West Ham’s relegation nightmare intensified dramatically as Wolves tore them apart 3-0 at Molineux this afternoon, with chants of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” ringing from the away end.

Manager Nuno Espirito Santo watched helplessly as his former club finally ended their winless start to the campaign by ruthlessly exposing the Hammers’ defensive frailties inside a catastrophic opening 45 minutes.

Wolves needed just four minutes to pierce West Ham’s brittle backline when Hee-chan Hwang’s cross found Jhon Arias, who crashed home his first goal for the club to ignite raucous celebrations.

The nightmare worsened dramatically just past the half-hour mark when Soungoutou Magassa clumsily fouled teenager Mateus Mane inside the penalty area, allowing Hwang to dispatch his spot-kick past the helpless Alphonse Areola.

Mane himself twisted the knife four minutes before the interval with a spectacular long-range thunderbolt that flew inside the near post, leaving Areola rooted as the 18-year-old wheeled away to celebrate his first Premier League goal.

Related West Ham offered former Tottenham star who had a 'good relationship' with Nuno

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West Ham had dominated possession with almost two-thirds of the ball yet created absolutely nothing, their impotence in attack matched only by their defensive chaos.

The absence of playmaker Lucas Paqueta, who’s attracting rumoured interest from Tottenham, exposed the glaring truth that Nuno simply lacks the quality needed to extract his struggling squad from the bottom three.

The Hammers have now extended their winless streak to nine Premier League matches, leaving them marooned four points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest with the situation growing increasingly desperate.

Tuesday’s crucial encounter against fellow strugglers Forest at the London Stadium has transformed into a must-win fixture for Nuno, whose expensive January recruits Pablo and Taty Castellanos watched powerlessly from the side.

Commentator takes aim at "horrendous" Max Kilman in West Ham defeat

Pressure mounting on the former Wolves boss has reached boiling point following this abject surrender against the division’s basement dwellers, and following reports that West Ham are considering Nuno’s future.

Nuno definitely wasn’t helped by his incredibly fragile backline, who were cut through like a knife through butter on a real afternoon to forget.

One of the major culprits, as he has often been this season, was £40 million defender Max Kilman.

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Taking to X, BBC commentator Sam Avery took aim at the Englishman, calling his signing “laughable” and potentially “the worst” in recent memory.

The 28-year-old has been subject to intense criticism this season, but Nuno’s lack of options means that West Ham have little choice but to rely on Kilman week in, week out.

After signing two strikers, there are widespread calls for the Irons to bring in a new defender as well, with relegation now staring them in the face.

Related Premier League forward set to join West Ham after Nuno specifically asked for him

He’ll sign ‘immediately’ in January.

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Thursday was a busy day for Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham United with the fixtures for the 2019/2020 Premier League season being announced.

However, the club also made another announcement on the day which rather slipped under the radar with most of the attention on next campaign’s schedule.

They confirmed in the mid-afternoon that Academy coach Jack Collison had stepped down from his role and left the London Stadium with immediate effect.

The news came right out the blue taking most associated with West Ham by surprise and leaving many members of the Claret & Blue Army disappointed.

And fans were right to be upset by the development as their team had just lost a potential future manager, the first homegrown gaffer of the modern era.

While the official report stated that Collison has left with his family to take up an exciting new coaching opportunity overseas, the BBC revealed that the role is with Major League Soccer outfit Atlanta United in the USA.

The 30-year-old is heavily associated with the Hammers as a product of the famous Academy of Football who graduated into the first team under Alan Curbishley in 2008.

Constantly battling with injuries, Collison would go onto make 121 appearances in central midfield in Claret & Blue, scoring 14 times and assisting on ten occasions.

He was always a fan favourite at the Boleyn Ground, capturing the hearts of fans when he still played in a home London derby against Millwall just days after his father had tragically died in a road accident.

But following the midfielder leaving east London in 2014, injuries eventually took their toll and the persistence was too much for him – he was forced to retire at just 27 whilst with Peterborough United.

Collison was soon offered a role in the Irons academy at Chadwell Heath as an Academy coach, first working as manager of the under-16 side.

In two years, he was able to earn a promotion and start progressing up the ranks as he had done as a young player, ending up as co-manager of the under-18s alongside Mark Philips.

Most recently, the duo led the bright team to a fantastic 2018/2019 campaign in which they so nearly broke into the top six of the Premier League U18 having started off with four consecutive wins.

Whilst it’s nice to see Kevin Keen back at the club replacing Collison as Under 18 coach, one can’t help but feeling what could have been with Collison.

The ex-Welsh international possesses all the right qualities to be a superb West Ham manager, as he’s well-liked around the club and knows it inside-out as one of its sons.

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And all the signs were right for the former midfielder to one day, maybe in the near future, take the top job and make the move from Chadwell Heath to Rush Green training ground in Romford.

As someone who knows all too well what football can give you and how quickly it can all be taken away, he would have been a great man-motivator, installing a wonderful philosophy in the first team.

There can be little doubt that Collison would have been given a fond farewell and send off from everyone in east London, but perhaps many of those figures were thinking they should have tried that bit harder to get him stay as he could well be seen as the one that got away in a couple of years’ time.

Leeds United have brought in Cameron Toshack to be Jesse Marsch’s assistant at Elland Road.

What’s the story?

Writing on Twitter, Leeds Live’s Beren Cross revealed: “A big first day for Marsch to make the right first impression at Thorp Arch today. The little differences with Bielsa are already clear. Former Swansea coach Cameron Toshack spotted in the club’s behind the scenes video too.”

That news followed on from Joe Donnohue’s own post detailing Toshack’s own achievements and history, saying: “Cameron Toshack in as Jesse Marsch’s #LUFC assistant coach, it seems. UEFA Pro Licence holder, PL2 Div 2 winner with Swansea U23s, Premier League Cup winner, finalist in the same competition a year later, and has worked with Dan James previously. He comes highly-rated.”

Another exciting appointment for Leeds

Following Marsch’s own appointment as Marcelo Bielsa’s successor at Elland Road, news of Toshack’s hire is another promising step in the right direction.

Donnohue’s background information on the Welshman makes for good reading for Leeds fans, noting that he is “highly-rated” and is someone who seems to have extensive appearance with working with young, promising talent in his time with Swansea.

The news that he has also worked with Leeds’ own Dan James previously is another another added bonus for the Whites, with the winger enduring a bit of a hit-and-miss time of things since his move from Manchester United.

Surrounding Marsch with the right personnel, especially as quickly as they have done, means the American can hit the ground running at a time when the Whites are desperate for all the points they can get in the Premier League.

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A clash against Leicester City in the early Saturday lunch-time kick off poses Marsch’s first test as Leeds manager, and having Toshack by his side ensures he has at least some sort of English football experience to lean on.

Meanwhile, Marsch could become an instant crowd favourite at Elland Road by unleashing this academy star…

Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard concluded some excellent business in the January transfer window, having bought Lucas Digne and loaned Philippe Coutinho to help steer the club away from a potential relegation battle.

However, one signing which went under the radar and has represented great value for money is Calum Chambers, who arrived on a free transfer from Arsenal after a difficult time in north London where he was once described as “an accident waiting to happen,” by pundit Tony Cascarino.

During Villa’s 4-0 home win over Southampton, he made an impressive eight clearances, as well as winning all three of his aerial duels against his former club, on his way to earning a 7.3 SofaScore match rating and clean sheet.

He also played a big part in Douglas Luiz’ goal by playing a fantastic long ball forward to Coutinho, and former Premier League defender Stephen Warnock believed not many passes will top it this year.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here, this is a centre-back passing the ball in Chambers,” Warnock said.

“This is arguably the pass of the season. We’ve seen [Kevin] De Bruyne, [Mohamed] Salah, [Jordan] Henderson, some of the passes we have seen with the outside of the foot.”This is a centre-half, it was an outrageous pass. Just look where his [Coutinho] run starts from, to see that run and execute the pass, what a ball.”And then to be unselfish and play that, that is just brilliant, all-round outstanding goal.”

Chambers on average wins over three duels per game, as well as making one tackle and just under five clearances, with him approaching his prime at 27-years-old, it could be now or never for the centre-back.

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But with Gerrard “not convinced” by Ezri Konsa, Chambers is likely to receive plenty of game time as we approach the end of the season, making him a particularly ideal addition to the squad.

In other news: “To be honest..” – Insider drops AVFC summer claim that’ll have many Villans delighted

Manchester United will host Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford this afternoon in an important clash for both teams in the race for a spot in the top four, and now Ralf Rangnick has been given a late injury boost ahead of the game.

What’s the word?

The Man United boss has given an update on Cristiano Ronaldo’s availability in his pre-match press conference, after the star was unavailable for the Manchester derby last weekend.

Rangnick told the press;

“He resumed training yesterday.

“He trained the whole training session and I expect him to train today as well. He trained well, like the rest of the group. I would’ve thought he was available tomorrow.”

Rangnick will be elated

There has been mounting speculation around the Red Devils over the last few weeks relating to Ronaldo’s future at the club, and when he was missing from the squad against Manchester City it caused a further media frenzy, with claims that the Portuguese striker wasn’t actually injured and had just decided he didn’t want to play.

With that being said, Rangnick will surely relieved that the five time Ballon D’or winner will be available and back in the dressing room to support and inject confidence into his team mates this weekend following the embarrassing 4-1 defeat against Pep Guardiola’s side and the ongoing negative speculation surrounding the club.

Not only will Ronaldo’s leadership be a huge boost for the Manchester United team, but his presence on the pitch is an inevitable threat to any team and as top goal scorer with 15 goals and three assists this season so far, there is no doubt that the striker will offer the best possible attacking opportunities in the challenging clash.

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The German coach will be hoping his team can take advantage of being back at Old Trafford, putting their most recent defeat behind them to take advantage of the opportunity to leap frog Arsenal back into the fourth spot in the league table ahead of the Gunners’ fixture on Sunday afternoon – however slipping to a consecutive loss against Spurs this afternoon could set them back further pushing them into sixth.

In other news: Manchester United interested in Robert Lewandowski

West Brom have been fairly active in the transfer market over the past few years in terms of bringing new players to the club and moving some out the other way.

However, one player that the Baggies were linked with a move for that they didn’t end up securing which will now be seen as a big mistake from the Midlands club is striker Alfredo Morelos.

Back in September 2020, a report from Football Insider claimed that West Brom had been in contact with Rangers about the possibility of signing their Colombian forward, ultimately to no avail.

Since he arrived at Ibrox back in the 2017 summer transfer window from HJK Helsinki, the 25-year-old has gone on to make a total of 164 combined goals and assists across 222 appearances across all competitions.

This season has seen the £11.7m-rated centre-forward rack up 11 goals and seven assists in 25 SPFL games, earning himself an overall performance rating of 7.35 from WhoScored, making him the second-highest rated player in Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s squad.

Additionally, this rating would make him the highest-rated player at West Brom by the same metric.

Had the Baggies managed to bring Morelos to the Hawthorns back in the 2020 summer transfer window, there’s every chance that they would have scored more than the 35 they managed to bag in the Premier League last season.

Even if they had signed the striker when they were reportedly after him and still got relegated from the top flight, they would surely be in a better position than they are now and would have more than the 40 goals in 37 games they’ve managed to get in this campaign.

Labelled as a “brutally ruthless” player than can be a real “fighter” on the pitch by Aki Riihilahti, the CEO of the Colombian’s previous club, Morelos would have been a great signing for West Brom if he’d have been able to bring the same sort of goalscoring prowess that he’s shown in Scotland to England.

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All in all, it’s safe to say that Luke Dowling made a big error by not bringing the Rangers forward to the Midlands club when he had the chance, as the striker could have proved to have been very useful for the Baggies in terms of scoring some much-needed goals.

In other news: Sold for £10m, now worth £2.7m: Dowling sealed WBA masterclass on £60k-p/w “disaster” – opinion

Transfer insider Dean Jones has now dropped a big Wolves claim involving Joao Moutinho.

The Lowdown: Uncertainty

Moutinho’s current deal at Molineux is due to expire in the summer, leaving uncertainty over his future at the Midlands club.

He has been linked with a move back to his native Portugal, and given that he is 35 years of age and is the highest earner in the squad, the Wanderers now have a big decision to make.

The Latest: Jones claim

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, transfer insider Jones has claimed that it is ‘possible’ that he will stay at WWFC, but also said that he ‘might fancy a new challenge’ in the next couple of years:

“I think it’s possible that he will stay at Wolves, but he just needs to be cautious about a new deal because you don’t want to get yourself tied down to something that you can’t get out of.

“I think it is plausible that something might appeal to him in the next couple of years and he might fancy a new challenge.”

The Verdict: Keep

With the future of Ruben Neves in doubt, Wolves should be looking to keep Moutinho, at least on a short-term deal for another season or two until they can find a suitable replacement.

The Portugal international has ranked highly among his teammates in terms of average tackles, interceptions, key passes, crosses and long balls per game in the Premier League (WhoScored), and so clearly still has a lot to offer.

However, they should look to reduce his wages should they be able to tie him down, as he is likely to become less of a fixed part of the first XI as he gets older.

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Nonetheless, the Wanderers are not really in a position to be letting multiple senior central midfielders go, and so he can still play a key role in Bruno Lage’s squad.

In other news, find out what ‘serious blow’ has now emerged for WWFC here!

After arriving as one of the ‘magnificent seven’ brought in to replace Gareth Bale in 2013, Paulinho’s career at Spurs failed to really ignite.

The Brazilian came in off the back of Confederations Cup success with his country over Spain just a week before his move, and there were even suggestions that the likes of Inter and Real Madrid were interested in signing him.

The midfielder struggled to really stand out in a team trying to compete for the top four under Andre Villas-Boas, with perhaps his back-heeled winner against Cardiff his most eye-catching moment.

Aside from that, Paulinho seemed to coast by in games, and his red card for a high boot on Luis Suarez in a 5-0 home thrashing at the hands of Liverpool largely summed up a hugely disappointing Spurs career.

It was no surprise that he was eventually sold by Daniel Levy to Chinese Super League side Guangzhou Evergrande for a reported fee of around £10m – a £7m loss from what the north Londoners paid to sign him for in the first place.

In a piece by The Guardian’s David Hytner following Paulinho’s departure to Guangzhou, he noted: “Paulinho was well liked within the club at Tottenham. He was a quiet and extremely religious family man and his professionalism was not questioned. His English was passable and he understood everything clearly. It was not that he failed to settle, rather that he could not make his mark.

“Yet it says much for Paulinho’s current standing in the game that many Tottenham fans have lauded their chairman, Daniel Levy, as a magician for not only removing the player’s £55,000-a-week wage from the club’s books but for receiving such a healthy fee for him. It still represents a loss on the £17m or so that Tottenham pledged to Corinthians but, frankly, nobody saw eight figures coming back for Paulinho.”

While the Brazilian’s performances in China eventually earned him a big-money move to Barcelona, he found himself quickly out of the picture with the La Liga giants after less than 50 games for them.

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Now valued at just £4.5m, and plying his trade back in his native Brazil with former club Corinthians, Paulinho may be best remembered by Spurs fans as someone who had a ‘what could have been’ career.

AND in other news – Sold in 2020, now worth £34m: Spurs suffered double disaster over 26 y/o “machine”

Dele Alli and Anwar El Ghazi may not be Everton players next season, if fresh reports are to be believed. 

The lowdown

The Toffees signed Dele from Tottenham on January’s transfer deadline day, while El Ghazi made a loan switch from Aston Villa midway through the month.

Under the terms of the agreement they reached with Spurs, Everton will only have to pay the north Londoners a £10m fee once Dele has made 20 appearances in blue. The fee could rise as high as £40m according to Sky Sports, depending on whether various performance-related add-ons are triggered.

As for El Ghazi, the Toffees negotiated a €10m (£8.4m) purchase option with Villa.

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The latest

Sports journalist Pete O’Rourke has told GiveMeSport that Dele could leave Goodison Park in the summer, stating: “It’s a possibility, if Everton have got that clause in his contract, that they could let him go without having to pay Spurs anything. It would, obviously, save Everton some money if that were to happen.”

Meanwhile, Football Insider reported that the Blues aren’t interested in a permanent deal for El Ghazi, who has ‘struggled to make an impression’ on Frank Lampard and his coaching staff since he joined the Merseyside outfit.

The verdict

This news shouldn’t come as too big a surprise regarding either player.

Dele has yet to start a single game since he arrived at Everton and, if anything, he is falling further down the pecking order. Having come on from the bench in seven straight league matches, he has now been an unused substitute in the last two games.

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El Ghazi, who was signed while Rafael Benitez was still in charge at Goodison Park, has barely had a look-in under Lampard. He has played a mere 11 minutes of Premier League football in a blue shirt and may already be considering his next move.

Everton signed five players in January as they looked to turn their season around, but so far it has made little difference – they remain just three points above the relegation zone with 10 matches to play.

In other news, Jonathan Woodgate accuses one Everton star of throwing his toys ‘out the pram’.

As per Football Insider, Tottenham youngster Dane Scarlett has opened talks with the club over a new contract.

The Lowdown: Scarlett’s Spurs career

The 18-year-old has experienced a rapid rise to first-team football with the Lilywhites. The striker graduated from Spurs’ under-18s in the summer of 2021, duly linking up with the under-23 side in Premier League 2.

Furthermore, Scarlett has now made 10 appearances for the first team. Indeed, Conte is also a keen admirer of the young striker – in February, the 52-year-old publicly labelled him “the best prospect from the academy”.

As a result, he has been included in the Lilywhites’ first-team matchday squad 18 times this season, coming off the bench in the 4-0 win over Leeds in late February and the subsequent FA Cup defeat to Middlesbrough.

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The Latest: Scarlett and Spurs in contract talks

According to a fresh report by Football Insider, Tottenham are looking to tie down the 18-year-old to a long-term deal, even though he only signed his first professional contract when he turned 17 in March of last year.

As a result, negotiations have opened between the north London club and Scarlett. As a reward for his rapid development, he is set to receive a huge pay-rise on top of his current £3,400 weekly salary.

The Verdict: Huge prospect

Last year, Mourinho asserted that the Spurs gem “is going to be phenomenal”. This has been backed up by Conte, who claimed that “he is a really important prospect for Tottenham”, adding that Scarlett has “a brilliant future” ahead of him.

With the rave reviews received from multiple managers with glittering CVs, it is easy for Tottenham fans to get excited over this particular long-term prospect. if Scarlett does extend his deal with the club, fans will have every right to be thrilled.

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We could be seeing plenty more of this bright young gem in a Spurs shirt over the coming years, judging by this development and the aforementioned endorsements from two managers who have worked with him.

In other news: One player could soon be set to leave Tottenham permanently