverpool are reportedly closing in on the signing of centre-back Ezequiel Garay this summer in a surprise transfer story.

The Reds have had a disastrous season in the injury department, losing a host of key players throughout the campaign. Jurgen Klopp has been particularly hampered at centre-back, with Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all expected to be out until the summer.

It could be that the Liverpool manager eyes up reinforcements in that area during the summer transfer window, but a shock rumour is now doing the rounds.

[freshpress-quiz id=“313155″]

Liverpool eye up move for Garay

According to El Gol Digital, the Reds are even at the advanced stage of negotiations with Garay, who played for Argentina in their 2014 World Cup final defeat to Germany.

The 34-year-old is currently a free agent, having left Valencia last year following a four-year stint with the La Liga side. He has made 466 club career appearances, 43 of which have come in the Champions League (Transfermarkt).

Transfer Tavern take

Despite his considerable pedigree, Garay would be a strange addition, considering he turns 35 later this year and is approaching the end of his career.

On top of that, he hasn’t played consistently at the top level for years and has had endless injuries of his own, so a deal makes little sense for Liverpool.

In other news, Liverpool have been linked with a summer move for a 19-goal striker this summer. Read all about it here.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League midfielder Lee Hendrie has drawn comparisons between reported Manchester City target Erling Haaland and Tottenham’s Harry Kane.

Haaland, who has been in incredible form for Borussia Dortmund this season, is currently being linked with a big-money move to the Premier League, with Manchester City said to be leading the chase for the 20-year-old’s signature.

Haaland has already reached double figures for the campaign in both the Bundesliga and Champions League, easily putting him in the world’s best No.9 debate.

Kane, who has also posted some very good numbers this term, is another player who can easily be mentioned in that conversation, and Hendrie sees similarities between the Tottenham man and his potential rival for the 2021/22 Premier League Golden Boot.

Discussing the two players exclusively with FFC, the ex-Aston Villa star said:

“He’s [Haaland] got bags of ability, scores goals. He really reminds me of Kane in certain ways of his play, but the difference I feel with Haaland is I just feel that he’s going to be the next best thing. He’s a young man that’s bounced onto the scene. It’s a difficult one to pick [out of the two].”

Goals have hardly been hard to come by for Manchester City this season. Pep Guardiola’s side are the Premier League’s top scorers with 64 goals, so the thought of the Champions League quarter-finalists adding a player of Haaland’s quality to their ranks should really scare the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool.

It is no surprise that various sources have confirmed that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be offered a new contract as Manchester United manager, despite the season not being finished yet and no positions secured.

The Norwegian has improved this Man United side since taking over, with them currently sitting 2nd in the table and reaching the final few stages of the Europa League. However, to some, it still hasn’t been good enough. A lot of critics do not agree with the types of results United are getting. For example, if you look at their results against the “Top 6” teams this season, United have only lot 2 out of 8 games, which you could say is great, but not when they have drawn 5 of them and only managed 1 win, which was recent against their rivals Manchester City.

The draws simply aren’t good enough for some fans. United have been accused of not going for games and being too cautious where they sit back and focus more on not conceding than actually scoring, which is why most of their draws have been boring 0-0’s. Especially when you look at the game against Liverpool, who were there for the taking having been in shocking form and a list of injuries to key players. Yet Man United sat back and didn’t create enough chances to win the game and they didn’t deserve to win it either, a boring point was a fair display of their performance.

Fans luckily don’t have to pay money to attend these boring matches because they are behind closed doors, but it still is just as bad having to watch from the TV screen. It is not just the UK fans that tune in to watch United either. United have a global fanbase that watch from all over the world, using Premier League streaming websites that allow them to not miss any of the action.

So, there is one side to the argument that Ole needs to be doing more and getting more out of the team, being better against the bigger sides and picking up more points. But also, if you look at some of their other stats, he has really done a good job. Prior to their FA Cup defeat against Leicester City, they were unbeaten away in all competitions for over a year! That is a truly remarkable stat, a record breaker that Ole and Manchester United will certainly be proud of.

So, there are signs of this squad improving and signs that they could really challenge for the league and Champions League in the next few seasons. The united board think this too as they are prepared to offer him a new contract to allow him to further develop his site and improve with them.

But what can we expect from Ole? Is he going to bring back the Manchester United we have always known or was giving him a new contract actually an insult to United and their fans by saying “expect more of what we have seen”?

The summer transfer window will be a huge one for Solskjaer and Manchester United. Not only because they personally need to spend big in order to improve their current squad, but the teams around them also plan to spend big. With Aguero leaving Manchester City, that means that they will be on the hunt for a new star striker. The same goes for Chelsea, so far, they have been massively let down from their big signing Timo Werner and could possibly look to replace him or involve him in a swap deal.

There is one big name on the market that these sides, as well as other huge clubs around Europe are all wanting to sign, Erling Haaland.

Haaland has been clinical at Borussia Dortmund and they have stated that if any club wants to sign him, they will have to pay around €180 Million. There are few clubs that can afford this price tag and Manchester United are one of them.

Despite having a frosty relationship with his agent Mino Raiola, United are confident they can do what is needed to bring the young star to Old Trafford. What gives fans a lot of confidence is the fact that Haaland, like Ole, is Norweigan and Ole has previously coached Haaland years ago when they were in Norway for club Molde FK.

Their relationship in Norway seemed to be good, there were no reports of any disagreements and therefore Haaland might slightly favour Ole. The only potential issue in this case is whether Erling Haaland actually believes in Ole’s process and whether he can see himself being their star man, leading them to many Premier League Trophies and Champions Leagues.

Surely, if he was wanting to win big trophies in the near future, his safest bet would be to join Manchester City? But there are also complications there, Mino, Haaland’s agent has stated in the past that he would never do business again with Pep Guardiola, who is the current Manchester City manager. So, it is all up for speculation at the moment and nothing is likely to be confirmed until after the Euros.

A striker isn’t the only position that United will look to strengthen in, it is clear that United are also after a defender, likely to partner Harry Maguire. They will also look at Midfielders and potentially Wingers, with them showing interest in Wolves’ Pedro Neto. But nothing has been confirmed yet from United.

If it was the case that they made some big signings this summer, then they are likely to be real contenders for the Premier League and other big competitions. There is no alternative goal for United, they want trophies, the fans demand trophies and if that demand is not met in the next year or two, then Ole could follow the likes of previous managers, by being sacked.

We should remember that Solskjaer has only been at the club a couple of years and sometimes it can take managers longer than that to settle in. When Alex Ferguson first joined the reds, he had no success in his first 4 years and was on the verge of being sacked. Jurgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager also went years without silverware before then winning both the Champions League and Premier League.

It will be interesting to keep a close eye on Manchester United as this season comes to a close and also next season. With Ole likely to be given a new contract, what plans does he have in store?  

Keith Hackett has dropped his view on the VAR official not drawing lines for Harry Kane’s second goal for Tottenham Hotspur against Newcastle United.

The England international captain was put through by Tanguy Ndombele before striking the ball into the bottom corner to put Spurs 2-1 up at St. James’ Park before half-time in a game which eventually finished 2-2 thanks to a late equalizing goal from Arsenal loanee Joe Willock.

While the call to see whether Kane was offside was quickly checked by VAR, there was no sign of the usual incessant frame-by-frame line-drawing that has often occurred, and thus the goal was given.

Speaking to Football Insider, Hackett, who is a former referee in the Premier League, claimed that it was the right decision in the end and that he is not a fan of the lines being drawn for tight offside calls:

“I thought that was a good goal.

“There were screams of ‘Where’s the lines on this one?’ but I’m against the lines anyway.

“Therefore I think, actually, it underpins the fact that the match official, the assistant referee has made a good decision. They are capable of doing that at the Premier League level.

“We might have some iffy referees but in the main, we’ve got some outstanding assistant referees.

“There’s an expectation that every scenario should be checked. Ok, fine, if that’s what you want. But I think this is how football should be played and VAR should come in on what is a clear and obvious error and this wasn’t a clear and obvious error.

“I’ve been complaining about the lines all season so I was quite happy with that goal.”

More VAR controversy

Even though Hackett claims that the right decision was made in the end, the lines should have been drawn and visible in the context of the consistency of what has been happening for the rest of the 2020/21 term.

Kane may well have been found not to be offside, but the lines are drawn to make sure that he is either shown to be onside or offside and thus the correct call can be made.

Nonetheless, Steve Bruce’s team will not be too bothered by the incident as the Toon Army grabbed what could turn out to be a big point in their hopes of avoiding being relegated down to the EFL Championship.

In other news, find out what claim on the potential takeover Mark Douglas has dropped after comments from James Pallotta emerged here!