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In a recent interview with Give Me Sport, Fabrizio Romano dropped an update on Jesse Lingard’s future at West Ham United.

Since arriving at West Ham on a five-month loan deal in January, Lingard has been in sensational form over his seven Premier League appearances for David Moyes’ side, bagging five goals and providing two assists, as well as averaging a SofaScore match rating of 7.34 – ranking him as the Hammers’ best performer in the top flight.

Rather unsurprisingly, the £13.5 million-rated 28-year-old’s impressive displays have resulted in Moyes being keen to make the attacking midfielder’s loan deal a more permanent move in the summer transfer window.

However, speaking recently to Give Me Sport, Romano claimed that a deal for Lingard is not likely to be an easy one to get over the line for the Hammers this summer.

He said: “At the moment, Manchester United are saying the player is coming back. [They] are in a win-win situation. It won’t be easy for West Ham to negotiate with Manchester United because now the price is totally different.”

He explained: “[West Ham] are really happy with him, but they know that Manchester United are waiting for the player back, and that’s why it won’t be an easy negotiation.”

Transfer Tavern Take

Considering the fact that the typically reliable West Ham source, ExWHUemployee, has stated that the Hammers are confident of signing Lingard permanently this summer, in addition to claiming that the 28-year-old himself has expressed a desire to remain in east London, Romano’s comments suggesting otherwise certainly come as something of a surprise.

Given the England international’s fantastic form, it would certainly be a blow for the Irons if Romano turns out to be correct – fans will be hoping ExWHUemployee has the last laugh.

You can view the full interview with Fabrizio Romano on Give Me Sport here!

While a 0-0 draw at home to Wolves in the Premier League is hardly the result Dean Smith would have wanted, one man who certainly emerged as a positive for the Aston Villa boss was Ahmed Elmohamady.

After coming in for some criticism from his manager for his role in one of Leicester’s goals a couple of weeks ago, the Egypt international followed that up with a really disappointing performance against Sheffield United.

That was then followed by reports that Smith had made the decision to let the veteran full-back go in the summer once his contract expired, with loanee Frederic Guilbert set to return to compete with number one right-back Matty Cash.

But the £25k-a-week-earning Elmohamady’s display against Wolves showed that perhaps he does still have a bit left in the tank, and sent a huge message to his boss that he’s got the defensive nous to still be an effective Premier League defender on his day.

As per Sofascore, the full-back finished with a match rating of 7.3, the highest of any outfield player for Villa. And when you look at the way he virtually pocketed Wolves speedster Adama Traore, it’s no surprise to see why.

Wolves’ wide-man failed to attempt any shots on goal whatsoever, and also didn’t manage to find the target with any of his four crosses. Much of that was down to the way Elmohamady was quick to shackle him and not allow him room to knock it past him and see him run away with his sheer pace.

The Villa full-back was dominant in the challenge, making two tackles and one interception, while he also won an impressive five of his six total duels on the night – that latter stat is far above his season average in the Premier League of just 2.3 per game.

Writing in his post-match player ratings for The Birmingham Mail, Ashley Preece said: “The Egyptian contained Traore and won his fair share of headers at the back post.

“The 33-year-old came in for a lot of stick after his error at Sheffield United but he was back to his usual, reliable self here and did what was asked of him against the jet-heeled Adama. Kept a clean sheet and was generally fine in Matty Cash’s absence once again.”

While one impressive display is hardly enough to convince Smith or any manager for that fact, of handing someone a new contract, it does raise the possibility of Elmohamady potentially earning another deal at the club with some more good performances like the one on Saturday.

Coming up against Traore is a hard task for any defender in the Premier League, let alone a 33-year-old in the twilight of his career. And yet, Elmohamady delivered a masterclass just when his long-term future is the main topic of conversation.

Meanwhile, this Villa man let Dean Smith down vs Wolves…

West Ham have a 75% winning record when Said Benrahma starts and just 36.4% when he doesn’t, as highlighted by @WestHamStatto on Twitter.

The Hammers have emerged victorious in nine of 12 matches when the Algerian attacker has been selected from the start. When he begins the game on the bench, though, that falls to four out of 11 (Transfermarkt).

It should be noted, for added context, that five of those 11 games were against teams currently in the top six of the Premier League.

Benrahma joined West Ham from Brentford last October on an initial loan deal which was made permanent in January. The deal could wind up costing the Hammers £30m.

The 25-year-old was dazzling in the Championship last season, scoring 17 goals and assisting 10.

He is now finding his feet in the top flight. He has yet to open his Premier League account but he does have four assists to his name. Of his team-mates, only Aaron Creswell (seven) has set-up more goals this season.

After Benrahma was again relegated to the bench at Manchester United on Sunday, when West Ham barely threatened the home side’s goal, these Irons fans called on David Moyes to start him consistently given his record when playing from the outset:

These West Ham fans want David Moyes to start Said Benrahma

“These numbers are mad! For me much more telling than any individual stat – Benrahma plays = we are a better team it’s that simple!!”

Credit: @CoyleEndean

“Has to start.”

Credit: @T0M_EDWARDS

“We’re fifth. Trust Moyes. But yes he should start.”

Credit: @WestHam_Central

“I think he tends to miss out when we play back 5 and even though I really like Bowen I think he starts in front of him at the moment.”

Credit: @redgewd

“Agree he does start “easier” games but how are we ever gonna know how the big games will turn out with him starting…UNLESS HE STARTS!!”

Credit: @STU_IRONS_COYI

“LOOK WEST HAM, PLEASE LET HIM START!!!”

Credit: @WHU99

In other news, some West Ham fans have been reacting to this player’s training return.

Bruno Fernandes has almost singlehandedly transformed Manchester United’s fortunes since his arrival at Old Trafford from Sporting Lisbon this time last year.

His ability to pull the strings from the midfield has catapulted Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side to the top of the table, which will rub salt in the wounds of those who once courted the Portugal international, namely Premier League rivals Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur.

But their over-reliance on Fernandes has started to show signs that it is beginning to take its toll on the 26-year-old, whose performance levels have somewhat dipped since the start of the year.

It just wasn’t their day against Liverpool, as Fernandes often took one touch too many, and too many passes went astray. Indeed, he had the sort of game where nothing went his way on an afternoon which was summed up by the fact he curled a near-perfect free kick inches wide, as he lost possession 19 times and only made 20 successful passes out of 33 attempts (61%), which was far below his season average of 76%.

Reports have now emerged over the past week that the Red Devils have reportedly tabled a bid for wantaway Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen – who was once described as a “special” talent by now-Paris-Saint Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino – but face stiff competition from his former club Tottenham.

The Red Devils want to take the player, whose contract is set to expire in 2024, on loan with a view to buying him permanently in the summer.

Of course, some might question whether it is worth such a gamble at face value, given his struggles in Serie A after falling out of favour with Antonio Conte.

However, upon closer inspection, it’s hard to argue why this wouldn’t be a good move by Ed Woodward. He has proven Premier League experience and, perhaps most crucial of all, he has experience of playing in the Champions League.

In the Premier League alone, the Danish international netted 51 goals in 226 outings for Spurs. Whilst his stats since the 2018/19 season are significantly inferior to those of Fernandes, they do share some similar characteristics and traits.

Indeed, both players are capable of unlocking defences in the final third with through balls and often drop deep to pick up the ball and bring others into play. Eriksen, who is two years older than Fernandes, has shown a willingness to drive into the box and create chances, as he is currently averaging 2.5 key passes per match in the Champions League, which is only slightly less than his Portuguese counterpart (3.3).

Just like Fernandes, the 28-year-old is also considered to be a set-piece specialist, as he boasts a WhoScored strength of taking set-pieces together with his ability to take direct free-kicks.

Able to play in the centre, on the left or on the right of the midfield, there’s no doubting the fact that Eriksen’s ability to play anywhere across the midfield would be an added bonus for Solskjaer. His £300,000-per-week wages, however, may be prove to be a sticking point.

AND in other news, Manchester United still want to sign Leon Bailey from Bayer Leverkusen…

Speaking exclusively with Football FanCast, former England international Steve Howey has claimed that Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s hamstring injury will be a “huge blow” for Everton.

Carlo Ancelotti has ruled Calvert-Lewin out for this Sunday’s Premier League meeting with Fulham, after being forced to withdraw the striker during the second-half of Wednesday night’s 5-4 FA Cup win over Tottenham Hotspur.

The 23-year-old had scored the Toffees’ first of the game to draw his side level and mark his 18th goal in all competitions, before recording his third and fourth assists of the season.

Ancelotti has stated that he and the club believe the England international will be available for Everton’s next game, at home to title-chasers Manchester City, on Wednesday night.

But Howey says that the Blues must manage his return carefully, as losing Calvert-Lewin for a lengthy period of time will be devastating for the club’s hopes of a top-four finish.

“It will be a huge blow [losing Calvert-Lewin]. You have to be so careful with these injuries,” he told FFC. “He’s had a ridiculously good season. Started off on fire, kind of just quietened a tiny, tiny little bit and then he’s come [on form] again.

“I was at the game when Everton played Leeds and Calvert-Lewin scored the winner in that. [I’ve been] so impressed with his hold up play, every aspect of his game has improved. So, it will be a blow but Everton have just got to be careful on the management of that.

“Obviously, as a player, you want to be back as soon as possible. But I think sometimes you, well all the time, especially with these injuries, you’ve got to make sure that you’re right. Because it will just go again, it’ll go again, and it’ll go again.

“But Everton are doing really well under Ancelotti. Obviously, they’ve got Richarlison there, they’ve got [Alex] Iwobi, they’ve got [James] Rodriguez, [Gylfi] Sigurdsson’s doing quite well [but they’re not the same as Calvert-Lewin].”

Calvert-Lewin’s hamstring injury is his second of the season so far, after missing last month’s FA Cup tie with Rotherham and Premier League victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Cenk Tosun led the line in Calvert-Lewin’s place against Rotherham and scored the opening goal, but has since returned to Besiktas on loan and been replaced at Goodison Park by Joshua King who is yet to score a league goal this season.

Ancelotti opted against fielding an out-and-out striker against Wolves with Rodriguez and Sigurdsson instead tasked with playing as two false nines, in a decision that did not pan out perfectly with Iwobi relied on to provide much of his side’s attacking threat from the right-wing.

Meanwhile Richarlison, who only played the final quarter of an hour at Molineux having also missed the Rotherham tie, is Everton’s current second-best scorer with eight goals across all competitions after a brace against Spurs but is without a league strike in seven games.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring an “exciting” teen prospect Carlo Ancelotti could sign for free…

It’s been a while since Crystal Palace could lay claim to having one of the best players in the country on their books, hasn’t it?

Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha is, of course, worth a shout, whilst Eberechi Eze may not be too far behind his teammate after his heroics against Sheffield United, but other than that, it’s fair to say that Roy Hodgson has been left with slim pickings indeed.

However, things could have been very different for the Eagles as had Steve Parish simply plucked up the courage in the summer, they could have had arguably one of the best strikers in the EFL at Selhurst Park right now. And no, we’re not talking about Bournemouth striker Joshua King.

According to The Guardian’s Ben Fisher, Palace missed the opportunity to sign former Peterborough striker Ivan Toney back in 2020 as they lost out to Brentford.

The Bees paid a club-record fee of £9m plus performance-related bonuses to prise him away from the Posh, which isn’t exactly a huge amount of cash, especially when you consider the fact Palace spent £7m on Connor Wickham.

It’s easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but if Parish had been brave enough to pull the trigger, they could have had an absolute goal machine on their hands.

Toney is easily one of the best strikers in the Championship, he’s the joint-leading goalscorer in the competition this season, and his ridiculous record speaks for itself – 16 goals in 26 appearances across all competitions, via Transfermarkt.

Posh director of football Barry Fry heaped praise on his former charge at the end of last season, saying: “Ivan has been an incredible signing. His improvement in two seasons with us has been remarkable.

“He was by far and away the best player in League One last season and he deserves a shot at the Championship or even the Premier League.”

Parish wouldn’t part ways with his money last year, and now just six months later, it looks like an inexcusable mistake as he’s turned out to be a true bargain for the Bees.

AND in other news, Crystal Palace given major boost after Roy Hodgson confirms Christian Benteke’s injury isn’t too serious…

According to L’Equipe, via GFFN, West Bromwich Albion are interested in signing Bordeaux striker Josh Maja during this January transfer window.

Baggies want Maja

The Baggies were said to have agreed a deal to sign Mbaye Diagne on loan from Galatasaray (Sky Sports), but it seems they are still looking to bring in another forward.

As per the French outlet, £5.85m-valued former Sunderland youth product Maja (Transfermarkt) is now on Sam Allardyce’s radar as deadline day fast approaches.

The right choice?

Maja burst onto the scene at the Stadium of Light, scoring 15 goals in 24 games in League One (Transfermarkt) before securing a move to Ligue 1 in January 2019. Last term, he netted six times in 21 league matches, but he has scored just twice in 17 games this time around.

With Diagne’s arrival not yet confirmed by the club, it is not clear whether Maja is being pursued as an alternative, or rather to complement the Senegal international. West Brom have scored just 15 times in 20 games in the top flight so far this campaign, so it is therefore clear they are desperately in need of goals. While Maja, aged 22, may be one for the future, Sam Allardyce does not have time to wait for him develop. Perhaps there are other options that would better suit the Midlands outfit’s needs.

In other news, West Brom fans slam these Sam Allardyce comments.

Leeds United are clearly looking to build for the future now that they are back in the Premier League, and the club have revealed exciting news on young prospect Niall Huggins.

Update on Niall Huggins

Journalist Adam Pope tweeted: “Leeds United full-back Niall Huggins has penned a new contract with the club. The 19-year-old Wales U21 international has agreed a 2.5 year deal, running until the summer of 2023.”

The news has also been confirmed on the Whites’ official site.

This is great news for Leeds

19 year-old Huggins was promoted to the U23 side at the start of the 2019/20 campaign (Transfermarkt), and he has picked up six appearances and one assist in the Premier League 2.

The defender also got his first glimpse of senior football when he travelled up with the senior team for the first time for the 1-0 victory against Everton.

Paul Robinson has spoken highly of the player, as he said: “Huggins is a very good player who’s performed really well in the Under-23s this season. In fact the Under-23s last year and the year before have been particularly strong and there will be a number of them who will be ready for the first team over the next year or so.”

The fact observers are tipping players like Huggins could break into the first team, especially after he already appeared in a first-team squad, suggest Marcelo Bielsa could have a potential selection dilemma on his hands if someone like Luke Ayling dips in form.

The fact he has been awarded with a new contract highlights how much the club value him, and he definitely looks like one that Leeds supporters should keep an eye on for the future of those all important full-back positions.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Premier League striker Dean Windass has backed Charlie Austin to be handed his first Premier League start for West Brom this evening.

The 31-year-old had fallen out-of-favour under former Baggies boss Slaven Bilic, but the Croatian was sacked earlier this week and quickly replaced by survival veteran Sam ‘the firefighter’ Allardyce.

His first game in charge will be tonight as Albion host arch-rivals Aston Villa at the Hawthorns.

Austin only made the bench twice in West Brom’s opening 11 matches before Bilic called upon him as a substitute in his final two matches in charge.

Windass believes that Big Sam could turn to him in their time of need…

He told FFC:

“Charlie’s a born goalscorer. Any balls in the box, you know where he’ll be.

“He’s coming towards the end of his career as well, but Sam will look at that and say ‘Yeah, I need goals. Yes, I need to stop goals, but I [also] need to start scoring goals,’ so Charlie could go straight in there [vs Villa].

“He knows he will get them a goal, so yeah, that could be a massive plus for Charlie now. A new manager has come in, and he’ll say ‘Go on then, go and prove to me [that you should be starting].

“Charlie’s a proud lad and is very good around the changing room. He’ll have been hurt when not playing.”

Albion paid £4m for Austin during the 2019 summer transfer window, and he finished as their top goalscorer in all competitions on their way to promotion despite only starting 18 times in the Championship.

Bilic landed a key target in Karlan Grant before the domestic deadline, but he’s yet to truly deliver on his £12m price tag having bagged just once in nine starts.

As Windass claims, it could be a wise decision to turn to Austin as the veteran has played 108 times in the Premier League alone, contributing to a total of 44 goals.

Big Sam has been known to play two up-top, so there is also a chance we see both feature this evening.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce tipped to bring Premier League striker to West Brom in January

After avoiding an embarrassing defeat to Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday night, Arsenal return to Premier League action when they entertain Leicester City at the Emirates on Sunday night.

Mikel Arteta’s side have enjoyed a reasonable start to the new season, but have suffered two defeats to rivals Liverpool and Manchester City. And with last season’s high-fliers Leicester making the trip to north London, it will be imperative that the Gunners get back to winning ways in the league.

Thursday’s clash against Vienna saw Arteta rather unsurprisingly ring the changes, but there will be no doubt that he will look to return to his strongest possible eleven for the visit of Brendan Rodgers’ men.

And with that in mind, below is a look at how Arsenal might line up for the game against Leicester on Sunday.

In goal, Bernd Leno will surely be desperate to make amends for his howler on Thursday night, gifting Vienna a goal after attempting to play out from the back.

The German is the undisputed number one this season at the Emirates follow Emiliano Martinez’s departure to Aston Villa, and there will be no question of Arteta even thinking about dropping him.

In front of him, the likes of Cedric and Sead Kolasinac should make way, with both of them enduring nightmare displays in the Europa League.

Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Kieran Tierney should come in for the duo, with Arteta once again sticking to his now tried-and-trusted back-five formation.

Ahead of the game against Leicester, the Gunners were boosted with the news that Dani Ceballos is available for selection after missing the previous week through injury.

Whether the Spaniard comes in after Thomas Partey’s impressive showing in mid-week is up for debate, with the former Atletico Madrid man in line for his first Premier League start in an Arsenal shirt. Alongside him, Granit Xhaka will be confident of claiming back his place in the starting line-up.

And with Willian once again missing through injury, Arsenal could field an offensive three of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang on the left, Nicolas Pepe on the right, and Alexandre Lacazette through the middle.

Predicted XI: Leno; Bellerin, David Luiz, Gabriel, Tierney, Maitland-Niles; Xhaka, Partey; Aubameyang, Pepe, Lacazette.