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This summer transfer window is bound to be increasingly chaotic for West Ham United. David Moyes is on an extremely important mission to somehow revamp a faltering squad and make them competitive with resources that are quite limited, to say the least.

One of their big transfer targets is also Queens Park Rangers’ young talisman, Eberechi Eze. The Hammers were already linked with the £20m-rated man earlier in the window and now, according to the latest report by the Evening Standard, they have the upper hand in the chase.

Interestingly enough, the same outlet reports the reason behind it is that they are planning to offload Jordan Hugill to QPR to somehow sweeten the deal and make the transfer of Eze possible in the first place.

The 28-year-old has more or less flopped in London since joining West Ham from Preston North End in January 2018. However, his loan stint at QPR was decently successful and this could prove to be crucial for Moyes.

Of course, the question remains, will the Championship side accept this ‘swap deal’ of sorts. Yes, Hugill was a good addition for their team but would they be willing to part with Eze for him?

The Hammers will definitely be hoping that’s the case. Who would’ve thought that a flop player would end up playing such a key role in one of their priority transfers for the summer window?

Verdict

It goes without saying that this deal, if it indeed goes through, would be an incredible piece of business for West Ham. Not only would they get rid of Hugill, who doesn’t exactly have a future at the club, but they would also be able to beat their rivals to Eze’s coveted signature.

But they shouldn’t celebrate just yet. The Evening Standard say they do have the upper hand but nothing is sealed just yet for the Premier League side.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

After the sacking of Unai Emery, Arsenal found themselves in a position desperately trying to scramble around for a man to permanently replace the Spaniard. With the season well and truly in full flow, the need to show some assertiveness by finding the right solution is a heavy burden to bear. And in the meantime, it has been left up to Freddie Ljungberg to navigate the choppy waters at the Emirates.

The Swede started off his fledgling tenure as the interim head coach with a whimper and not a bang however. A draw to newly-promoted Norwich, and a dismal home defeat to Brighton. Both of those games were characterised by how very little Ljungberg looked to change things from the final few weeks of Emery’s ill-fated reign. The same players, the same tactics, and the same lack of desire – they conceded an eye-watering 35 shots combined. All the problems that plagued the former PSG boss, was still inherently apparent in the first two games under their temporary boss.

But in the clashes against West Ham and Standard Liege, Ljungberg has brought a sense of refreshing excitement back to the Gunners. Gabriel Martinelli was handed his first Premier League start, Nicolas Pepe scored his first goal from open play, and the likes of Emile Smith Rowe, Reiss Nelson and Bukayo Saka all featured in the Europa League game together. And that is exactly how the Invincibles legend can leave his legacy behind.

Whenever the Gunners do make their long-term appointment, that man could quite conceivably be left with a major disaster, or the first signs of a rebuild. And Ljungberg can no doubt achieve that by the way he can exploit his connection with the club’s abundance of young talents. The aforementioned academy products, and those like Joe Willock and Konstantinos Mavropanos could relish the chance to start more games under a manager who looked after them whilst they were playing for the youth sides in previous seasons.

Can you name all of these obscure Arsenal signings? Give it a go now!

Football is a cut-throat environment, and with Ljungberg safe in the knowledge that he has got this job for the short-term at least, can take some risks and expose his starlets to some much-needed first-team action. He previously indicated he wants to lean on the club’s “experienced” players to get them out of their troubles. But he can truly leave his own mark on this side for his eventual successor, by abandoning that approach, throwing caution to the wind, and unleashing those prospects who he knows so well.

Meanwhile, Arsenal fans have hammered this ace for his disappointing display against Standard Liege.

Manchester United are determined to sign Jadon Sancho this summer, via Manchester Evening News.

The Red Devils have been linked with the Borussia Dortmund star for a while now, stemming all the way back to Jose Mourinho’s turbulent time in charge of Old Trafford.

Sancho has reportedly told Dortmund that he wants to leave Germany and return to England, according to ESPN. However, while club legends like Rio Ferdinand and Louis Saha have all backed Ed Woodward to bring him home, there are a number of reasons why Man United shouldn’t sign Sancho in the summer.

Contrary to popular belief, the problems are not at the attacking end of the pitch, but rather lie at the back. United have shockingly conceded five more goals than Premier League newcomers Sheffield United and nine more than league leaders Liverpool.

Victor Lindelof has never looked particularly convincing next to Harry Maguire as the Swede has received a below-par WhoScored rating of 6.67 overall. Meanwhile, Eric Bailly has only played 282 minutes of competitive football this season after recovering from a career-threatening injury.

Furthermore, Nemanja Matic is the only specialist in the defensive midfield role, which is a cause for concern as the ageing veteran is surely entering the twilight of his career.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer currently has a wealth of attacking options at his disposal, including Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial, Bruno Fernandes, Odion Ighalo and Mason Greenwood, to name but a few.

Although some fans will argue that United are relatively low in the goalscoring charts, it is worth remembering that Rashford, who is the club’s top scorer this season, scored 14 goals in 22 Premier League games before succumbing to a back injury.

Any good manager will acknowledge that the defence is just as important as the attack and Solskjaer has key areas that he needs to urgently address, namely a new centre-back and defensive midfielder.

United will probably have to pay a club record fee for Sancho if they want to buy him in the upcoming window, as Dortmund are refusing to drop their valuation, which means the board will most likely have to pay more than £100m. Bearing this in mind, Woodward could buy both Wilfred Ndidi and Kalidou Koulibaly for far less instead, which may solve the issues at the back.

Can Ole get the best out of him? it is too early to say at the moment, as Solskjaer’s side are currently fifth in the table, three points away from Champions League qualification.

Moreover, the executive vice-chairman has previously warned that United’s summer spending may be limited due to the financial repercussions of the coronavirus crisis. It may be better to come back for Sancho in a year’s time when the volatile market will (hopefully) have stabilised.

As it stands, the Red Devils are seemingly no further forward and fans will have to wait and see what deals can be made in these unprecedented circumstances.

United fans, do you think the board should sign Jadon Sancho in the summer? Let us know in the comments below!

West Bromwich Albion always seem to find a way. The Baggies were staring down the barrel of a bore draw before a questionable incident occurred in the final minute of regulation time.

Those in the west Midlands won’t care though, they rise back into top spot, leapfrogging Leeds United, who won emphatically on Saturday, while also opening up a seven-point gap to the playoff zone.

In the 90th minute, winger Kyle Edwards was adjudged to have been fouled by Preston North End goalkeeper Declan Rudd inside the penalty area, despite raucous protests from the home contingent.

Watch West Bromwich Albion Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below

Substitute Charlie Austin stepped up once again and calmly slotted home his fourth of the season to hand Albion all three points at Deepdale.

Sky Sports decided to award the Man of the Match to right-back Nathan Ferguson, which given his contribution to a clean sheet, combined with his four successful dribbles, three tackles and one blocked shot, per SofaScore, they could well have got it spot on, and it appears that the visiting support certainly agree with that.

One supporter said it was fully deserved as he stood out amongst a relatively rare poor performance for the Baggies while another labelled him ‘immense’ following his showing.

Ferguson’s future has been in doubt in recent weeks after the Express & Star revealed they would listen to offers for him in January as he is yet to commit to the club long-term with his contract up at the end of the season.

And following this game, there has been only one thing they all desperately want…

‘Superstar’ and ‘composed’ were two other superlatives used to describe the 19-year-old’s performance while a further supporter told the club to add a few thousand to the deal as he deserves everything he wants.

This saga is undoubtedly only set to rumble on as the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Juventus and Atletico Madrid have all been linked to the Albion academy product.

We’ll have to wait and see if the Hawthorns faithful get the news they desperately want to see with January rapidly looming.

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In other news, former skipper Darren Fletcher has been raving about one of Slaven Bilic’s summer signings…

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Ale Moreno discussed Barcelona’s interest in Lautaro Martinez as a potential Luis Suarez replacement and concluded they should rather chase Tottenham Hotspur’s Harry Kane instead, as stated on ESPN.

What did he say, then?

Barcelona’s interest in Inter Milan’s star is no longer a secret but it seems that the Catalans are wary of the size of his price tag.

The sources from ESPN revealed that the Nerazzurri’s asking price of €100m (£84.3m) is simply too much at the moment and for that reason, they could look elsewhere.

ESPN’s Moreno agrees with that sentiment and suggests the Catalans should go for someone proven and well-developed, and Kane fits the bill.

Here’s what he said in full:

“If I’m throwing money and you’re giving me all the chips and you’re saying, Alejandro, you’re making all the decisions for Barcelona today, this is what I’m doing. I pick up the phone and I say, Harry Kane, how you doing buddy?

“That’s what I would do, I’m going after the best. I’m going after the very top of the tree when it comes to strikers because that’s the sort of level of player that is walking out of the door eventually. So I have to go for that very same level. I cannot go for a level I’m hoping they become. If you’re hoping they become that, then you cannot pay top market value. Either throw all the money at a guy like Harry Kane or I have to pay a value I’m not comfortable with for a guy like Lautaro Martinez who we don’t know just yet what the final product will be.”

Reaching for the stars

With Suarez on the wrong side of his 30s already and not getting any younger, it’s safe to say that Barcelona definitely have to start considering some alternatives.

Obviously, with them chasing other strikers, it seems that Antoine Griezmann won’t be the one to take over the mantle but Kane definitely looks like a suitable replacement.

We all know about his goalscoring abilities – seeing how the Englishman has already bagged 179 goals during his stay at Spurs – but can Barcelona actually land him?

Can you score at least 80% on this Ultimate Premier League Quiz? Test your knowledge now…

Considering that he was recently valued at £250m, this scenario looks highly unlikely as well.

There’s no denying that he could replicate Suarez’s figures at the Catalan capital but compared to Kane’s price tag, Martinez’s £84.3m looks like a more realistic deal.

Not to mention that the Argentine is still very young and could develop further but that’s also the trick.

Barcelona have already burdened themselves with Ousmane Dembele, a high-potential youngster who ended up becoming their second most expensive player in the history of the club and is still struggling to get going.

The Frenchman is still battling with injuries and despite his potential, we still don’t know whether he’ll ever become what Barcelona want him to be.

For that reason, maybe going for a well-developed option would be a wiser course of action.

But is going for Kane a bit too far fetched for the Catalans?

Only time will tell.

Elsewhere, Barcelona’s president’s latest admission on one of Manchester City’s key men could have intriguing implications for their future…

A selection of Tottenham Hotspur fans have been questioning reports by CalcioMercato.it, which claim the North London outfit are plotting a January move for AS Roma’s Lorenzo Pellegrini.The midfielder is currently nursing his way back to fitness after sustaining a fractured metatarsal, keeping Pellegrini on the sidelines since beating US Lecce 1-0 in September.Pellegrini’s outing at the Stadio Via del Mare was his sixth in Serie A this season and seventh across all competitions, having featured from the bench in Roma’s 4-0 win over Istanbul Basaksehir FK in the Europa League.He did not manage to assist any of Roma’s four goals at home to the Super Lig side, but penned three against his former club US Sassuolo and one away to Bologna before his injury.

Tottenham are said to be readying a winter move for the 23-year-old, and could present a bid of around €40-50m (£34.3m-£42.8m) having held a long-standing interest in the 12-cap Italy international.

But Pellegrini’s preference for the time being is to remain at the Stadio Olimpico, where he is under contract until 2022 and discussions are expected over renewing his terms to remove a €30m (£25.7m) release clause that is not active in the January window.

90min have also claimed knowledge of Tottenham’s interest in Pellegrini, but note that the preference in North London would be to sign Ajax’s Hakim Ziyech as the potential replacement for Christian Eriksen.

Here are some of the reactions shared from Spurs fans questioning the reports of interest in Roma’s Pellegrini…