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West Ham United are loving life under David Moyes.

It was only 18 months ago that the Irons were staring down at the prospect of relegation but with one game to spare, the Scotsman steered the sinking east Londoners to safety.

Fast forward to now, the Hammers are in a healthy position, perhaps their strongest-ever, at least in recent years.

They have qualified for the Europa League knockout stages and sit third in the Premier League after a stunning 3-2 victory over Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, putting them tied on points with defending champions Manchester City and above the Reds as well as United.

And it hasn’t been easy.

West Ham no longer have the services of Jesse Lingard, Michail Antonio has served time on the sidelines through suspension, whilst Moyes has been dealt with numerous injury problems, the latest being Angelo Ogbonna’s devastating ACL tear picked up in that aforementioned win.

Similarly, first-choice Vladimir Coufal has endured a stint on the treatment table but in his absence, young Chadwell Heath academy graduate Ben Johnson has deputised so superbly that he may well have usurped the Czech Republic international in the pecking order.

The 21-year-old gem has started each of the Irons’ last four league games, in which they’ve recorded four successive wins, including results against Spurs and Everton, too, whilst he even scored against Aston Villa. He was also part of the starting XI for their Carabao Cup wins over United and holders City.

In fact, six of his eight appearances this term have seen Moyes’ side keep a clean sheet, so he’s proving to be an influential player.

“He’s a bit of utility player for us, he’s been here for a while,” claimed the Scotsman, via football.london. “He’s a really important player for us. In the squad and the group he’s really important. Quite often we’ve brought him on and used him in different roles and he’s had a chance to have some games under his belt, he’s not let us down and scored a good goal in midweek.”

Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville has also previously lauded him as “excellent”, whilst club insider ExWHUemployee claims he’s “very popular with the players” and that he’s “got everything.”

Johnson’s form has seen him rank as West Ham’s fourth-best performer on the season with an average WhoScored rating of 7.18, with only Declan Rice, Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio rating higher.

No player is managing more tackles per game (three), whilst he ranks second in the squad behind Rice for interceptions per game (1.6), too.

On that evidence, he’s going to be a hard man to take out of the starting XI and as such, Moyes and the Hammers may have struck gold over his emergence.

Flocking to Twitter, these Sheffield Wednesday fans were left less than impressed with the performance of defender Chey Dunkley as their side succumbed to a 1-1 draw away to Cambridge United.

Darren Moore’s side, looking to get back into contention for a Championship promotion spot, haven’t exactly got off to the best start this season and currently lie ninth in League One.

Indeed, they sit eight points off second and an automatic qualification spot with Sunderland also holding a game in hand over The Owls.

If Wednesday are to regain their English second tier status, a swift turnaround is surely needed, with some supporters feeling Dunkley was one of the main culprits to blame from their side’s draw at the Abbey Stadium.

Despite racking up a 7/10 rating on SofaScore, the 29-year-old also lost possession 14 times and won just two out of his five ground duels up against Cambridge last night.

Taking this into account, some Wednesday fans feel he certainly didn’t have his best night overall.

Find all of their verdicts on Dunkley’s display down below.

Wednesday fans hammer Dunkley display…

“#swfc drop down to 9th in

table after tonight’s 80 minutes drab performance. Came alive in last 10 but overall poor. Glad to finally come back from losing to gain a point. We need Hutchinson back ASAP. Dunkley was a liability at times.”

Credit: @VitalWednesday

“Awful. Players look like they’ve never met. No idea of the style or system. Dunkley is terrible. Moore isn’t a football manager. Awful.”

Credit: @EndeavourFP

“Wing, Johnson, dunkley not good enough, just to name a few”

Credit: @Coa17Jor

“I’ve genuinely seen U10s pass and control a ball better than Dunkley, Iorfa, Patterson, Wing and Johnson. How can they be so poor as pros??? I mean Dunkley and Iorfa can barely kick a balk straight and keep it in play!”

Credit: @RocketOwl1986

“Iorfa & Dunkley… not a patch on Hutchinson. Both donkeys who can’t even play the ball out the back.”

Credit: @bensaavage

“Just gonna say: Defence needs sorting. Either Hutch or Gibson when back fit need to replace Dunkley. Donkey of a player Relieved to get a point from a debut goal from FIZZ. top class player. On to the next. P.S – demand Moore to be sacked all you like – it ain’t gonna happen.”

Credit: @BreeseCallum

Taking to Twitter, reporter Ekrem Konur has backed some transfer news out of West Ham United involving Clermont Foot striker Mohamed Bayo.

The Lowdown: Newman in striker chase…

While manager David Moyes is coping well so far without a natural back-up option to star man Michail Antonio, there is always a worry this could change if the Jamaica international gets sidelined again.

Indeed, the 31-year-old’s injury record has proved a concern for West Ham in recent seasons and that has prompted the club to look at other options in the transfer market.

They haven’t been able to sign a new forward for the past two windows and it is surely a priority for new recruitment chief Rob Newman – who has already been linked to a couple of forwards.

Now, some news has emerged on who else he could be targeting.

The Latest: West Ham eye Bayo move…

As per Konur, West Ham ‘continue to be linked with a move’ for Ligue 1 striker Bayo – who’s prolific record over the last few seasons has turned heads.

The reporter even dubs him ‘the new Lukaku’ as Newman and co apparently eye a swoop – coming after he played a starring role in securing Clermont a promotion to France’s top flight last season.

He scored 22 goals and assisted seven others in 38 Ligue 2 appearances over 2020/2021, attracting West Ham’s alleged interest.

The Verdict: Best option?

Despite his fairly eye-catching record of 44 senior career goals since 2018/2019, and the fact Bayo has labelled himself a ‘big’ striker, we believe Moyes and Newman could be served looking elsewhere.

Andrea Belotti, for instance, should be at the very top of West Ham’s priority list given his contract situation at Torino and proven goalscoring record at both club and international level.

In other news: ‘Disgrace’, ‘Get him gone’…Many West Ham fans slam ‘painful player’ after ‘shocking’ Genk display, find out more here.

As per Football Insider, Tottenham Hotspur have set their sights on England international Sam Johnstone, with one mainstay’s future now in ‘major doubt’.

The Lowdown: Lloris’ future up in the air

Hugo Lloris, signed by chairman Daniel Levy in the summer of 2012, has been a long-standing Tottenham servant and fixture in the starting line up, playing every single Premier League match so far this season.

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However, with the 34-year-old Frenchman’s deal due to expire next year, it now remains to be seen whether this season is indeed his last in a Spurs shirt.

As such, the club and its managing director Fabio Paratici are keeping their eyes peeled for worthy replacements, with fresh reports about Johnstone coming to the fore.

The Latest: Spurs eye Lloris replacement…

Despite signing Atalanta shot stopper Pierluigi Gollini on a season-long loan with the option to buy, it appears that Spurs have a contingency plan as they set their sights on Johnstone.

Having recently established himself both at club level and with England, the 28-year-old is firmly on Tottenham’s watchlist. A senior Lilywhites scout is even said to have watched him in action as recently as last week when his West Brom side took on Preston North End.

Spurs are now believed to be compiling a dossier on Johnstone with the view to making a move, according to Football Insider.

The Verdict: Ideal?

Even though Gollini hasn’t really been given his chance to prove whether he is worthy of taking the mantle from Lloris, you could argue that signing Johnstone is a no-brainer going by his homegrown status.

West Brom were also apparently willing to accept around £15m for the goalkeeper last summer, arguably a bargain price given his status as a Three Lions international and his concession rate of just 0.66 goals per game in the Championship so far this term (six in nine games).

He has also been called ‘world class’ by Wolverhampton Wanderers legend Steve Bull (This is Futbol), so could he be the perfect Lloris replacement in N17? They could probably do a lot worse.

In other news: Levy plan to offload big name Spurs player emerges as source leaks damning Hotspur Way behaviour, find out more here.

Phillip Hughes might possess Test and first-class averages nudging 70, but he still admits to nerves on the eve of Australia’s Ashes squad announcement

Alex Brown18-May-2009Phillip Hughes might possess Test and first-class averages nudging 70, but he still admits to nerves on the eve of Australia’s Ashes squad announcement. Hughes will be confirmed as Simon Katich’s opening partner when Andrew Hilditch names the 16-man touring party on Wednesday, but is loath to pre-empt the selectors’ decision.”You still love to see the team and know that you’re there,” Hughes told Cricinfo. “You don’t want to take things too lightly. Obviously I’d love to see the team and see myself in it.”Hughes has been in superb touch for Middlesex of late, producing his fourth century of the English summer on Sunday in a limited-overs match against Somerset. His innings of 119 from 112 deliveries propelled Middlesex to their highest ever one-day total, and followed a sequence of three centuries in as many first-class fixtures, culminating in an astonishing record of 574 runs at 143.50.Hughes’ sublime efforts on the county scene have hardly surprised Australian audiences, who marveled as he reeled off consecutive innings of 75, 115 and 160 in his maiden Test series in South Africa. In his 24 first-class appearances to date, he has compiled ten centuries, and will be heavily relied upon to lead the Australian batting order in England.When Australia surrendered the Ashes urn in 2005, Hughes was completing his year 10 studies at Macksville High School on the north coast of New South Wales. Now, he is set to re-unite with Katich at the top of the order, and will look to continue the form that helped guide Australia to a surprise 2-1 victory in South Africa.”I’ve obviously spent a fair bit of time with Simon at New South Wales over the last 12-18 months,” Hughes said. “We’ve formed a good relationship on and off the field. That really helps, when you get along like that. We’ve batted in the middle together for a while now, and it’s always great when you go to that next level … to go out and open the batting with him. It definitely did help a little bit.”Hughes has used his time with Middlesex to develop an understanding of local pitch conditions – his only previous trip to England was for a three-week carnival with the New South Wales under-17 team – and develop a mental dossier on some of the England players he will face, not least his Middlesex team-mate, Andrew Strauss.He has also taken the opportunity to speak with Justin Langer, currently on duty with Somerset. Like Langer, Hughes is a prolific left-hand opener with an unfashionable technique, and the elder has taken his successor under his wing.”I’ll be catching up with him again and we’ll be going for dinner,” Hughes said prior to Sunday’s one-day match. “He’s a great guy and he’s been great for me. We met up earlier on this trip to England, and spoke a bit during the South African series. He asks me about England, how I’m enjoying it, and just about general life. The big thing he tells me is to be myself. He says that this is the technique that got you to this level, so keep being yourself and keep enjoying it. It’s great to talk to Justin.”Blog with Alex Brown on the Ashes squad between 10.30am and 12.30pm (AEST) on Wednesday

كشفت تقارير صحفية إسبانية، أن يوفنتوس وبرشلونة في مفاوضات بشأن تعاقد النادي الإيطالي مع مهاجم البلوجرانا، ممفيس ديباي خلال الصيف الجاري.

ممفيس ديباي انضم إلى برشلونة في الصيف الماضي قادمًا من ليون بعد نهاية عقده، لكنه خلال موسم مع البلوجرانا لم يقدم المستوى المنتظر منه.

صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية، أكدت أن هناك مفاوضات بين يوفنتوس وبرشلونة على ضم اللاعب الهولندي، على سبيل الإعارة لمدة موسم، مع إلزامية الشراء مقابل 20 مليون يورو.

طالع أيضًا.. قرار رونالدو يؤثر على خطة تعاقدات يوفنتوس الصيفية  يوفنتوس يريد توفير الأموال هذا الصيف، ومن أجل أن ينسجم اللاعب الهولندي مع البيانكونيري في الموسم المقبل.

تشير الصحيفة الإسبانية، إلى أن رسالة تشافي جعلت اللاعب يفكر في الرحيل، ولكن ينتظر العرض الأفضل، وضمان اللعب أساسيًا.

يوفنتوس يمتلك في الهجوم دوسان فلاهوفيتش، ويبحث عن بديل لـ ألفارو موراتا الذي عاد إلى أتلتيكو مدريد الصيف الجاري بعد انتهاء إعارته.

An explosive five-wicket haul from Essex’s Jamaican-born pacemanMaurice Chambers blew away Sussex’s middle-order to hand acomfortable 47-run win and catapult his side into Wednesday’s Pro ArchTrophy final

Mark Pennell23-Mar-2009
ScorecardAn explosive five-wicket haul from Essex’s Jamaican-born pacemanMaurice Chambers blew away Sussex’s middle-order to hand acomfortable 47-run win and catapult his side into Wednesday’s Pro ArchTrophy final.Chambers, 21, bowled three hostile spells from both ends of the Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi to claim 5-42 and dash anySussex hopes of qualifying from the knock-out stages. In pursuit of 274, Sussex made a poor start in losing both their century-makers from the weekend, Ed Joyce and Chris Nash, early on. Joyce feathered a leg-cutter from David Masters through to the keeper to go for nine then Nash, after looking good for his 40 from 43 balls, suffered his second run-out of the event. Sent back by Michael Yardy seeking a quick single, he lost the race against Ryan ten Doeschate’s return to the keeper. Yardy tried to make amendss with a typically quirky yet effective 64-ball half-century but soon after Chambers struck by having the left-hander athletically caught at cover by a sprawling Matt Walker.Robin Martin-Jenkins skied a hurried pull from the next delivery to James Foster and, once top-scorer Ben Brown (65) flat batted acatch to point, the Sussex tail succumbed meekly thereafter as Chambers wrapped up the win with 26 balls to spare.With a beaming smile, Chambers said afterwards: “The lads at Essex are showing a lot of confidence in me but at the end of the day it’s down to the individual to push himself forward. I enjoy bowling, it’s something I love to do and I want to keep ondoing it and putting in those sorts of performances for Essex.”It was a pretty flat wicket to be honest, so I just tried to adapt to the situation and the conditions as quickly as I could by hitting thedeck just back of a length and get it to go away from the batsman.”Though he missed out on a hat-trick, he was taken off by his skipper Mark Pettini after taking two in two and re-introduced half-an-hour later, and Chambers had no doubt as to which of the five scalps hetreasured most: the Sussex captain, Yardy.”His batting style is something else! He’s a hard person to bowl at because it looks like he’s coming at you every ball. I just tried to dosomething different by going around the wicket.”It proved a frustrating day for Sussex who were not really at their best with either bat or ball. Having removed Pettini (14) and Jaik Mickleburgh (1) inside 10 overs, they allowed Eagles to break their stranglehold courtesy of a third-wicket stand of 80 in 14 overs between Jason Gallian and Matt Walker, Gallian ‘s 70 included 10 fours and in going for an 11th he checkedthe drive and succeeded in picking out Ed Joyce at long-off.Walker, who needed hospital treatment for dehydration after his fifty last Tuesday, again reached the milestone this time from58 balls, but in attempting to work to leg he left leg stump exposed to Martin-Jenkins. As was the case in their opening game of the tournament, the Essex innings was given the necessary impetus by ten Doeschate who was only 16 short of a deserved ton when he fell leg- before to Chris Liddle, but by then Essex were already well on theirway to the final.

Some Manchester United fans have been left fuming as an update emerged on Jadon Sancho.

As per the Red Devils’ official website, the former Borussia Dortmund star will miss England’s remaining September fixtures at home to Andorra and away to Poland respectively.

He missed the 4-0 win in Hungary on Thursday because he sustained a slight injury in training, and it appears to be more serious than first thought given that he has had to withdraw from the England squad.

Manchester United fans will surely be hoping that Sancho can recover in time for them to play Newcastle in their first game back after the international break next Saturday, especially with the prospect of linking up with Cristiano Ronaldo on the veteran’s second Old Trafford debut.

Manchester United fans on Sancho update

These United supporters fumed as the news about Sancho was shared on Twitter, with one fan calling it ‘unbelievable’:

“Noooo!!!!! Why now?!”

Credit: @AdebisiIsrael12

“the universe is against us”

Credit: @eldad__

“This is why I hate international breaks”

Credit: @NAKEDI_NKD

“Ahhhh man”

Credit: @t7891011

“The Manchester curse has hit him… injuries!!!”

Credit: @KoreanKiwi1989

“Shocking. Unbelievable. Devastating”

Credit: @DumVardi

In other news, lots of Man Utd fans slammed this player’s display against Wolves

Tottenham Hotspur are set to hand midfielder Oliver Skipp an improved contract deal, according to The Scottish Sun.

The Lowdown: Developing well

The 21-year-old has been a near ever-present figure in Nuno Espirito Santo’s side this season after breaking into the squad off the back of a successful loan spell in the Championship with Norwich City.

After making his senior debut in a 3-1 Carabao Cup victory over West Ham United in October 2018, Skipp has made 29 appearances for the club and has started four of Spurs’ opening five league games.

Despite only signing a four-year contract extension last summer, the £25,000-per-week midfielder could be set to land another new deal.

The Latest: New deal on the table

According to The Scottish Sun, Tottenham want to reward Skipp for emerging as a first team regular by increasing his wages to between £35,000 and £40,000 per week.

Norwich’s move for a permanent deal never happened due to Spurs’ high regard for the midfielder and the club were willing to listen to offers for Harry Winks due to the 21-year-old’s emergence.

The report claimed that the deal would run until 2025, when Skipp will be 25 years of age.

The Verdict: Skipp on the rise for Spurs

Skipp didn’t start in Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Chelsea and the midfield battle was easily won by Thomas Tuchel’s side without his presence.

Labelled ‘perfect’ by Norwich manager Daniel Farke last season, Skipp’s early season performances have had many Spurs fans praising the academy graduate. He has completed 35.8 (89%) of his passes per game and had formed a good partnership with Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the club’s opening few games.

With Skipp being a constant figure in the England under-21 squad, his aspirations will be to make the step up to Gareth Southgate’s squad, and he will need to be playing weekly in the Premier League to attract the interest of the England boss.

A new contract and renewed trust handed to him by Spurs should go some way towards helping him in that aim.

In other news, some Tottenham fans have erupted over the official FIFA 22 rankings for their players. Find out more here.

Slavisa Jokanovic has dropped an update on Sheffield United’s remaining summer transfer business.

What’s been said?

In recent comments cited by The Star, the Blades boss revealed that he would like to make another four or five signings between now and the closure of the summer transfer window next Tuesday.

The report goes on to mention the fact that United’s only signing since the 53-year-old manager’s arrival at Bramall Lane has been the addition of Liverpool centre-back Ben Davies on a season-long loan deal, while the Serbian has also seen a move for Sampdoria midfielder Ronaldo Vieira fall through.

Addressing the remainder of Sheffield United’s transfer business, Jokanovic said: “I want four or five new players. It’s not important if it’s close or not because we’re [only] days until the end and we urgently need new faces, fresh blood. We need more confidence to be competitive for everything that is ahead of us.”

Music to the ears of fans

Considering just how poorly United have started their 2021/22 Championship campaign, picking up just one point and scoring a single goal over their opening four fixtures of the season, it is indeed evident that the Blades are in need of further additions to their first-team squad ahead of Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

And, considering the fact that Jokanovic recently sanctioned the £24m sale of Aaron Ramsdale, the Serbian manager’s comments suggesting that he is looking to reinvest this money in the current market are sure to be music to the ears of the Bramall Lane faithful.

Indeed, the Blades squad appears to be lacking depth in a number of areas of the pitch, with the signing of a new first-choice goalkeeper, a central midfielder and at least two wingers looking to be the priority positions for the 53-year-old in the coming days.

As such, if the United boss can indeed plug these particular gaps in his squad prior to the closure of the summer transfer window next week, it would undoubtedly be a huge boost for the Blades, who are very much in need of a spark to kickstart their Championship campaign.

In other news: Jokanovic heading for his biggest SUFC transfer mistake to date, fans will be livid