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West Ham have been handed a double injury boost ahead of their Europa League clash this week…

What’s the latest?

According to Claret and Hugh, an Irons source has confirmed that both club captain Mark Noble and right-back Ryan Fredericks are back in full training and are set to be available for selection heading into Thursday.

The retiring midfielder missed the win over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday, whilst the latter has been out since his early withdrawal against Manchester United in the Carabao Cup last month.

The Hammers could go one step closer to qualifying for the knockout stages with a win over Belgian outfit Genk, so having further players available at David Moyes’ disposable is certainly a benefit.

Double boost

Whilst neither is a regular starter in the Scotsman’s starting XI, particularly in the Premier League, both are more likely to be handed opportunities in competitions like this one.

Fredericks provides valuable cover for Vladimir Coufal, who has been injured in recent weeks too, whilst Noble could be crucial this week with Alex Kral unavailable.

His presence could hand a rest to either Tomas Soucek or Declan Rice, who won’t be able to keep up this consistent rate of matches into 2022.

The report also states that West Ham are in line to receive around £670k if they manage to clinch a victory at the London Stadium, taking their overall earnings beyond £2m, which is a welcome financial boost.

Their chances of clinching a result, whilst keeping the squad fresh, have certainly been bolstered thanks to this latest development.

Moyes’ men currently sit top of Group H with a three-point cushion over Dinamo Zagreb in second place, and a victory over Genk could see that lead double should Rapid Wien defeat the Croatian side.

The Irons also have the small matter of a London derby this weekend as they welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the London Stadium, so the 58-year-old may well have that game in mind heading into Thursday’s clash.

That’s why Noble and Fredericks’ potential involvement is so significant this week and exactly why Moyes will be delighted ahead of kick-off.

AND in other news, Newman can seal West Ham bargain in 6 ft 4 “diamond” who was once “very keen” to join…

According to RMC Sport (via Sport Witness), Marseille had ‘not received an offer deemed sufficiently interesting’ for Duje Caleta-Car, as West Ham only made a loan bid in January.

The Lowdown: Centre-back fiasco

David Moyes’ options at centre-back began to deplete with the season-ending injury sustained by Angelo Ogbonna, who suffered a cruciate ligament rupture at the beginning of November.

When Kurt Zouma suffered a hamstring injury in early December, from which he has only just recovered, the Hammers were left with just two senior centre-backs available for selection in Craig Dawson and Issa Diop.

West Ham were intent on finding a suitable centre-back to bolster their options in that area and deemed Caleta-Car a good option for Moyes’ side. However, a deal never materialised, and the Irons remain short on defensive options despite Zouma’s return.

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The Latest: Loan offer not enough

According to a report by RMC Sport (via Sport Witness), Marseille maintained that they had ‘not received an offer deemed sufficiently interesting’ for the Croatia international.

It’s claimed that ‘only a loan offer’ arrived from West Ham, which led to a stalemate between the two clubs. The Irons were looking for a loan deal with an option to buy, whereas Marseille were holding out for a permanent sale.

The Verdict: Missed opportunity

Having previously been very close to joining Liverpool, many Hammers fans would have known of the Croatian’s quality.

With a wealth of experience in the French top flight totalling 87 appearances, it is a mystery as to why the east London club would not sanction a £15m move for the player, especially when it was position clearly in need of addressing.

As a result, Irons fans can only pray that their centre-back situation doesn’t get any worse before the end of the season.

In other news: Irons had agree a fee for one player on deadline day before deal collapsed

Mohamed Salah is not demanding £500,000 per week to extend his Liverpool’s contract, according to the Liverpool Echo.

The lowdown

The Mirror floated the figure, which is more than double his current salary of £200,000, over the weekend. Salah is into the final two years of his contract at Anfield, and while talks are ongoing, the two parties have yet to make a breakthrough.

Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Robertson, Fabinho and Jordan Henderson have all penned new deals in recent months (via The Athletic), but there’s said to be interest in Salah from European giants such as Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

The Egyptian international joined Liverpool from AS Roma in 2017 and has since gone on to score 127 goals in 206 appearances for the Reds.

The latest

The Liverpool Echo reported that Salah’s demands are ‘not in the region’ of the £26m per year which was ‘suggested over the weekend’.

The Anfield club are ‘continuing to press ahead’ in negotiations in the hope of addressing a ‘priority’ and putting any speculation over the Egyptian’s future to bed.

The verdict

Had Salah genuinely been demanding £500,000 per week, then there was a very real risk that talks would break down altogether. That kind of sum could shatter a club’s wage structure.

Still, you’d imagine he is in line for a substantial salary hike, with the Reds under pressure to tie down arguably their biggest asset for the remainder of his peak years.

Kylian Mbappe’s potential move to Real Madrid may have strengthened Salah’s hand further, as there’s a very real chance that PSG could start sniffing around as the 29-year-old edges closer to the end of his current deal.

In other news, another Liverpool player could join Firmino on the treatment table.

Evening Standard journalist Jack Rosser has told Football FanCast that West Ham have just under £25m to spend in the remainder of the window.

The Hammers have been chasing Jesse Lingard all summer, although it’s looking increasingly likely that he’ll remain at Manchester United despite his expected lack of opportunities.

David Moyes has made just one addition in PSG goalkeeper Alphonse Areola on loan, although the east Londoners are on the verge of completing a £25m deal for Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma.

West Ham desperately need another striker, with the red-hot Michail Antonio their only senior frontman at the club, but Moyes has been unable to add to his front-line.

Meanwhile, with Areola joining on loan and Zouma’s move not completed, the Hammers haven’t yet spent the £20.05m they banked for previous record-signing Sebastien Haller in January.

And whilst GSB would appear reluctant to dip into their pockets following clubs’ recent financial problems due to the pandemic, Rosser told FFC that there are funds available for Moyes:

“The money that they’ve got to spend isn’t huge, but there is money there. They’re not going to blow anyone out of the water, but they’ve got just under the same they’ve spent on Zouma to spend.”

Former Premier League striker Kevin Phillips believes Raphinha will want to leave Leeds United now that he has made his debut for Brazil.

The Lowdown: Raphinha makes Brazil debut

£28.8m-valued Raphinha (Transfermarkt) was included in Brazil’s squad for the World Cup qualifiers this past week against Venezuela and Colombia.

He made his debut from the bench against the former and produced an impressive display, providing two assists as La Selecao won 3-1. He also featured in the 0-0 draw with Colombia (Transfermarkt).

The Latest: Phillips questions Raphinha future

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips believes Raphinha may now be looking to depart Elland Road if the Whites cannot invest heavily to push for European football. He said:

“I think it’s going to be very hard.

“Leeds need more investment in their squad, they need to start buying players that can keep them fighting even further up the table.

“Over the next year, year and a half, people like Raphinha will leave, his head will get turned by other clubs.

“Raphinha is getting into Brazil squads, he’s playing for Brazil now. He’s not going to want to play for Leeds, he’s going to want to move and play for a bigger club that’s playing in the Champions League. Someone of Raphinha’s quality should be playing in the Champions League.

“It’s just the reality of football. If Leeds can’t invest and get a better squad that’s challenging to get into Europe he will want to leave. That’s just normal.”

The Verdict: Top quality

Since making the move to Yorkshire from Rennes in France, the winger has slowly but surely evolved into one of Leeds’ most important players. Last term, he found the back of the net six times and provided nine assists in 30 Premier League games, and has already scored three times in seven outings in this term’s competition.

Now he has embarked on an international career, and with Leeds not in or looking close to European competition, it will unfortunately be difficult to hold on to Raphinha in the long term.

While he is still 24 and has plenty of time ahead of him, it may not be long before he gets restless, but the silver lining is that Victor Orta and co will be in line to scoop a massive profit when he does.

In other news, Noel Whelan is excited by these Leeds plans.

Former Rangers left-back Michael Ball fears Leeds United will step up their pursuit of Ryan Kent after the Scottish giants failed to qualify for the Champions League group stage.

Steven Gerrard’s Rangers were unable to progress beyond the third qualifying round of the competition after suffering a defeat to Swedish side Malmo last week.

It has led to Gerrard admitting the Gers may be forced to sell some of their prized assets after missing out on a windfall by competing in the Champions League.

Kent has been the subject of interest from Leeds for some time, with the Whites failing with a bid for the winger 12 months ago.

Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has not given up on signing Kent and reports suggest he could get his man for £15million.

Kent has made four appearances and registered two assists so far this season, but Ball believes the former Liverpool winger’s days at Ibrox may be numbered.

He exclusively told The Transfer Tavern: “It would be a huge blow for Rangers to lose Ryan.

“I was quite surprised Rangers forked out so much money for the guy but he’s been an instant success and a fans’ favourite.

“It would be a huge blow if he goes.”

The January transfer window is just around the corner and Newcastle United have been tipped to be busy throughout the month in terms of making signings.

Eddie Howe looks set to strengthen his Magpies squad, with Ousmane Dembele, Joe Rodon, Lucas Paqueta and Dusan Vlahovic just a few of the names linked with a switch to St. James’ Park.

However, the answer to every problem may not lie within the transfer market as Howe could look to bringing through a young gem instead of making a new signing in a certain position.

Save millions

One player who could be brought through into the academy to save PIF spending millions is forward Dylan Stephenson, who has been impressing this season.

Daily Mail reporter Craig Hope once said “he certainly knows where the net is” and his record for the youth team this season backs up that claim. He has scored 11 goals in 16 games for the under-23 side, with 10 in 13 in the league and one in three in the EFL Trophy.

Earlier this year, Magpies youth coach Neil Winskill heaped praise on the young attacker. He told the club’s official website:

“I’m thrilled for Dylan because he is such an honest, hard-working lad. He’s the type of player any team would like to have in their XI, who’s going to really put a shift in for you.

“Every game and training session, the physical stats come through and he’s always top of the charts but we had a chat during the week about the need for him to be consistent with his quality, and he spoke to me about how he thinks people will judge him on goals.”

This shows that Stephenson, who has also been dubbed as “adaptable” by coach Elliott Dickman, is willing to put the hard yards in on the pitch, which could be crucial in a relegation battle setting. It proves that he will not down tools if things are not going his way and he will continue to battle to the death and that could be something that the fans appreciate seeing.

Therefore, the 11-goal predator could be a promising player to bring through as he has the goal record to suggest that he has the potential to make an impact at first-team level and the work rate to earn the support of the fans. This is why Howe must unleash him in the senior side and offer him a chance to show what he can do.

If he can impress and score goals in the Premier League then it could save PIF from needing to spend millions of pounds on a new striker in January.

AND in other news, Downie shares NUFC update after speaking “to the consortium”, fans will be thrilled…

Wolves have been pretty busy during the previous summer and winter transfer windows with players leaving the club and new ones coming in.

Looking ahead to the upcoming summer window, it seems as though this could once again be the case for the Old Gold in their latest attempt at strengthening their squad.

What’s the news?

According to a recent report from journalist David Ornstein in The Athletic, Wolves are eyeing Sporting Lisbon midfielder Matheus Nunes as a potential replacement for Joao Moutinho, whose £100k-per-week contract at Molineux is set to expire in the summer.

In 125 combined appearances for Sporting’s senior and U23 sides, the midfielder has scored nine goals and provided 11 assists along the way.

Moutinho heir at Wolves

This current campaign has seen the Brazilian-born midfielder make 28 league appearances for his club and even have his first taste of Champions League football with six appearances to his name.

To highlight how much of a well-rounded midfield option he is for his side, the 23-year-old has racked up a total of 23 tackles, 26 interceptions and 23 crosses in the Portuguese league this season, putting him in the top ten for each statistic in Sporting’s squad.

His overall performances have earned the Portuguese international a season rating of 7.08 from WhoScored, making him Sporting’s sixth-highest rated player for this campaign.

This rating would make him the highest-rated Wolves player by the same metric, showing what an impressive player the £27m-rated gem is at a fairly young age.

Labelled as an “unbelievable” player by Goncalo Santos as well as being “one of the best players in the world today” according to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola, Nunes certainly has a lot of hype around him, which could make him an exciting recruit for Bruno Lage’s side.

With Wolves’ track record of signing players from Portuguese clubs, Nunes, who has a better technical rating than Moutinho at this stage of his career according to SofaScore, could be an ideal long-term figure for the Midlands club and follow in the footsteps of the other players that have joined the Old Gold from Portugal such as Ruben Neves, Fabio Silva and Chiquinho among others.

In other news: Wolves plot swoop for “special” £33m Mendes client, he’s better than Trincao…

Rangers return to Premiership action on Sunday as Giovanni van Bronckhorst awaits his domestic bow as manager of the Glasgow giants.

The Dutchman made his dugout debut against Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday night, with the Gers winning 2-0 thanks to two goals from Alfredo Morelos.

They now travel to face Livingston in the Premiership as they look to potentially build on their four-point lead at the top of the table.

Time’s up

One change that the 46-year-old could make to the team is removing Joe Aribo from the starting line-up. He started against the Czech outfit but struggled to catch the eye in a positive way, which could to him being axed from the side this weekend.

The Nigeria international received a dismal SofaScore rating of 6.4 for his performance as he struggled at both sides of the game. His end product was lacking and he did not stand up to the physical questions which were asked of him.

As per SofaScore, he lost five of his nine duels and missed two ‘big chances’, whilst also hitting the crossbar with one effort. Along with that, he only completed 72% of his attempted passes and gave possession away 12 times, being dribbled past as often (once) as he completed a tackle.

He has just one goal and one assist in his last 10 competitive matches for Rangers, with both coming in a 4-2 win over Ross County earlier this month, and his time in the starting XI could now be up.

This is a disappointing run of form, given what Gers fans know the £14k-per-week gem is capable of producing. His former Charlton teammate Ezri Konsa previously praised him despite having a ‘languid’ style, saying: “Having Gerrard as his manager at Rangers, that has made him go up another level.

“Joe’s style is unique. When I was with him at Charlton he did remind me for a while of a left-footed Yaya Toure. But you don’t get a lot of midfielders like Joe, there aren’t many around.

“Like Toure, for a tall guy he’s got such great feet. But that languid style he’s got is actually fairly unique in the game.”

Last season, Aribo averaged a superb SofaScore rating of 7.13 as he produced seven goals and four assists in 27 starts in the Premiership. This shows that he is capable of consistently delivering top performances and goal contributions, which is why his current inconsistency could be frustrating for supporters.

Therefore, Van Bronckhorst must brutally axe him from the starting XI this weekend. A spell on the sidelines could do the Nigerian the world of good in terms of his motivation to earn his place in the team and get back to his best again.

AND in other news, 64% duels lost: Rangers gem who causes “real problems” let his manager down on Thursday…

Rangers are one of the clubs eyeing in-demand Scottish youngster Luke Graham, according to The Courier’s George Cran. 

The lowdown

The 18-year-old centre-back is yet to make a first-team appearance for Mark McGhee’s first team at Dundee, but his ‘stature’ and ‘ability on the ball’ have apparently caught the eye of academy recruitment staff.

Graham is currently in the midst of a week-long trial at English Championship outfit Sheffield United, who may choose to offer him a deal if they like what they see.

The latest

Sharing his article via Twitter, Cran said that Rangers are one of the ‘big clubs having a look’ at Graham, with ‘more interest’ emerging.

The Gers had scouts watching him in action on Saturday, as did their arch-rivals Celtic and Premier League giants Arsenal.

Cran wrote that Dundee ‘have a fight on their hands’ to retain Graham before he has even played for their senior team.

The verdict

If Rangers win the intensifying race for his signature, then Graham will probably slot into their B team at first, but the signing would very much be regarded as one for the future.

The Gers themselves are struggling to keep hold of one of their brightest prospects in Rory Wilson, who has resisted a lucrative deal and advances from Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Ross Wilson as he eyes a move to a Premier League club (via Football Insider).

They are now looking to prise away a coveted young starlet from Dundee, who sit bottom of the Premiership and on course to be relegated, in what is perhaps a further illustration of the footballing food chain.

In other news, Ally McCoist fumes at an ‘inexcusable’ error from one Rangers star