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West Ham United have been given the ideal chance to sign rumoured David Moyes target Jesse Lingard, after the Manchester United midfielder left super-agent Mino Raiola after falling down the pecking order at Old Trafford.

What’s the word?

According to ESPN, Lingard has ditched Raiola’s agency, which also represents Erling Haaland, Paul Pogba and Matthijs de Ligt, in favour of handing full control to family members and other close associates.

Lingard began working with Raiola in January but came to the mutual agreement to sever all ties after falling out of favour under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and reconsidering his future at Old Trafford.

The 27-year-old has missed United’s last seven fixtures through a hip injury, though is expected to return to full fitness soon, with the blow helping restrict Lingard to just two appearances all season – both coming in the EFL Cup during September.

Tottenham Hotspur and FC Porto had shown an interest in Lingard this summer, with the former England international set to be out of contract when his £75,000-per-week terms expire next June, although the Red Devils hold an option to extend by a further 12-months.

Moyes had also considered a move to bring Lingard to the London Stadium this summer, per the Independent, who noted the Scottish coach was looking to capitalise on a potential clear out at his former club.

United are keen to retain their academy graduate as they are loath to losing Lingard for free, yet have not triggered their clause. The 24-cap midfielder is also open to staying at Old Trafford, but is eager to play more regularly having only started nine of his 22 Premier League appearances last term.

A deal to lure Lingard away from Old Trafford in the summer was expected to cost at least £20million, with 90min also noting interest from Leicester City, Newcastle United and Everton.

Chance to strike

Should Moyes continue to look fondly on a deal to bring Lingard to the London Stadium, news of the midfielder leaving Raiola’s agency should be seen as a huge boost with the 53-year-old notorious for demanding sizable fees when moving his clients.

It was once alleged in the book ‘Football Leaks: The Dirty Business of Football’, via The Telegraph, that Raiola was due £22.8m of the £89m fee United paid Juventus to sign Pogba in August 2016, on top of £2.2m from the Frenchman and £16m in further payments.

But Raiola’s demands will no longer be a likely sticking point in discussions to sign Lingard, while the Red Devils’ summer asking price of £20m will surely be slashed further given the midfielder has played just 99 minutes this season and scored four goals across all competitions last term.

Moyes could revive Lingard’s career by offering the Solskjaer outcast a new home with the Irons, as Rio Ferdinand previously lauded his worth in an attack on Jose Mourinho for never playing him in the right position.

“This is a kid who I’ve seen grow up through the ranks at Man United,” Ferdinand said, via quotes by the Express. “His movement is phenomenal, his touch, his awareness of players around him and he gets important goals. I think that his relationship with the other players in the attacking-third is key to this team and he’s someone who I just love watching play.

“He’s in with a manager now who understands him, who understands where he needs to be on the pitch to get the best out of him. I think that’s what Jose Mourinho never maybe grasped enough.”

Like Ferdinand, former Manchester United boss Luis Van Gaal felt Lingard was best suited to a central No. 10 role, which would raise question marks over Pablo Fornals’ role going forward should Moyes revive his interest.

Over his 22 outings in the Premier League last season, Lingard averaged 42 minutes a game, in which he recorded 0.5 shots, 0.9 key balls, 0.6 successful dribbles and 1.9 duels won, per SofaScore. Fornals, meanwhile, is currently averaging 83 minutes a game this term, while penning 1.3 shots, 0.8 key balls, 0.9 successful dribbles and 3.0 duels won, suggesting Moyes would be best served sticking with the Spaniard signed under Manuel Pellegrini.

AND in other news, David Moyes is “worried” by a West Ham blow that a Manuel Pellegrini favourite can capitalise on.

Tomas Soucek is showing West Ham United why they can live without Declan Rice amid reports Chelsea will revive their efforts to sign the England international in January.

What’s the word?

According to Football Insider, Chelsea are keen to revisit their failed summer pursuit of Rice with a mega-money offer for the Hammers’ prize asset once the transfer market reopens this winter.

The Blues had strived to sign Rice during the recent window, having considered the 21-year-old as a potential key part of Frank Lampard’s squad, but refused to match West Ham’s mammoth £80m asking price and settled for starting the season without a new holding midfielder.

But Lampard’s interest is yet to waver as he feels Rice’s versatility and pedigree will be a welcome asset in south west London, leaving the Irons braced for a revised approached in January after various methods of payment were discussed this summer.

West Ham are publicly opposed to selling Rice but have given Chelsea a few indications they would listen to offers for a vital aspect of David Moyes’ plans, having been one of just three outfield Irons players to have played all 720 minutes of Premier League football this term.

The Stamford Bridge natives will first need to offload two high-ticket players when the window opens, however, having spent £224.9m on transfers already this season in an eye-watering pursuit of strengthening Lampard’s ranks.

Chelsea’s financial situation has opened their ears to offers for a handful of their senior players, including Jorginho, Antonio Rudiger and Marcos Alonso after failing to offload their lucrative £110,000, £100,000, and £100,000-per-week respective contracts this summer.

It remains to be seen if Chelsea are able to raise enough funds in January to match West Ham’s asking price, or if the Hammers show a readiness to lessen their demands.

Soucek: Moyes’ relief  

While West Ham would be expected to demand a vastly lucrative fee in order to sell Rice to Chelsea, Moyes can take some relief in the form of Soucek when considering a post-Rice future at the London Stadium.

Since the Irons made Soucek’s initial loan deal permanent for £19.1m this summer, the Czech Republic international has flourished with the highest number of successful tackles by any West Ham player (16) and most aerial duels won (48), the second-most blocked shots (4) and shots taken (18), third-most interceptions (11) and passes blocked (8), and fourth-most clearances (18), per WhoScored.

Rice, meanwhile, ranks third for blocked shots (3), fourth for successful tackles (14), fifth for passes blocked (7), seventh for aerial duels won (9), clearances (9) and is eleventh for shots taken (2), but is first for interceptions (20).

Soucek’s performances have also led to praise from Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho, who noted after last month’s London Derby how the 25-year-old was appearing similar to a former favourite of both himself and Moyes.

“I told them to be aware of set-pieces against, which we knew they were very strong,” he told Sky Sports, via quotes by Goal. “David found in Soucek his new [Marouane] Fellaini.”

Rice is still developing, of course, with England boss Gareth Southgate lauding the 21-year-old for the progress seen via quotes by the official West Ham website: “He has huge potential and the reason he has that potential is because he has a great mentality and desire to keep improving. He has other good examples among the senior players here. He knows the ones to follow and that is a good start.

“To have the additional responsibility of [West Ham] captaincy is brilliant and tells you also a bit about him as a person. For someone that young to be given the captaincy tells you the maturity he has, the responsibility he takes.”

AND in other news, David Moyes is “worried” by a West Ham blow that a Manuel Pellegrini favourite can capitalise on.

Jose Mourinho must go berserk on Moussa Sissoko after the Tottenham Hotspur midfielder’s struggles in Sunday’s draw with Chelsea.

Sissoko opened the battle at Stamford Bridge alongside Spurs’ summer signing Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg as the north London outfit strove to regain the top spot in the Premier League, after Liverpool’s draw with Brighton and Hove Albion saw Jurgen Klopp’s title-holders move ahead on Saturday.

Chelsea failing to turn home any of their 13 shots, with just three finding the target, proved enough for Mourinho this weekend, with goal difference keeping Spurs first in the division after 10 games thanks to the league’s best defensive record.

Sissoko recently revealed Mourinho’s arrival in north London to succeed Mauricio Pochettino at the helm a year ago left the Frenchman in a state of trepidation, unsure of what impact the Portuguese’s appointment would have on his future at the club.

“[I was] a little anxious because you don’t know [him] and he is a strong man with a lot of character, you don’t know exactly what you will get,” Sissoko told the Evening Standard. “Of course, you know you will get a good manager with a lot of experience but, when it comes to relationships, you are a little bit scared!”

Thoughts have since turned, with Sissoko adding: “He’s been really good with everyone. It’s not just with the players, it’s everyone in the building. He can be very sociable, talking and laughing with all the players. We are enjoying everything we are doing with him.”

But Mourinho must go berserk on Sissoko following his involvement in Sunday’s draw with Chelsea, as the £80,000-per-week midfield enforcer failed to provide the impact his contract warrants.

Sissoko has been a regular aspect of Mourinho’s plans since being appointed as Pochettino’s replacement, with the 31-year-old now starting eight of his nine Premier League appearances this season after 17 outings last term.

Sissoko badly let Mourinho down on his latest return to Stamford Bridge, with the Portuguese tactician seeing fewer touches (36) from the 65-cap France international than all Tottenham players who started bar 65th-minute substitute Steven Bergwijn (34) – even goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (42) saw more of the ball, per WhoScored.

The midfielder, signed in 2016 for £30m, further struggled with a team-low 20 accurate passes – excluding second-half additions Giovani Lo Celso (10), Ben Davies (0) and Lucas Moura (1) – while not attempting a single dribble, attempting just one aerial duel, being dribbled past once and failing to take possession with his only tackle of the game.

Mourinho would struggle to find any positives from Sissoko’s performance, having lost two of his four duels and possession 11 times, per SofaScore, and may now question the former Newcastle United man’s role in his starting line-up.

AND in other news, Gary Mabbutt has exclusively told Football FanCast what Jose Mourinho did “a lot of” at Tottenham.

West Brom boss Slaven Bilic appears to be back on the hot seat once again amid speculation over his future in the Midlands…

What’s the word?

According to the ever-reliable John Percy at the Telegraph, the Croatian faces another battle to save his job at the Hawthorns following an embarrassing 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace at the weekend.

He claims that Albion’s board remain seriously concerned over the team’s performances and results, dating back into their promotion-winning season too and now this Saturday’s trip to Newcastle United could be pivotal in deciding his future.

Another capitulation could spell the end for the 52-year-old.

The only firm name linked with potentially succeeding Bilic has been Charlton Athletic boss, Lee Bowyer, as per the Mirror.

Perhaps he’s truly worth considering.

A risk worth taking?

Despite going the opposite way of the Baggies last season, the 43-year-old has done a sterling job at The Valley throughout his two-and-a-half years at the helm.

Twice a winner of the League One Manager of the Month award, the former Leeds and Newcastle midfielder guided the Addicks to promotion in 2019 all whilst dealing with difficult circumstances with tumultuous owner Roland Duchatelet in control.

All under a shoe-string budget too, which makes his win percentage of 43% and 1.5 points-per-game record all that more impressive.

His assistant manager Jonnie Jackson has lauded his management style in an interview with The Athletic, he said:

“He’s very detailed in his approach, very diligent studying opposition, and loves the tactical side of it all — coming up with different formations for certain opponents. He’s a very good man-manager, knows the right time to put an arm round the player or give him a kick up the backside. He’s not afraid to do that — if it’s needed at half-time or full-time — but never to excess.”

But most interestingly is the fact that he’s gotten the best out of both Chelsea loan star Conor Gallagher and mega-money signing Karlan Grant – getting this duo in harmony could be the defining factor in turning around West Brom’s season, and there’s surely no one better than Bowyer.

It would bring back the good shades of Darren Moore after he took over permanently from the academy set-up; many of the Baggies’ younger players benefitted hugely from his influence.

Now where are they?

Under Bowyer, Gallagher delivered six goals and four assists in just 26 starts, via Transfermarkt, whilst Grant romped to 14 goals and seven assists in just 29 appearances under him at Charlton before earning a move to Huddersfield Town.

He may not have experience managing in the Premier League, but his history under a problematic owner as well as his proven track record with two of Albion’s current stars should be enough to take the gamble.

If they go down, then his credentials for another Championship push will only increase tenfold.

AND in other news, Albion made to pay over their failure to sign £16m magician this summer…

According to TuttoNapoli, Leeds United striker Rodrigo has been earmarked as a potential transfer target by La Liga giants Atletico Madrid.

What’s the story?

The Spain international only joined from Valencia in the summer, but has had a difficult start to life at Elland Road, notching just three goals in 14 Premier League games.

Now, TuttoNapoli claim that with Diego Costa having been released, Atletico are eyeing up a replacement striker, and they have got their sights set on luring Rodrigo back to his native Spain.

The report adds that Diego Simeone’s side are keen on bringing in someone with experience of La Liga, and Rodrigo of course fits that bill given his years playing at Valencia.

Orta has to hold firm

Whilst Rodrigo hasn’t exactly set the Premier League alight with his performances this season, there should be no way Victor Orta even contemplates letting the summer signing go.

Not all new arrivals hit the ground running, and Rodrigo certainly falls into that category. If you then factor in having to play and adapt to a Marcelo Bielsa side, then of course it might take a little longer to settle in.

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague declared the versatile forward as being “perfect for Bielsa” in the summer when Leeds’ interest in the 29-year-old emerged, and the club just have to remain patient with him.

The £22.5m-rated ace could develop into a potent Premier League force if given the chance, and it’s exactly why Orta must avoid the disaster of cutting the club’s losses on him far too soon.

Aston Villa must make a ruthless call on Keinan Davis in the January transfer window, after Gabriel Agbonlahor encouraged the 22-year-old to leave the club on loan.

What’s the story?

Reports in the last week or so have suggested that with Villa ready to let him leave on a temporary basis, the likes of Preston North End, Huddersfield and QPR are keeping a close eye on the situation.

Now, Agbonlahor has waded into the conversation, and the former Villa striker admitted that Davis would probably be better off trying to get some first-team football elsewhere.

Speaking to Football Insider, he said: “He’s back from injury now but I’m sure Dean Smith will be looking at in January when Wesley comes back and thinking to himself now Keinan won’t be involved as much.

“Sometimes you need to go out on loan and play some games. He’s not played a lot of football in his career. He needs to go out and get some game time, score some goals in the Championship and I’m sure he’ll be back into Villa’s squad next season.”

Villa must be ruthless

As Agbonlahor says, it’s been a difficult first-half of the season for Davis, and the fact he’s only played 41 minutes of Premier League football (with 0 starts to his name in the competition), is a bit of a worry.

Wesley of course is only just working his way back to fitness, and Dean Smith will be hoping that Ollie Watkins will stay injury-free. The Villa boss may feel like he just doesn’t have enough cover up front to warrant letting Davis leave, but the cold hard fact is that the £5k-a-week earning ace just hasn’t shown he can be the kind of clinical goal-scorer the side needs.

In 73 total games for the first-team, he’s managed just five goals. Now, most of them aren’t starts, but that’s a pretty poor record even taking that into account. Dubbed “absolutely unplayable” by Jack Grealish, Villa must take the ruthless decision and let Davis leave the club on loan in January.

As the days pass by, life on the pitch is becoming increasingly bleak for Sunderland.

On New Year’s Eve they were left disappointed that yet another game was going to be postponed. Every fixture over the festive period has now been pushed back to a later date and any hope of playing against Fleetwood next week has been evaporated. For now, their match with Northampton is thankfully still on.

It’s becoming a tiring process for those at Sunderland with the fear of fixture congestion later in the season swiftly becoming a reality.

Consequently, the Black Cats will need to reach deep within their ranks and utilise the whole squad. That could mean game time for more of the club’s academy crop – a part of the football club that Jack Diamond and Elliot Embleton have progressed away from this term.

One player who will be keen to do the same in the immediate future is left-sided player Cieran Dunne.

The Scot, who learnt his trade at Falkirk, joined the Stadium of Light in the summer of 2019 but hasn’t had a glimpse of much first-team football. Dunne made his debut for the senior side in the EFL Trophy earlier this campaign but after playing just five minutes had to be withdrawn through injury.

Capable of playing as a winger or at left-back, his versatility is a huge asset and he simply has to be considered in the defence. Denver Hume is out injured at the moment and Callum McFadzean was anything but competent against Wimbledon, conceding a penalty.

Thus, it can’t be too long before Dunne gets a chance to prove himself to Lee Johnson. He has had mixed results at U23 level this term and was torn apart by former Sunderland academy product Sam Greenwood.

The forward is now at Leeds and scored a hat-trick past a hapless Dunne and the rest of his defence in a 3-1 defeat.

However, that was a mere blemish in Dunne’s copybook. The fact of the matter is that he has immense potential and has contributed positively to an ever-improving Mackems academy.

They failed to win a single match last season but in 2020/21, they have been victorious in five outings. A big part of that is down to the consistency of the 20-year-old.

More crucially, though, is the fact he possesses plenty of pace. Johnson has made it clear he wants players capable of stretching the play and if Dunne is given license further forward, he could do exactly that.

He’s certainly one to watch.

AND in other news, Johnson must brutally AXE Sunderland ace with just 3 starts all term…

Many Wolves fans were amazed by a statistic that defender Willy Boly generated during his side’s 3-2 defeat against arch-rivals West Brom yesterday.

According to Opta (relayed by Talking Wolves), the 29-year-old was the first player of the West Midlands club to concede a penalty, score and provide an assist in the same match since Adlène Guédioura back in May 2011, which also happened to be against the Baggies at Molineux.

Boly was criticised for his tackle that saw Wolves go behind in the game, one which resulted in a penalty that Matheus Pereira converted. The Brazilian would then go on to score another spot-kick in the second half as he and Semi Ajayi confirmed Wolves’ misery.

The Ivorian added to youngster Fabio Silva’s opener for the hosts but it was not enough to topple Sam Allardyce’s side, and have now won just one game of their last seven (Fotmob).

With this in mind, supporters were amazed by Opta’s revelation and shared their views via @TalkingWolves to reveal their overall thoughts.

Fans stunned by Boly stat

“Might be the greatest stat I’ve ever seen”

Credit: @Harvey_897

“That’s a stat and a half”

Credit: @Jai_wwfc

“What an insane stat.”

Credit: @wwfcscott

“Amazing”

Credit: @GS070483

“That’s a stat and a half”

Credit: @Injury_20

“Wow”

Credit: @charlpardoe_x

In other news, Pundit believes that Wolves’ big-summer signing should go out on loan.

They might not have come away with anything on Wednesday night, but Aston Villa showed once again why they are no flash in the pan this Premier League campaign.Dean Smith’s side have arguably been the stand-out performers this season, picking up some big results against big teams, and but for an incredibly controversial VAR call against Manchester City, may have earned a huge point at the Etihad Stadium.The Villans were desperately unlucky to be on the wrong side of a 2-0 score-line, but a number of their players produced superb performances as they more than held their own against the former Premier League champions, none more so perhaps than Matt Targett.The left-back was given the tough task of trying to deal with the pacey Raheem Sterling, and he more than held his own against the England international.His five tackles and four interceptions were both game-highs, and a testament of the kind of intensity he brought to the table out on the left-hand side – The Athletic’s Gregg Evans hailed his “immense” performance, and said that he’s been that way all season.

And writing in his post-match ratings, The Birmingham Mail’s Ashley Preece said: “Like those next to him at the back, Targett enjoyed a spirited first half and kept Raheem Sterling at bay. Targett was cool in possession amid pressure on him as well and won his fair share of tackles and headers.

“Villa were far weaker after he went off for Taylor, even though Targett wanted to stay on. Targett was understated this evening and got the better out of Sterling, hence City taking off the England man.”

Dean Smith will desperately be hoping that his left-back’s injury is nothing too serious.

Meanwhile, this Villa man let Dean Smith down just as much as VAR…

Tottenham Hotspur may have just missed out on a perfect opportunity to sign another Mousa Dembele.

The saga surrounding Dele Alli’s future in north London rumbles on and with less than four days remaining in the transfer window, it remains to be seen where the 24-year-old will be.

Former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino is keen to bring him to Paris Saint-Germain, according to Fabrizio Romano. Even Jose Mourinho is happy to sanction his departure as he’s only utilised him for a total of 472 minutes this campaign.

However, chairman Daniel Levy is against seeing the attacking midfielder leave the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium permanently. Romano told the ‘Here We Go’ podcast that the tough-negotiator was holding up any exit this month, claiming that “everyone is waiting” for his decision.

But the longer he’s out-of-favour, the quicker his value is going to diminish – it’s already dropped from £81m in December 2019, around the time of Mourinho’s appointment, to £34.2m as of December 2020, per Transfermarkt.

The 37-time England international also hasn’t played for the Three Lions since September 2019 in their Nations League third-place playoff win over Switzerland, and that won’t do his total worth any help either.

Clearly, he’s not doing enough to convince Mourinho and in reality, he may be better off sold as this issue isn’t going to change anytime soon with the Special One at the helm.

Indeed, the decision to reject PSG’s latest offer is a strange one.

According to Le Parisien, the Ligue 1 champions offered a swap deal involving former Everton and Villa powerhouse Idrissa Gueye, who would have brought Dembele-like qualities to north London once again.

He cost PSG £28m only 18 months ago.

But Spurs rejected the move before agreeing to a dry loan – no obligation or option to buy – on the basis they find cover before Monday’s deadline.

Well even though Gueye is a vastly-different option in the middle, he could have been his replacement in this squad, especially given the fact that he’s a box-to-box enforcer – something that Mourinho is said to be after, as per The Sunday Times’ Duncan Castles.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/read-this-weeks-latest-spurs-news-and-transfer-rumours” title= Read this week’s latest Spurs news, transfer rumours and more…”]

Spurs legend Tim Sherwood was in charge of Villa when Gueye was at the club, and he dubbed him a “monster.” He said: “You look at him and his stature is very small. But when he’s on the pitch he looks like a monster. He plays like that.”

That season, the 31-year-old brute averaged a whopping 4.1 tackles, four interceptions and two dribbles per game across 35 appearances, via WhoScored, which was the second-most for tackles and interceptions in the division to N’Golo Kante – Dembele was a close fourth (3.6 tackles, 2.6 dribbles).

As seen by those returns alone, Dembele and Gueye were very similar players during their time in the Premier League, and even despite the Senegal international’s advancing years, he’s still putting up impressive numbers.

In 15 appearances, he’s delivered two goals and averaged 2.5 tackles, one interception and 0.7 dribbles per game, via WhoScored. It’s that sort of bustling energy that Mourinho needs alongside Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg in the engine room.

Something which Alli doesn’t bring. The Spurs boss publically blasted him as “lazy” during the Amazon ‘All or Nothing’ docuseries last year, so it’s no wonder he rarely features anymore.

Swapping the faltering midfielder for Gueye would have been a solid piece of business, especially if they could have gotten a fee in return also.

Perhaps Levy has missed out on a golden chance to improve Spurs here – one foolish mistake from the Spurs chief.

AND in other news, this Spurs star badly let Mourinho down against Liverpool…