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Many West Ham United fans are delighted with the news that the Irons have verbally agreed a fee with Chelsea for the signing of Kurt Zouma.

The transfer window is fast approaching its end after several months, and the Hammers remain one of the quietest clubs in the Premier League in terms of new arrivals. In fact, they have so far been unable to bring in a new outfield player, with only goalkeeper Alphonse Areola making the move to the London Stadium (Transfermarkt).

However, there may be some positive news on the horizon for the Irons. According to David Ornstein, West Ham have verbally agreed a fee of £25.7m for Zouma. At the moment, there are issues in regards to the £28.8m-valued France international ‘s wage demands (Transfermarkt), with the 26-year-old reportedly said to be looking for £125,000 per week.

It seems that many West Ham fans are delighted by news of the agreement, and these supporters took to social media platform Twitter to share their thoughts on the prospective arrival of the Premier League and Champions League winner at the London Stadium.

Let’s see what these fans had to say about the Zouma news

“I’d love him at West Ham. Think there’s too many harsh critics out there. Fingers crossed we get it over the line!”

Credit: @MattWaite5

“Hope so, be a good signing for us”

Credit: @Titcomb27

“Get the deal done, crying out for someone to partner Ogbonna, we pay Yarmo 120k a week, why can’t we pay Zouma 125k”

Credit: @joecronin1999

“Sign Zouma”

Credit: @FCarruthers

“Please sign Zouma. Please sign Zouma. Please sign Zouma””

Credit: @Ginger_nols

“Pay it, whilst your at it give rice double that”

Credit: @sammhadgraft

In other news, West Ham are also interested in this Brazil international.

A move from West Brom to the Bundesliga would make sense for Matheus Pereira, journalist Luke Hatfield has told Football FanCast.

The 25-year-old Brazilian is currently attracting a lot of interest, including from Saudi Arabia.

According to Ekrem Konur, who reports on football transfers, Al-Hilal have made an attempt to sign Pereira this summer at the request of manager Leonardo Jardim.

West Ham are also thought to be keen on the Pereira’s signature as they struggle to tie up a deal for Jesse Lingard, with the Daily Express claiming that the club have now held talks with the player’s representatives.

And Hatfield believes a move there or to Germany, where Pereira played during the 2018/19 season with FC Nurnberg, is the more logical option.

“I think a move to Germany or the Premier League makes more sense,” the Express & Star reporter said. “He knows the German league; he’s been there before. If a club’s willing to spend the money on him, then it makes sense.”

If a move to a Premier League club does not materialise for whatever reason, then surely Pereira ends up in another top European league like the Bundesliga.

The former Sporting Lisbon man, who scored 11 goals in English football’s top flight last season, has too much talent to move to Saudi Arabia at this stage of his career.

Leeds United are continuing to monitor Sampdoria powerhouse Omar Colley, although they are now set to face significant transfer competition for him.

What’s the story?

It has been suggested in recent weeks that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are interested in signing the Gambia international in the upcoming summer transfer window as they look to strengthen the centre of their defence.

Italian publication Il Secolo XIX had claimed (via Sport Witness) that Leeds’ scouts have been left impressed by Colley and that they are now serious about signing him.

SampNews24 have now revealed that, along with the Whites, the likes of Newcastle and West Ham are also said to be monitoring the defender, and Sampdoria could look to cash in on him in order to raise funds for signings elsewhere.

Imagine him and Llorente

Given that Leeds signed two established centre-backs in the shape of Robin Koch and Diego Llorente just last summer, it seems somewhat surprising that Victor Orta and co are looking to sign another proven central defender – especially when they also have club captain Liam Cooper and the likes of Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk, both of whom can fill in there too.

Last season saw Colley win 2.6 aerial duels per match, which would hypothetically rank him second among Leeds’ squad for 2020/21, with only Cooper averaging higher with 3.8 per game.

The 1.92m (6 foot 3) monster appears to have the kind of defensive strengths which would make him a formidable opponent for opposition attackers to overcome – indeed, his average of only being dribbled past 0.3 times per game is better than any current Leeds outfield player last season.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, Serie A expert Conor Clancy delivered his backing behind a potential move, saying: “I don’t think he’d be starting ahead of him but he might be a good partner to Llorente. With Sampdoria, he really, really struggled, but with Maya Yoshida beside him, he’s looked a much better player.

“I think you can put that down to Yoshida just being that calming presence, that person who’s able to talk him through games a little bit.”

A partnership of Llorente and Colley at the back would give Leeds a perfect blend of qualities, with the former the ball-playing defender capable of playing passes into midfield, and the latter offering more defensive solidity alongside him.

Meanwhile, Phil Hay claims Leeds are interested in this starlet…

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in a deal to bring Mikkel Damsgaard to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Club Doria 46 (via Sport Witness), who claim that Fabio Paratici wants to make the UC Sampdoria winger his “first thunderous shot” as Tottenham’s new director of football.

The report goes on to state that the Italian is a big fan of the 21-year-old and attempted to sign him during his time at Juventus, while Leeds United, Southampton, Crystal Palace and West Ham United are all also thought to be considering a move for the Denmark international in the summer transfer window.

Fans should be buzzing

Having highly impressed with Denmark at Euro 2020, the fact that Paratici appears so keen on landing Damsgaard as his first signing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this summer should have fans buzzing.

Indeed, over his five appearances for Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark side this summer, the £11.7m-rated man scored two goals, registered one assist and created one big chance for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.8 shots and making 1.2 key passes per game.

The 21-year-old winger also proved a huge help for his side in a defensive capacity, making an average of 1.6 interceptions and 1.2 tackles per fixture, as well as winning possession 1.4 times and 4.6 duels in each game.

These metrics saw the £2.9k-per-week winger earn a rather remarkable average SofaScore match rating of 7.28, ranking him as Denmark’s joint best performer in the tournament, playing a key role in his side reaching the semi-finals of the competition.

As such, it would certainly appear as if the man Kasper Schmeichel dubbed a “phenomenal” player would indeed be a fantastic first signing for Paratici to get over the line for Spurs, however, with a considerable amount of interest from a number of fellow Premier League sides, the Italian will have to act quickly if he is to land the winger this summer.

In other news: Spurs dealt big transfer blow over “very strong” Paratici target, fans will be furious

West Bromwich Albion goalkeeper Josh Griffiths is set to leave The Hawthorns this summer to head out on loan.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to talkSPORT journalist Alex Crook, who passed on the transfer news on via a post on Twitter, reporting that the 19-year-old shot-stopper looks set to join Lincoln City on a season-long loan deal in the coming days.

Crook also claimed that the England U21 international has signed a new four-year deal with Valerien Ismael’s side, ensuring the ‘keeper will remain contracted at the club until the summer of 2025.

Good news for West Brom

Having highly impressed while out on loan at Cheltenham Town last season, the fact that Griffiths looks set to make a step up in division next term, especially with a team such as Michael Appleton’s Lincoln City, is extremely good news for West Brom.

Indeed, over his 44 League Two appearances for Michael Duff’s side last time out, Griffiths helped his team keep a whopping 21 clean sheets and conceded just 37 goals, as well as making an average of two saves and 0.4 successful runs out per game.

These returns saw the £450k-rated man earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 6.87, ranking him as the Robins’ ninth-best performer in the fourth tier of English football, playing a key role in the club’s title-winning campaign.

As such, if the man Andy Wilcox claimed has a “big future” in the game can continue this level of performance while at Lincoln next season, it would appear to bode extremely well for the gaolkeepers’ chances of coming back to West Brom next summer and fighting for a place in Ismael’s first team.

And, with Sam Johnstone being heavily linked with a move away from The Hawthorns this summer, the club could well be in need of a new long term shot-stopper sooner rather than later, with Griffiths representing a young, home-grown and cost-effective option for the role.

In other news: West Brom handed transfer boost on “talented” £3k-p/w machine, Ismael will be buzzing

The cancellation of Australia’s tour of Pakistan could have been foretold, much before the terrorists struck in Murree and Taxila. Once the principle of neutral venues had been accepted, the tour was off.After all, it was the Australians who had refused to play in Sri Lanka in the 1996 World Cup and they had taken the West Indies along with them.In many respects, the Australians are like the Americans, they feel safe among their own. I cannot, in all conscience, say that their concerns for their players were unfounded.Of course, the terrorists can strike and, on the face of it, Pakistan seems to have become a high-risk country and that’s the view that one would get from the Diplomatic Enclave in Islamabad. But from the measures that the United States is adopting in the name of Homeland Security, the United States too would be a high-risk country. But international sports events are not being cancelled and the US Open tennis tournament is due to get underway in New York in a few days time. New York is the city where the World Trade Centre was located and which is now called Ground-Zero. But everyone is entitled to his own perception of danger.When I went to Nairobi, some 20 years ago, the hotel manager advised me not to go walking about at any time of day or night for fear that I might get mugged. I don’t know what it is like these days but when I went to South Africa many years later, I stayed in my hotel in the evenings and even so the Pakistan team’s physio was mugged on the grounds of the hotel which was in a posh suburb. Danger lurks in many forms but you can’t opt out of life because danger exists.Some of the Australian players have been vocal about not touring Pakistan. One of them has been Mark Waugh. He has good reasons to give Pakistan a miss, provided he would have been selected. It was in Pakistan that he claimed that Salim Malik had offered him (and Shane Warne) a huge sum of money to “tank” the Karachi Test match.At that time, he did not disclose his relationship with a bookie who was then simply called John but who turned out to be a major player in gambling on cricket matches.Mark Waugh and Warne’s association with Mr John had not been one-off and he regularly received ‘pocket money’ from John for providing him with ‘innocent’ information!Twin-brother Steve has blown hot and cold about Australia’s tour, as if, getting signals or reading the mind of the Australian Cricket Board.Pakistan must now decide on a neutral venue. Last week, I had recommended that this option be shut out as I had wanted Pakistan to call the tour off. Now the Australians have beaten us to the punch. It re-arranges the scenery on the stage. If the Test matches are to be played at a neutral venue, so be it.The victory has already been handed to the terrorists and Australian troops who are in Afghanistan, as a part of a coalition military force, would have every right to wonder what they are doing there, putting their lives on the line. Pakistan is a victim of terrorist attacks because it too is a part of that coalition. Perhaps, the Australian High Commission in Islamabad is not aware of this.India has blooded a new wicket-keeper, Parthiv Patel, who is 17 years and some months old. The excitement shown at picking such a young player is such that one gets the impression that the Indian tour selection committee has invented sliced bread.Patel looks even younger than his age, as did Sachin Tendulkar when he toured Pakistan in 1989. But to us in Pakistan, catching them young is routine. Hanif Mohammad was 17 years and 300 days old when he was picked for Pakistan in 1952. Some of us forget that he was not only a batsman but first-choice wicket keeper.We now remember Hanif as one of the great batsman of his time. But his brother Mushtaq was even younger when he first played for Pakistan against the West Indies and Wes Hall in Lahore.There has been Khalid Hasan who played for Pakistan in England in 1954, Hasib Ahsan and Nasimul Ghani who were probably school boys when taken on Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies.Zaheer Abbas too looked terribly young when I first cast eyes on him and he went on to make a thundering double century on Pakistan’s tour of England in 1971. But the crown rests on the head of Hasan Raza who was 13 years and some months when he wore the Pakistan cap, prompting a lyrical editorial in The Times of London.The Indian school-boy Patel, looks a fine prospect and may turn out to be another Wasim Bari. Bari too was very young when he toured England in 1967 but one look at him and one knew that he would go on to be one of the best the cricket world would see. But Patel must not be spoilt because he hasn’t even started to shave. Test cricket is serious business and no quarter is given. But once selected, he should be persevered with, something we did not do with Hasan Raza.

Helder Costa will leave Leeds United if they sign Adama Traore from Wolves this summer, according to former England striker Kevin Phillips.

The Lowdown: Costa struggles for playing time

The Whites enjoyed a triumphant return to the Premier League last season, finithing ninth in the table and playing some eye-catching football.

Numerous players had key roles for Leeds throughout the campaign, but Costa was more of a peripheral figure, starting just 13 league games.

The Portuguese has been linked with a move away from Elland Road this summer, even though his current deal doesn’t expire until 2024.

[freshpress-quiz id=“359346″]

The Latest: Winger tipped to leave

Speaking to Football Insider, Phillips claimed he could see Costa moving on during the summer transfer window, especially if Leeds-linked Wolves winger Traore signed for the Whites:

“The way it’s looking at the moment, it would, unfortunately, probably be him.

“It would be quite ironic that he was at Wolves and it might well be another Wolves player coming in for him as well.

“It’s amazing how football works out like that sometimes, isn’t it?”

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The Verdict: Time for a fresh challenge

Costa is a player who boasts plenty of quality – he has been described as ‘very talented’ by former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo and still ended the league season with six goal involvements despite rarely starting – but now is the right time for him to move on.

That’s regardless of whether or not Leeds sign Traore, with the 27-year-old not an essential part of Marcelo Bielsa’s plans.

Given Costa’s aforementioned contract situation, Leeds should be able to receive a hefty fee for him too, with that money possibly being spent on new signings.

In other news, one Leeds player has been receiving some harsh criticism from a Premier League legend – find out who it is here.

Liam Kennedy has dropped an enticing revelation on the Newcastle United takeover consortium involving Rafa Benitez, after big news emerged about the Spaniard’s future.

The Lowdown: Benitez Everton bound

As per football broadcaster Jim White, Benitez is reportedly on the brink of becoming the new manager at Everton after talks.

A controversial move for sure given his past connections with Liverpool, the Spaniard will look to bring the success he wanted in the North East to Goodison Park instead.

The Latest: Consortium wanted Benitez

According to Kennedy, who has been following the whole takeover saga closely, Benitez was wanted by the potential owners-in waiting at St. James’ Park, as he helped bring them to the table.

Kennedy thinks that it is a ‘shame’ that the 61-year-old could be heading to the Toffees instead, given his connections with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) group.

The Verdict: Shame indeed

It is certainly a shame that Benitez looks to be heading to the Blues, as he could have been the perfect fit to take over from Steve Bruce should he have been cast aside by the potential new owners.

A lot of members of the Toon Army have previously called for him to come back, and so he would certainly be a popular appointment and an easy way for the potential new owners to get fans on side.

Benitez has a vast amount of experience in managing in the Premier League, with sides with big transfer budgets like Liverpool and Chelsea, and so he would have had few problems in handling the likely abundance of riches that would come with the takeover.

In other news, find out why the top flight have been slammed for their handling of the potential takeover here!

Jesse Lingard should ‘be careful not to price himself out of the market’ by demanding a pay rise, Danny Mills has warned.

The former Leeds and Manchester City right-back was speaking to Football Insider about the 28-year-old situation with West Ham.

The lowdown

Lingard spent the second half of the 2020/21 season on loan at the London Stadium and the move was a huge success. The Englishman was directly involved in 16 goals (nine goals, five assists) in as many appearances for the Irons.

Football Insider claimed that West Ham are hopeful of signing the 28-year-old on a permanent deal, and that Lingard himself is reportedly keen on such a move. However, one of his conditions is said to be a salary hike which could potentially make him the club’s highest-paid player.

Andriy Yarmolenko currently tops West Ham’s list of earners with £115,000-per-week wages.

The latest

Mills has said that West Ham must be careful not to alienate other players by acquiescing to Lingard’s demands. He also questioned whether the 28-year-old has done enough to merit the improved terms, having previously fallen well down the pecking order at Manchester United.

The 44-year-old told Football Insider: “Of course he’s going to ask to be one of the best-paid players because his stock is high at the moment.

“But can you expect to be paid more than Declan Rice for example? No, you can’t.

“There are other players who would have their noses put out of joint if he earns more than anyone else.

“There’s no reason why he doesn’t deserve what he’s on. But I’m not sure who else is going to give him a rise or a big rise.

“Yes, you have to do what’s best for yourself but just be careful not to price yourself out of the market.”

The verdict

It’s a little surprising that Lingard wants more money. While he made a vital contribution to West Ham’s successful European bid, he seemed like a player who recaptured a pure love of football, often wearing a beaming smile during his time with the Irons.

If anything, you would have anticipated a willingness to take a pay cut to make a move happen.

The beauty for West Ham, though, is that the revenue boost of qualification for the Europa League might enable them to not only hand Lingard a pay rise, but to offer wage increases to a number of other key players as well, which should quell Mills’ concerns about noses being put out of joint.

In other news, Noel Whelan is wowed by this West Ham target. 

Critics of the policy of allowing Bangladesh ‘A’ to participate in theBusta Cup on the grounds that they would lower the standards of thecompetition received a fine reply when the touring side had Trinidad &Tobago on the mat for much of their

Staff Reporter14-Feb-2002Critics of the policy of allowing Bangladesh ‘A’ to participate in theBusta Cup on the grounds that they would lower the standards of thecompetition received a fine reply when the touring side had Trinidad &Tobago on the mat for much of their third round tie at Tobago.Although they had not fared too well in the previous two rounds,Bangladesh ‘A’ seemed to have picked themselves up. Put in to bat,they made 238 in the first innings, and at the time it looked as ifthey would repeat the pattern established in the previous two games.But their bowlers had other ideas, dismissing Trinidad & Tobago for205 and gaining a slender first-innings lead of 33 runs.Bangladesh’s second-innings effort was marginally better than theirfirst, but their total of 259 was enough to set their rivals a targetof 293 in the fourth innings. The visitors even looked like winningthe match when they dismissed three batsmen for 25 runs, but skipperRichard Smith hit an unbeaten 50 to guide his side to a draw.Bangladesh picked up six points from the drawn encounter, whileTrinidad & Tobago picked up three.At Jamaica, the hosts vanquished Busta champions Barbados by aninnings and 39 runs to pick 12 points from the match. Bowling first,Jamaica dismissed Barbados for only 179, with Floyd Reifer offeringlone resistance in making 91. Fast bowler Darren Powell was the maindestroyer of the Bajans’ innings, taking 5-28 off 11.3 overs.Jamaica’s batsmen then rubbed salt into the wound by scoring 351 intheir own first innings. Ricardo Powell’s 85 shone out in a solidmiddle-order performance. Leading by 172 runs, Jamaica had a decisiveupper hand, but Barbados supporters must have been shocked at the waytheir side collapsed in the second innings for only 133. The highestindividual score was 35, and the folding of the visitors gave Jamaicaa vital 12 points from their third round.The play was less lopsided in St Vincent, where Guyana took onWindward Islands. Winning the toss, Windwards opted to bat first, butopener Devon Smith was the only batsman to make the most of theadvantage. Smith made 99 before becoming the ninth wicket to fall, andWindwards were dismissed for 203, most of the batsmen falling to legspinner Mahendra Nagamootoo (6-61).Guyana’s batting performance gave them the edge in the match. A stringof double-figure scores in the middle order took Guyana’s total to288, a crucial lead of 85 runs. Nagamootoo then returned in the secondinnings to take 3-34 and spur along a Windwards collapse to 135 allout. The target of 51 must have seemed laughably small before thestart of the fourth innings, but Fernix Thomas took 3-22 and fivebatsmen were back in the hut with 35 runs on the board. Ultimately,however, Guyana reached their target with five wickets to spare,although Windwards could easily have come up with a shock victory hadthey had a few more runs to play around with.The final round three match at Nevis also turned out the most runs.Winning the toss, West Indies ‘B’ opted to bat first against LeewardIslands, but the batsmen lost their way in the first innings and wereall dismissed for 219. Wicket-keeper Patrick Browne made 55 and topscored.In their innings, Leewards reached a mammoth 476/4 before declaring.The stars of this run-fest were Sylvester Joseph and Keithroy Tittle.Building on a fine 66 from Stuart Williams, Joseph and Tittle added anunbeaten 239 runs for the fifth wicket. Joseph made an unbeaten 211,while Tittle scored 101.West Indies ‘B’ replied spiritedly, making 302 in their secondinnings. Rather than any individual knocks, two fifties and twoforties made up the bulk of this score. But even this effort was onlysufficient to avoid an innings defeat and set Leewards a paltry targetof 46 runs, which Williams almost single-handedly knocked off in just10.4 overs.