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David Moyes must rue West Ham United not signing long-term target Franck Kessie in 2020, as the Premier League side now face a £43m price tag to land the AC Milan midfielder.

What’s the word?

According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via Milan Live, the San Siro outfit plan to lock Kessie down with a new contract, as the Ivory Coast international is an increasingly important pillar of Stefano Pioli’s side.

Kessie is considered to be the leader of the Rossoneri and has only missed one of AC’s 26 Serie A fixtures this season, starting 24, while enjoying his best campaign in front of goal yet.

The 24-year-old has found the back of the net nine times and provided three assists to date, eclipsing the seven-goal haul achieved over 34 games in the 2018/19 term and creating the same volume of chances for his red-and-black shirted teammates.

But Kessie’s performances have not gone unnoticed across the continent, with West Ham plus London rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur frequently showing an interest in the £69,000-per-week powerhouse.

The Premier League trio would also now face heightened competition if they look to launch efforts to sign Kessie at the end of the season with Real Madrid keen, but any side is likely to be met with a €50m (£43m) asking price.

Milan are very much loath to losing the 44-cap international, and it is added that they plan to extend his contract through to 2026 with his current terms set to expire next year.

A huge blunder by West Ham

News of Milan slapping a €50m valuation on Kessie will come as a hammer blow to West Ham in their long-running hope of bringing the midfield enforcer to the London Stadium.

It also makes the Irons’ decision not to sign the 6ft beast last summer a huge blunder, as reports by TEAMtalk claimed Kessie was on offer for around £25m and that the asking price had been set before the coronavirus pandemic changed the footballing landscape.

That valuation was backed up by reports by Calciomercato, via Football-Italia, later in the year, after they claimed that AC rebuffed Gennaro Gattuso’s intent to be reunited with Kessie at SSC Napoli through a €30m (£25.5m) asking rice.

West Ham would have likely faced competition from Arsenal and Wolverhampton Wanderers, too, with the Molineux outfit also linked, but may have struck a deal with Milan for £18m less than they could now be obliged to pay if they still want the player.

It obviously remains to be seen if the Hammers are now willing to step forward and meet the Rossoneri’s demands, which would see Moyes acquire an engine room component lauded by those he works with.

“He never gets tired, he has an incredible energy,” Ismael Bennacer told MilanTV, via quotes by Football-Italia, earlier in the year. “We must take advantage of it.”

AND in other news, David Moyes has confirmed his intent for West Ham to sign a £42k-p/w brute this summer…

Pep Guardiola's side once again showed why they're the league's runaway winners, putting five goals past Swansea City on Sunday

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  Butland made six saves in Stoke's 1-1 draw with Burnley; four more than his opposite number Nick Pope.

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  Danilo made two interceptions and one block against Swansea, while also notching an assist for Kevin De Bruyne.

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  Jones made five clearances and five interceptions in United's win and clean sheet at Bournemouth in midweek.

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David Moyes should push West Ham to bid for Jesse Lingard at the end of the season after Rio Ferdinand urged the on-loan midfielder to quit Manchester United for good.

What’s the word?

While speaking on BT Sport, via quotes by The Sun, Ferdinand claimed Lingard’s temporary move to the London Stadium will be seen as a failure if the Irons do not make efforts to retain the England international beyond his half-season deal.

Lingard joined West Ham on loan for the remainder of the campaign during the winter transfer window, but no purchase clause was included in the terms of his move.

The 28-year-old is expected to hold talks over his long-term Old Trafford future with Red Devils chiefs in the summer, at which point he will have one-year remaining on his £100,000-per-week contract.

Lingard could cost West Ham up to £4m for his six-months on loan, having paid Manchester United a £1.5m loan fee, agreed to cover his salary in full and pay a £500,000 bonus should Moyes guide the east London outfit into Europe.

And the spending may not stop there, as Ferdinand believes Lingard has to leave Old Trafford in the summer as his parent side have now moved on from the playmaker.

“What’s his ambition here, beyond this season? What is he looking to do?” Ferdinand said. “If West Ham don’t put a bid in to buy him at the end of this loan, I think this loan has to be seen as a failure.

“That’s got to be his aim – to get a bid from West Ham and other clubs to take him out of Man U. Because I don’t see him going back to Man U and really affecting that squad now.

“I think they’ve moved past him with the players they’ve recruited, he doesn’t feature and hasn’t done for so long.”

Should West Ham bid for Lingard?

West Ham will be in a strong position to purchase Lingard at the end of the season should he continue featuring as often as he has since arriving at the London Stadium, as he will know the future can be bright in claret and blue.

The picture was very bleak for the £9m-rated maestro at Old Trafford before leaving on loan, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer only awarding 179 minutes of action across all competitions this season – less than he has featured for under Moyes (262) already.

Lingard has enjoyed an impressive start to life in east London, as well, having scored twice on his debut in a 3-1 win away to Aston Villa and turned in a vastly influential display in Monday night’s 3-0 win over Sheffield United.

He was always a threat on the break and looking to get West Ham moving in the right direction, with a game-high six attempted dribbles and the joint-most successful efforts (3) with Blades defender Chris Basham, per WhoScored.

No one who featured for either side took more shots than Lingard (5), too, while also finding the target (4) at least twice as much as any other player, though unable to find a way past Aaron Ramsdale.

His performance was at such a level that Lingard now leads West Ham for average shots per game in the Premier League this season with 3.7 – 1.5 more than second-ranked Michal Antonio – and is first for dribbles with 4.3 attempted – 1.4 more than Antonio (2.9).

If Lingard keeps up these performances, Moyes should have no reason to not bid for his signature in the summer, having already stated that he is open to a potential deal.

AND in other news, West Ham may rue not signing a £1.8k-p/w target in January as he nears a pre-contract agreement…

According to The Mirror, Arsenal are considering a surprise move for Crystal Palace left-back Patrick van Aanholt in the January transfer window.

What’s the word?

Van Aanholt, 30, is out-of-contract at Selhurst Park at the end of this season as talks over a new deal have reportedly broken down between the club and his representatives, meaning the Dutchman will be free to leave south London for nothing in the summer when his current deal expires.

It’s claimed Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is keen to bring in a new left-back to provide competition and cover for regular starter Kieran Tierney.

However, despite his somewhat questionable form, Steve Parish simply cannot afford to let the £7m-rated ace leave right now due to a lack of options on the left-hand side of the defence.

Parish must avoid at all costs

Should the Palace chairman choose to sell him, Roy Hodgson’s first port of call would be Tyrick Mitchell, who has enjoyed a breakthrough campaign at Selhurst Park this season. However, at 21, he is still relatively inexperienced at this level and as such, cannot be expected to shoulder the burden of responsibility alone.

In terms of statistics, there isn’t too much to choose from between the two, with Mitchell averaging a slightly higher WhoScored match rating of 6.58 to Van Aanholt’s 6.52 this season.

In fact, the veteran is currently averaging more interceptions (1.4) than the academy graduate, which suggests that he boasts a greater understanding of positional awareness.

Van Aanholt, who began his career at Stamford Bridge with Chelsea, has made 202 Premier League appearances but Parish may opt to sell him right now rather than lose him for free in the summer.

However, Parish’s relative inactivity in the last transfer market has left him with little choice. Perhaps he should have considered finding a backup for Mitchell beforehand and not have focused so heavily on signing the likes of Michy Batshuayi and Nathan Ferguson instead.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace can’t afford to lose Christian Benteke amid West Brom interest…

Celtic have been linked to several new faces this month as the January transfer window fast approaches. Their disappointing season will have only encouraged Peter Lawwell, Nick Hammond and co to scour the market for some fresh personnel.

However, whilst they have been linked to potential incomings, some Celtic stars could also be on their way out. Kristoffer Ajer is a man who has a lot of speculation surrounding him at the moment and it seems like it’s only a matter of time before he bids Parkhead farewell.

AC Milan are one of the latest clubs to show interest in the centre-back and they have an ace up their sleeve to sweeten the deal.

Laxalt for Ajer?

According to Calciomercato, the Italian giants are keen on moving for Ajer this window and would be willing to let Diego Laxalt join the Hoops permanently in return.

The latter joined the Glaswegian outfit last summer and has been one of Neil Lennon’s more impressive players this season. Sofascore reports that he has averaged 2.2 tackles per game so far this term, which is much higher than any other defender at Celtic.

Laxalt has also quickly become a Lennon favourite, thanks to his hard work and balance between attacking and protecting the goal. Recently speaking to the Daily Record, the boss waxed lyrical about the £22,000 per week left-back, labelling him an “aggressive” player who he believes has been a “great addition” to the Hoops.

Indeed, Celtic have come to rely heavily on the 27-year-old. He has played all but one Premiership match this season and contributed an important goal against Hibernian in November, as per Transfermarkt.

Ajer has received a lot of interest recently and Celtic may need to concede the fact that another big side is likely to come in and tempt him to leave. If they are going to lay down their sword and let him transfer, they would do well to at least bank an equally solid defender in Laxalt for their troubles.

Lennon has Christopher Jullien, Shane Duffy and young Stephen Welsh to deploy at centre-back, but appears to only trust Laxalt to get the job done on the left. Losing him would be a huge blow on top of a miserable season in which they will almost certainly give up their crown to Rangers.

In other news, Celtic signing this striker could edge out Leigh Griffiths…

Tyrone Mings has been dealt a lucky break by the Premier League postponing Aston Villa’s upcoming clash with Newcastle United amid an outbreak of coronavirus cases at the St. James’ Park outfit.

Steve Bruce’s Toon were due to visit Birmingham on Friday night but lodged a request with the league for the match to be delayed after a “significant increase” of covid-19 cases, which saw Public Health England advise the closure of the club’s training ground at Darsley Park.

Five Newcastle players and two members of staff are believed to have tested positive, resulting in the Premier League reaching the verdict that Friday’s fixture had to be postponed with group training not permitted until Friday at the earliest.

Newcastle being unable to visit Aston Villa on Friday night will be welcome news for Mings, as the extended break following Monday’s defeat at West Ham United will afford the centre-back a chance to reset after underperforming in recent weeks.

Mings has been letting Villans boss Dean Smith down badly with his displays of late, that are far from befitting of a player England boss Gareth Southgate lauded as an “outstanding” leader after handing the 27-year-old his senior international debut last year.

“Since I have been watching him for the past 12-months or so, he’s displayed outstanding leadership qualities. I thought I would see that [against Bulgaria] and I did. He’s an impressive young man,” Southgate said, via quotes by iNews.

Mings has started all nine of Aston Villa’s Premier League fixtures thus far this season and is yet to miss a minute of action, but was miles off the pace in last month’s 2-1 defeat at home to Brighton and Hove Albion and was at fault for overplaying in Monday’s loss at West Ham.

Danny Welbeck picked Mings’ pocket for Brighton’s opener at Villa Park upon the defender’s return from England duty, having been handed his sixth and seventh Three Lions caps in UEFA Nations League fixtures with Belgium and Iceland.

Mings’ error that led to Welbeck opening the scoring for Brighton was not the £80,000-per-week defender’s only mishap, either, with Smith let down by his star man who won just two ground duels, one aerial contest, lost possession 12 times, made one successful tackle and failed to register an interception, per SofaScore.

Smith would have hoped to see Mings bounce back at West Ham, but rather witnessed the 27-year-old fail to register a single successful tackle or interception, lose possession 15 times, attempt – though win – one ground duel and misplace nine of ten long passes.

Mings must now use the extended break between fixtures to hit the reset button to ensure he can hit the ground running when Aston Villa visit West Midlands rivals Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 12, as Smith can ill-afford to see another woeful display.

Sunderland return to League One action this afternoon as new boss Lee Johnson searches to pick up his first points in charge of the north-east giants.

The Black Cats head south to face Lincoln City at Sincil Bank for the 3 pm kickoff.

Last time out, Johnson’s side picked up a 2-1 victory in the EFL Trophy but in his first match in charge, Sunderland were defeated 1-0 by Wigan Athletic at the Stadium of Light.

They need to get back on track if they are to stand a chance of finally gaining promotion from the third tier with the former Premier League club sitting ten points off the league leaders.

Here’s how the XI could look later today…

There could be as many as three changes from Tuesday night.

Starting in goal should be first-choice veteran Lee Burge after young academy goalkeeper Anthony Patterson took the reins at Oldham.

Wolves loanee Dion Sanderson was supposed to also start that match but was pulled from the line-up early after Johnson was informed that he was cup-tied, so we may get a look at the 20-year-old gem this time around, especially after Conor McLaughlin’s disappointing display.

He’ll join Bailey Wright, Tom Flanagan and Callum McFadzean in a back four.

A midfield trio containing Grant Leadbitter, Josh Scowen and Max Power is likely to continue as Johnson’s go-to engine room.

Likewise out wide, we expect to see Aiden McGeady return to the starting XI with in-form goalscorer Chris Maguire on the other flank.

However, Black Cats striker Will Grigg may be dropped having failed to impress in the past week, so the returning Charlie Wyke is given a start at last.

The impressive Jack Diamond could feature from the bench, as could Elliott Embleton, though this match could come too early for Lynden Gooch and Jordan Willis, as per reports from the Chronicle.

AND in other news, Sunderland must offer 21 y/o “standout” new deal or risk Maja 2.0…

Luke Edwards has given a rather damning update on the proposed takeover of Newcastle United by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) consortium.

Revealing among a thread of tweets, the Daily Telegraph journalist said:“I’m told the Newcastle Consortium Supporters Ltd (NCSL) legal challenge is flawed on the basis of standing.”

He went on to tweet that the NCSL have to show that they were directly damaged by the failed £300m deal between Mike Ashley and the KSA group, and added that they cannot claim damages on behalf of the chief executive of Sports Direct or indeed the Tyneside club itself.

Edwards also revealed that he had been informed that the letter sent by the Premier League would have had this featured heavily in it, in what could be a big blow to hopes of the takeover eventually going through at St. James’ Park.

Newcastle takeover in doubt

Indeed, this may have put a spanner in the works for the NCSL, especially considering that they tweeted just how confident they were that they could win their dispute with the English top flight.

England’s highest division and indeed its CEO Richard Masters may still be taken to court by the Magpies to settle their legal battle, with Ashley already seemingly having top lawyers ready to represent him, but it is unclear as to what the outcome of this legal battle would be.

Nonetheless, it will certainly be interesting for the Toon Army to see how this all plays out in the end, but this latest update from Edwards has likely knocked the confidence of some fans.

In other news, find out which manager has been tipped to lead NUFC through a post-takeover era here!

Liverpool will be looking to build on their win over Ajax in the Champions League by restoring their form against Sheffield United. The Reds will play host to Chris Wilder’s side who are desperate to claw their way out of the relegation zone. Jurgen Klopp will be equally eager to get three points on the board, so a tense affair could be on the cards.

After Aston Villa’s loss to Leeds, Everton look clear at the top of the Premier League table, something that will be a dismal sight for Liverpool fans. Catching up to their rivals will be a big target for the Reds right now.

Football FanCast has predicted how Klopp might set up to vie for a win over the Blades…

Whilst the news of Virgil van Dijk’s injury will have many fearing the worst, Klopp has potentially dropped a huge boost regarding first choice goalkeeper Alisson. Speaking to the club’s website, the manager refused to rule out any players who were attending training, which could suggest the Brazilian is ready to make his long-awaited comeback.

After an impressive performance against Ajax, Fabinho has shown he is confident in defence. Sheffield will have hoped van Dijk’s absence would mean an easy result but this could be Liverpool’s match to get themselves back into winning ways, thanks to a makeshift yet strong defence.

After making a cameo appearance, it could be time to see Jordan Henderson return to the action for his side. The Reds have missed the captain’s influence and he could be crucial against a side like Wilder’s. Without the leadership of van Dijk, Liverpool will need Henderson giving directions and keeping everything running smoothly from the middle of the park.

The only other predicted change that could be on Klopp’s mind is to bring Takumi Minamino in. His new found central position could bring a whole new dynamic to Liverpool’s attack and he could be a danger when slotting in just behind Roberto Firmino. It could finally be time for the £9m-rated signing to show what he’s really made of.

In other news, Liverpool may have identified a cut-price replacement for Virgil van Dijk…

Liverpool have done a U-turn on their decision to offload Xherdan Shaqiri this transfer window, according to David Lynch.

The report claims that unless a surprise bid is tabled for the Swiss international’s services, he will remain with the club for this season. A very wise decision for Michael Edwards and Jurgen Klopp, given they will likely still be reeling from their 7-2 mauling on Sunday.

A deadline day change of heart

Despite making just 11 appearances across all competitions last season, Shaqiri proved he is capable of delivering the goods when called upon. He got himself on the scoresheet in Liverpool’s thrilling 5-2 win over Everton back in December and popped up with a goal in the Carabao Cup this campaign as though he’d never been away (via Transfermarkt). Pep Lijnders lauded his performance and said he was “superb” during a cup post-match conference.

The Reds have already been ruthless with their outgoings by cashing in on could-have-been heir to Roberto Firmino, Rhian Brewster. Harry Wilson is also linked to a move away from Anfield after failing to break into the senior team full-time.

With Sadio Mane out due to illness, selling Shaqiri would have left Liverpool with a skeleton crew up front. One major injury to either of their star wingers, and the reigning league champions would be in serious trouble. Luckily for the the Swiss man, Klopp realised how much the Reds missed Mane during their Aston Villa defeat and can’t risk shredding his options up front. To be in with a chance of securing back-to-back titles, depth is absolutely key for the current holders.

In other news, Liverpool must move to sign Paulo Gazzaniga to end Adrian woes…