Evening news round-up for Wednesday 30/11/16 by 337hammer.
Sakho out for six weeks and could put West Ham on a collision course with the Senegalese FA.
The striker underwent a scan on Tuesday, which revealed the extent of the problem, and a club statement has now confirmed that he will be out until the New Year. “The injury will keep him out of contention for up to six weeks, revealed the Hammers. “Everyone at West Ham United wishes him a speedy recovery and quick return to action.” Hammers chief Bilic admitted that Sakho’s loss was “a big blow.” But now West Ham may face a fight with the Senegalese Football Federation ahead of the 2017 African Cup of Nations.
Sakho is expected to return to action in early January – with the tournament kicking off in Gabon on January 14. Sakho and his country have had an on-again, off-again relationship since his debut in 2014, with the striker angering the SFF after pulling out of the 2015 tournament with an injury – only to then play for West Ham while the competition was going on. The Hammers were fined £71,000 and reprimanded by FIFA after Sakho appeared in the FA Cup win over Bristol City, Sakho scoring the only goal. mirror.co.uk
West Ham set to bid £25m for Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson.
West Ham are preparing an offer worth up to £25m for Bournemouth’s Callum Wilson. Wilson has emerged as manager Slaven Bilic’s main priority in the January transfer window after a poor start to the season that has left West Ham just one point clear of the relegation zone after more than a third of the season gone. Despite spending heavily on the loan acquisitions of Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri in the summer, Senegal international Sakho became the club’s first striker to score a goal this season in the 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Saturday.
However, Bournemouth are likely to be heavily resistant to any move for their top scorer having rejected a bid of around £15m from West Ham for the former Coventry striker in May. theguardian.com
Chelsea and West Ham could do transfer business in January: Player interested in a move.
The Bosnian is second choice behind Thibaut Courtois at Stamford Bridge and is unlikely to unseat the Belgian as the club’s No.1. So West Ham are planning to make a bid for the former Stoke man in January, potentially on loan, according to ESPN. Begovic would be interested in a move to gain regular first-team football, but at the moment it is unclear whether a loan offer would be accepted by Chelsea. dailystar.co.uk
Bilic: Mourinho kicked the bottle too well!
Jose Mourinho’s bottle tantrum may have landed him with an FA charge, but his technique impressed West Ham counterpart Slaven Bilic. Mourinho became incensed when Paul Pogba was booked for diving and kicked a bottle in frustration before Moss ordered him to leave the technical area. Bilic offered some sympathy towards his counterpart and felt that his clean connection made the offence unfortunately clear.
“It was a great volley to be fair. He should have miskicked it – he hit it too well!” Bilic said ahead of the teams’ EFL Cup quarter-final clash on Wednesday. “I have sympathy with him because of the situation with Pogba, it was a great decision from the referee but from our point of view it did not look like a dive. “Many times I have seen those bottles in front of me and many times I have gone to smash them and stopped in the last second.” fourfourtwo.com
Ashley Fletcher interview:
“The decision to leave was probably made more or less before Jose had come in,” he said. “I had obviously spoken with Nicky Butt, who was the head of the academy at the time, Warren Joyce and people who were above in the board, John Alexander and Ed Woodward. I just thought the decision was right for me and for my family; it was time for me to go and make a career for myself.
“Manchester United offered me a new contract, but in terms of what I wanted, it was not right. It wasn’t about anything financial, it was just about my career and my progress. What they were offering and their ambitions for me did not match mine. skysports.com
What’s going on at West Ham?
Concerns have been raised over security in and around the London Stadium – formerly the Olympic Stadium – following violence and disorder at West Ham United football matches. Stewarding and segregation arrangements, and the lack of police presence in the ground have been criticised. The wider Olympic Park is used for residential, recreational and business purposes and has a high footfall. Large numbers of people in a single space creates a range of policing and security issues: including overcrowding; public order; and protection from a terrorist attack.
The Police and Crime Committee will tomorrow discuss policing and security in and around the London Stadium, speaking with organisations responsible for the stadium and surrounding area. london.gov.uk
West Ham academy rundown: 5 stars tipped for first-team breakthrough in 2017.
REECE OXFORD – DEFENCE. One of the hottest prospects within the Hammers Academy system at present is 17-year-old Reece Oxford, who has already had a taste of the luxury first-team lifestyle over the past 18 months.
JOSH CULLEN – MIDFIELD. Another hot prospect, Josh Cullen is currently showing his qualities within the Football League structure at League One side Bradford City, where he has already made 14 appearances and scored one goal this season.
MARTIN SAMUELSEN – MIDFIELD. Yet another extremely popular name in West Ham’s academy at the moment is Norwegian winger Martin Samuelsen, who only moved into English football back in 2010 when he signed for Manchester City.
TONI MARTINEZ – ATTACK. Next in our list of hot prospects is young Spanish goal-machine Antonio Martinez, who joined the Hammers in July 2016 for £2.4m from Valencia – a club where he scored over 100 goals in four seasons for the Los Che youth teams.
DJAIR PARFITT-WILLIAMS – ATTACK. The final contender in our list of Academy hot prospects is Bermudan-born attacking midfielder Djair Parfitt-Williams, who joined the club prior to 2012 after being spotted by former player Clyde Best. Djair went straight into West Ham’s U18 squad and stayed there for the next couple of seasons, becoming one of the leading lights at the academy with his dominance in attack and constant goal threat. essexlive.news
Forgotten man Enner Valencia hopes Christmas schedule will kick-star Everton loan.
Valencia, 27, has made just one start for Everton in the EFL Cup since joining on loan from West Ham on transfer deadline day. The Ecuador striker feels he may finally get his opportunity when boss Ronald Koeman rotates his squad to cope with their run of six games in 23 days over Christmas and New Year. “Hopefully I can play more games in this busy time over Christmas,” he told evertonfc.com. “I really want to be a part of the team and hopefully there will be a lot of rotation with players coming in and out. Hopefully I can play my part. mirror.co.uk