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West Ham face a pivotal January transfer window that may well determine their Premier League survival, but manager Nuno Espírito Santo also faces the threat of losing players.

Players who could leave West Ham in January

Niclas Füllkrug tops the departure list following his disastrous £27 million move from Borussia Dortmund, with the 32-year-old’s spell marred by repeated injury lay-offs.

He’s scored just three goals since arriving in 2024, failing to find the net at all this season, and his agent, Thorsten Wirth, has publicly acknowledged the transfer simply hasn’t worked.

Fullkrug is reportedly desperate for regular playing time to salvage his 2026 World Cup hopes, with Hamburg, Wolfsburg, Stuttgart, Hoffenheim and AC Milan all expressing rumoured interest in the Germany international ahead of January.

There is also the matter of James Ward-Prowse, who’s been completely excluded by Nuno ever since the Portuguese’s arrival at Rush Green.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

West Ham 3-2 Burnley

Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Liverpool

The 30-year-old was a firm regular under Graham Potter and named vice-captain, but Nuno’s appointment has seen him miss out on every single Premier League matchday squad.

Ward-Prowse is resigned to leaving West Ham in January as a result, with reports suggesting he could be joined by Guido Rodriguez as the Argentine attracts interest from abroad.

They may not be the only midfielders set for the London Stadium exit door either, as uncertainty continues to surround the future of Lucas Paqueta.

The Brazil international, who sent an interesting response to backlash surrounding his ridiculous sending off against Liverpool over the weekend, is reportedly open to the prospect of a mid-season exit and could well leave as their most high-profile departure.

Former West Ham senior scout, Mick Brown, has now told Football Insider that Paqueta leaving the club is a credible possibility.

West Ham set for 'big decision' over selling Lucas Paqueta

Brown says that West Ham are set for a ‘big decision’ over selling Paqueta next month, and Nuno will be ‘fuming’ about the 28-year-old’s conduct against Liverpool following one of the most bizarre dismissals you’ll ever see.

The former Lyon star, who was once on the verge of joining Man City before his spot-fixing allegations scuppered the deal, will leave the club in 2027 as things stand when his contract is due to expire.

Paqueta has already admitted that he desires a return to Flamengo one day, and admitted the move was actually close to happening last summer.

Nuno will need a replacement for Paqueta if he does leave, but West Ham are believed to be in the market for a new midfielder.

Alex Hales played anchor, Nicholas Pooran the aggressor, Kieron Pollard the controller in the middle overs, and Andre Russell the finisher to take Trinbago Knight Riders to 194 in Qualifier 2 of CPL 2025 against St Lucia Kings. In reply, Tim Seifert started quickly, but Kings never recovered from a slowdown after the first four overs, and eventually fell short by 56 runs.Unlike Kings later in the game, Knight Riders had scored just 25 runs in their first four overs after Kings asked them to bat. By then, Khary Pierre had bowled Colin Munro for 6, and Pooran, the new batter, had smashed all of his 14 runs in boundaries.But after a slow start, Knight Riders lashed 36 runs off the last two overs of the powerplay. Pooran sending Alzarri Joseph for six over extra cover in the fifth over before going 6, 4, 4, 4 off David Wiese in the sixth. Hales, meanwhile, had hardly had the strike until that stage.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Pooran reached his half-century off 31 balls to end the ninth over, but was dismissed immediately after as he missed an attempted sweep against Roston Chase, and was bowled for 50. Eleven overs into their innings, Knight Riders had 89 on the board, and Kings had things under control. But the last nine overs saw Hales, Pollard and Russell bash 105 runs.On 15 off 21 balls at one stage, Hales broke free with a six off Tymal Mills in the 12th over. With five overs left, Pollard targeted Tabraiz Shamsi, and sent him for three sixes. But Joseph checked Pollard’s flow in the 17th over by having him caught at long-off for 35 – an innings that included four sixes – but Kings’ pain hadn’t ended there.With three overs left and just 146 on the board, Hales cracked three sixes in the next two overs. The second of those, an inside-out loft over the covers off Joseph, took him to his fifty off 41 deliveries. One final act of aggression from Knight Riders, however, still remained. Russell slammed Wiese for 6, 6, 4, 6 in the final over, which went for 23 runs, and propelled Knight Riders to 194. Russell had thumped 28 in 12 balls before being run out off the last ball, whiles Hales remained unbeaten on a patient 58.Tim Seifert scored 57 in the chase to give St Lucia Kings hope•CPL T20 via Getty Images

Chasing 195 for a place in the final, Seifert got Kings off to a quick start. He had scored 32 of the 38 runs Kings had until then, and was dropped on 38 in the ninth over. At the other end, Johnson Charles, Seifert’s opening partner, was struggling to get going. He ticked along to just 17 off his first 23 deliveries, before Pollard ended his stay to complete the ninth over.The required run-rate was already past 12, with Seifert also slowing down. Kings were never in the game after that. Although Seifert got to his half-century with back-to-back boundaries off Akeal Hosein in the 12th over, and Usman Tariq conceded a boundary each to Seifert and Tim David in the 13th, two wickets in as many balls ended Kings’ faint hopes of victory.Tariq first had Seifert chipping to short third for 58, and then got Ackeem Auguste caught at wide long-on as the batter went sweeping first ball. From 98 for 3, Kings lost five wickets in the last six overs of the chase. Sunil Narine got into the act by having David caught behind in the 15th over, and then struck twice in the 19th to dismiss Aaron Jones and Wiese.Tariq added two more wickets to his tally in the final over by getting Chase and Mills, as Knight Riders booked a date Guyana Amazon Warriors on Sunday.

The Cleveland Guardians' 2024 season was inching closer to ending during Game 4 of the ALDS vs. the Detroit Tigers on Thursday, until pinch hitter David Fry entered in the seventh inning.

Fry entered the game for Kyle Manzardo in the seventh inning, and it paid off for the Guardians. During Fry's first at-bat, he fired off a 382-foot two-run home run to give Cleveland a 4–3 lead. It was exactly the spark they needed.

Fry's clutch homer was the first go-ahead pinch hit home run in franchise history, and it couldn't have come at a better time.

Fry's heroics didn't stop there. During his next at-bat in the ninth inning, he laid down a sacrifice bunt in order to bring shortstop Brayan Rocchio home to score. His bunt traveled just far enough to give Rocchio a shot to score at the plate. This put the Guardians up 5–3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning.

Fry spoke with TNT after the game and was pretty excited to have the bunt work out in their favor.

"The only bunt I've had this year was a double play, so I didn't think I was going to do it again, but they told me to. Luckily it worked," Fry said.

The Tigers scored one run in the ninth as they attempted to mount a late comeback, but the Guardians held on and won to force a Game 5 on Saturday.

It was arguably the biggest game of Fry's career. He was called up to MLB during the 2023 season, and this is his first postseason appearance. He made quite a mark.

Joe Root has proposed that each team be given three chances to swap the ball over the course of 80 overs in a bid to ease frustration over the repeated changing of the Dukes ball during England’s home Test series with India.His suggestion, at the end of the second day’s play in the third Test at Lord’s, came after India had expressed their displeasure with the replacement for the second new ball, which came after just 10.3 overs of use.Jasprit Bumrah had taken three wickets in his first 14 deliveries with the original, but his side was unable to take another during the first session with Jamie Smith and Brydon Carse at the crease.Related

• India unhappy with replacement ball as Dukes loses shape

The ball was changed again, 48 deliveries after the previous change, the incident adding to criticism of the Dukes ball during this series, and dating back five years, over its loss of shape and becoming soft too quickly.”I personally think that if you want to keep getting the ball changed then each team gets three challenges every 80 overs and that’s it, if you want to get it changed,” Root said when asked about the issue at the close of play. “But the rings have to be the right size, not too big.”That would be a nice way of compromising and saying it’s not all on the manufacturer. Sometimes these things happen but you can’t just keep asking and wasting time and slowing the game down at the same time.”But Root, who had been unbeaten on 99 overnight and brought up his 37th Test century with the first ball of the morning, also suggested teams needed to adapt to conditions regardless and get on with the game.”I don’t know the ins and outs of how they make it,” he said. “I do know that they’re handmade so you’re never going to get two balls exactly the same. I do think this summer has been a bit of an anomaly for us. We’re not used to getting this much sun and this much heat and squares as hard and outfields as firm so whether that plays a part or not [I don’t know].

“It’s one of those things where if the balls are going out of shape, you change them, and you don’t make a big deal out of it. I don’t think it’s the end of the world. I think it adds a different dynamic to the game and you’ve got to be skilful enough to adapt to the changes, whether it stops swinging or starts swinging or does a little bit more.”Over rates also came under scrutiny for a second day running. After seven overs were lost on a slow opening day, a further 15 were left unbowled when stumps were called at 6.33pm on the second evening.”I don’t want to get myself in trouble by trying to rewrite the thing but I think that’s one way of policing the ball thing,” Root said. “In terms of over rates, it can be quite difficult on a day like today. We’re not used to this, are we? Thirty [degrees] in England feels like 45 elsewhere. But I guess just try and keep on top of it as much as you can.”Bumrah said he didn’t have a clear memory of the ball being changed during his two previous tours of England in 2018 and 2021 or the two World Test Championship finals he has played.5:34

How the Dukes ball is made and why it’s going out of shape

“The ball changes, I don’t really control that,” Bumrah said. “Obviously I don’t really want to lose out on money because I worked very hard, I bowled a lot of overs, so I don’t want to say any controversial statement and get my match fees deducted. But we were bowling with the ball that we were given and that’s how it is. We can’t change it, we can’t fight it. Sometimes it goes your way [and] sometimes you get a bad ball, that’s how it is.”Meanwhile, Root was understandably delighted with the brilliant catch he took mere millimetres above the ground at first slip to dismiss Karun Nair and move to 211 Test catches, clear of Rahul Dravid to hold the record outright.”I’ll be watching it back, for sure,” Root told . “It should’ve been a long time ago. There’s been a few drops in there, but it was an important one, so nice to cling on to it and keep contributing in the field today.”That’s the whole point, you want to try and contribute; you want to add to the team and find ways of affecting the game, if you’re out there in the field. I might bowl the odd over here and there, but there’s only limited ways that you can get yourself in the game. In order to drop catches, you’ve got to put yourself in those positions in the first place. That’s one thing I’ll always keep trying to do, [think] how can I make an impact? How can I help the lads? Standing at first slip is one of them.”

In what could see them finally get one over on Real Madrid, Liverpool could yet hijack the Spanish giants’ move to sign an England international when 2026 arrives.

Slot slams "stupid" Ekitike red card

Away from potential incomings, it was one of Liverpool’s summer signings who stole the headlines for the wrong reasons against Southampton. After emerging from the bench, Hugo Ekitike was perfectly placed to score another late winner for Liverpool as they edged past the Saints in the Carabao Cup.

For a brief moment, the Frenchman was the hero of the hour. And then he continued his celebration by replicating Lionel Messi’s famous shirt celebration to receive his second yellow card and subsequent red card in the 86th minute. It’s a moment that he won’t be forgetting anytime soon and one that Arne Slot slammed in his post-match reaction.

The Dutchman told reporters: “I told him if you score in a Champions League final in the 87th minute after outplaying three players and hitting it into the top corner I can maybe understand that you are like ‘this is all about me’.

“I’m old-fashioned, I’m 47 and old and I haven’t played at this level but I did score a few goals and if I had scored a goal like this I would have turned around and walked up to Federico Chiesa and said this goal is all about you, not about me. “So needless, not smart, you call it stupid, I call it stupid as well.”

"Really difficult" – £150k-p/w Liverpool star admits he wasn't at "level" Slot wanted

The player is feeling much better now.

By
Charlie Smith

Sep 24, 2025

It’s fair to say that the manager didn’t hold back when sharing his true feelings, but that’s the type of mistake that cannot happen at Europe’s top clubs. It’s the type of mentality that attracts players in the first place and the type that is now reportedly tempting a Real Madrid target.

Jarrad Branthwaite tempted by Liverpool move

As reported by Caught Offside, Jarrad Branthwaite is now tempted by a move to Liverpool and Manchester United, which could yet see him reject the chance to join Real Madrid in 2026. The Spanish club have admired the England defender from afar, but could see any potential move hijacked by Premier League opposition.

Speaking about Branthwaite’s desire to join a big club, Caught Offside’s Mark Brus wrote: “Everton have sometimes had to sell their star names to bigger clubs, though they’ll obviously hope to be able to keep Branthwaite for as long as possible. As per my sources, though, it’s well established that the talented young Englishman has the desire to play for a top club.”

Brus also claimed that Man United are expected to submit an offer worth as much as £60m to sign Branthwaite in 2026. Whether Everton deem that worthy of selling their star man or Liverpool decide to match that price is the big question.

It would certainly steal the headlines if one of the Toffees’ most important players jumped ship to Anfield.

أعلنت رابطة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، عبر موقعها الرسمي مساء يوم الثلاثاء، عن هوية الفائز بجائزة أفضل لاعب في منافسات البطولة، بالجولة التاسعة، التي انتهت مساء يوم الأحد.

وشهدت الجولة خسارة جديدة لـ ليفربول أمام برينتفورد بثلاثة أهداف لهدفين، كما سقط مانشستر سيتي أمام أستون فيلا بهدف دون رد، وفاز آرسنال على كريستال بالاس بهدف نظيف.

كما حقق مانشستر يونايتد فوزًا ثمينًا على برايتون بأربعة أهداف مقابل هدفين، ليصعد إلى المركز الرابع في جدول الدوري الإنجليزي.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ديلي ميل: الدوري الإنجليزي يوجه ضربة قوية للجماهير بسبب البوكسينج داي

ونشرت رابطة الدوري الإنجليزي، أمس، قائمة المرشحين للحصول على جائزة أفضل لاعب في الجولة التاسعة، قبل إعلان الفائز يوم الثلاثاء.

وحسبما أُعلن، تحصل لاعب مانشستر يونايتد، بريان مبيومو، على تلك الجائزة، بعدما تألق في مباراة برايتون في تلك الجولة، حيث سجل هدفين وساهم في ذلك الانتصار.

وضمنت ثنائية مبيومو فوز مانشستر يونايتد الثالث على التوالي في الدوري، وهي المرة الأولى التي يحقق فيها الفريق هذا الفوز في موسم واحد منذ فبراير 2024.

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong voiced his dissatisfaction with the plan to host their upcoming La Liga fixture against Villarreal in the United States. The Dutch midfielder believes that it is unfair to make the players travel so far for a match in order to boost the commercial profile of Spanish clubs and La Liga.

UEFA's approval for the fixtures

UEFA has given the Spanish and Italian football federations the green light to stage league matches abroad this season, with Barcelona and Villarreal to meet in Miami, Florida while AC Milan and Como will play each other in Australia. While the move is seen as a groundbreaking step towards further globalising football, it has also sparked widespread dissatisfaction. Milan midfielder Adrien Rabiot has already expressed his disappointment over the decision and De Jong has followed suit.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesDe Jong's dissatisfaction

Barcelona midfielder Frenkie De Jong expressed his dissatisfaction with the prospect of playing in Miami, saying: "I don't like us going there, and I don't agree with it. It's not fair for the competition and I don't think it's right for the players given the long flight."

"For the clubs, it's about expanding their brand globally. That's probably what it's all about. We always complain about the match schedule and the excessive travel.

"The clubs are going to get paid for this, but I don't agree with playing a league game in Miami. I understand that other clubs don't agree."

Koeman's strong opinion on the Miami game

Former Barcelona defender and current Netherlands coach Ronald Koeman also criticised the idea of playing the match abroad, arguing that it wouldn’t be fair to Villarreal since there would likely be more Barcelona fans in Miami, even though the match is officially designated as Villarreal’s home game.

"It doesn't make any sense," he said. "It's ridiculous. Frenkie gives a good explanation. It's not fair. Villarreal-Barcelona is always a difficult away game for Barca, and now they're playing it on a neutral ground. There are more Barcelona fans in the stands than Villarreal fans. So it's not fair either." 

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Getty Images SportWhat happens next?

With clubs like Barcelona and Milan boasting a global audience, such initiatives could help further expand their international reach and brand value. However, the stars of the game will be hoping that clubs find a balance between commercial interests and player welfare in the future.

A “fantastic” Liverpool player appears to be edging closer to sealing a move away from the club before the summer transfer window slams shut.

Isak and Guehi getting closer to Liverpool

The Reds’ summer got off to such an exciting start, not least because Florian Wirtz joined in a record-breaking move from Bayer Leverkusen, but there has been a feeling that the Premier League champions need to sign both Alexander Isak and Marc Guehi to make it a truly memorable window.

While there is work to do in that respect, it increasingly looks as though the Premier League pair could both be heading to Anfield, with positive progress made.

Firstly, Newcastle United are signing VfB Stuttgart striker Nick Woltemade, as well as retaining an interest in Brentford’s Yoane Wissa, meaning a second offer for Isak from Liverpool is more likely to be accepted.

Meanwhile, the Reds have reportedly submitted a £40m offer for Guehi, following his appearance for Crystal Palace in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday evening, with the England international considered an ideal centre-back addition.

"Fantastic" Liverpool ace close to leaving

Now, according to various reports, Kostas Tsimikas is now close to sealing a loan move from Liverpool to Roma, with the transfer seemingly in its final stages and “one step away”. This comes after Gazzetta dello Sport [via Sport Witness] reported that the Greek was pushing for a move away from Anfield this summer.

This feels like a good outcome for all parties for now, prior to a likely permanent exit next summer, with Tsimikas unlikely to play much for Liverpool this season.

Kostas Tsimikas’ trophy wins at Liverpool	2025
Premier League	2025
FA Cup	2022
EFL Cup	2024
EFL Cup	2022
Community Shield	2022

Milos Kerkez’s arrival has pushed him further down the left-back pecking order, so barring injury woes in that position, opportunities will be limited.

Tsimikas has been a good servant for Liverpool, making himself a hero by scoring the winning penalty in the 2022 FA Cup final shootout victory over Chelsea, and being called “fantastic” by journalist Ian Doyle, but he has never quite felt like a genuinely excellent option.

Liverpool "ready" to complete record-breaking double deal for Isak and England star

Liverpool have to wait for two deals to be completed first.

By
Callum Kemp

Aug 28, 2025

That’s not to say he hasn’t performed well at times, keeping the pressure on Andy Robertson, but his time at Anfield should be reaching its natural conclusion.

وجه ألكسندر إيزاك مهاجم منتخب السويد وليفربول الإنجليزي، رسالة مميزة لأحد لاعبي برشلونة بعد خسارة منتخب بلاده ضد سويسرا في تصفيات أوروبا المؤهلة لكأس العالم 2026.

وكان روني باردجي جناح برشلونة قد حقق حلمه بالمشاركة مع منتخب السويد على الرغم من أنه لم يشارك سوى خمس دقائق أخيرة فقط من المباراة ولم يسعفه الوقت للحاق بمنتخب بلاده من الهزيمة بهدفين نظيفين مما يهدد فرصه للتأهل للمونديال القادم.

وعلى الرغم من مشاركة باردجي في خمس دقائق فقط مع منتخب السويد، لكن هذا الوقت القليل كان كافيا لإظهار موهبته وإثارة حماس الجماهير وزملائه أيضاً.

أقرأ أيضاً.. اللاعبون الأعلى أجرًا في الدوري الإنجليزي.. مركز محمد صلاح ومرموش

وأشاد ألكسندر إيزاك مهاجم ليفربول بـ روني باردجي في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية: “إنه لاعب من الطراز الرفيع، لا أعتبره موهبة أتيحت لها الفرصة بل لاعب راسخ، إنه هنا معنا لسبب وجيه”.

وأكمل مهاجم ليفربول مشيداً بلاعب برشلونة: “لقد حضر بطاقته الكبيرة في الملعب، كان من المؤسف أن يشارك ونحن في هذا الموقف، عندما كنا متأخرين بهدف نظيف لكن بالنسبة لي كان باردجي شعاع نور لنا رغم الهزيمة”.

وقال باردجي لوسائل الإعلام بعد ظهوره مع السويد:” لم ألعب كثيراً لكني اظهرت القليل، كنت أنتظر هذا اليوم منذ زمن، كنت أتمنى لو أننا لم نخسر وسيصبح أفضل، لكنه كان يوم جيد، لعبت بشكل جيد، أظهرت ما يمكنني فعله وساهمت به”.

وختم جناح برشلونة تصريحاته حول العودة للمسار الصحيح: “علينا أن نؤدي كما نقوم في أندينتا، دون التفكير كثيراً في الضغط، نلعب ونستمتع بوقتنا ونقدم كرة قدم جيدة، علينا بذل قصارى جهدنا وأن نكون هجوميين، ونخلق الفرص، أعتقد أن كل شئ سيصبح أفضل بكثير لو فعلنا ذلك”.

The mood around Chelsea is undeniably electric at the moment.

Enzo Maresca’s side more than made up for their opening-day stumble at home with an emphatic win away to West Ham United on Friday, and look ready for what should be a massive season in the Premier League and beyond.

The club have more than backed the manager over the last few months, and with the window open for another week, looks set to make at least a couple more additions to his squad.

In fact, if reports are to be believed, Chelsea may be closing in on an international ace who’d be their own version of Eberechi Eze.

Chelsea target their own Eberechi Eze

They haven’t been the biggest spenders in the league this summer, but Chelsea have undoubtedly made the most out of the window so far.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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In attack, the Conference League champions have added the likes of Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, while the defence has been reinforced by the tremendously exciting Jorrel Hato.

Yet, even with all the business the West Londoners have done over the last few months, they now look set to complete another signing, someone who could be their own Eze.

At least that is according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, who has reaffirmed Chelsea’s interest in Alejandro Garnacho.

More than that, the Italian journalist has revealed that the deal is now “expected” to happen before the window slams shut.

Romano does not mention how much the Manchester United ace might cost, but according to stories from earlier this month, the Blues could try to secure his services for around £25m.

Even if the final fee ends up being higher, Garnacho is worth signing for Chelsea, especially as he could be their own Eze.

Why Garnacho could be Chelsea's Eze

So the first thing to clear up is that no, we are not claiming Garnacho is currently on the same level as Eze.

That would be patently untrue and quite unfair to the United ace, as he’s still just 21 years old.

However, there are several similarities between the two, including their transfers.

For example, if the Argentine international does end up joining Maresca’s blue revolution this summer, then he’d be following the Englishman in joining not just a ‘big six’ side, but one based in London that will be looking to challenge for the Premier League this season.

Away from the deal, another key characteristic the Madrid-born ace shares with the former Crystal Palace star is his ability to play in attacking midfield or out on the left wing.

More than that, he’s also as much of a goal threat as he is a creator.

For example, the “superstar” in the making, as dubbed by journalist Liam Canning, was able to score 11 goals and provide ten assists in 58 appearances, totalling 3568 minutes.

Garnacho in 24/25

Appearances

58

Minutes

3568′

Goals

11

Assists

10

Goal Involvements per Match

0.36

Minutes per Goal Involvements

169.90′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

That means he was able to average a goal involvement every 2.76 games, or 169.90 minutes, which is made all the more impressive considering he was playing in a historically terrible United side.

Finally, just as Eze has the ability to pull off the magnificent, so can Garnacho, with his Puskas winning goal against Everton a couple of years ago, the perfect example of this.

Ultimately, it may take some time for the United ace to reach the levels of the new Arsenal star, but the similarities between them are undeniable.

Therefore, Chelsea should do what they can to secure his services as soon as possible.

Related He's their next Palmer: Chelsea ace has held talks over leaving the Bridge

Chelsea really are having a summer clearout as this rising star looks set to be the next to leave.

Posts 1 ByKelan Sarson Aug 25, 2025