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A number of West Ham United fans have hit out at the performance of Issa Diop on social media in Thursday’s meeting with Genk in the Europa League. 

David Moyes made seven changes from the 4-1 win over Aston Villa last time out with Alphonse Areola, Issa Diop, Craig Dawson, Vladimir Coufal, Arthur Masuaku, Mark Noble and Manuel Laninzi all coming into the side.

And it was Diop’s display which had a number of fans talking, and not for the right reasons either. The 24-year-old was making just his sixth appearance of the campaign, playing in his usual centre-back role alongside Dawson.

The Frenchman appeared to be extremely rusty early on, though, and was caught out by Joseph Paintsil, who opened the scoring for the hosts after beating Diop for pace in behind.

As per SofaScore, Diop lost the ball on seven occasions, more than partner Dawson, was dribbled past once compared to Dawson’s perfect record, made one error leading to a shot and failed to even make a single clearance or block a shot.

West Ham fans react

Here is what these Hammers supporters had to say about Diop on Twitter, with one labelling him as ‘shocking’ following his early mistake and another comparing him to former forward Sebastien Haller due to their inconsistency.

“Wow Diop caught napping”

Credit: @RyanReed93

“shocking from diop there. sleeping!”

Credit: @apl63

“That was appalling from Diop”

Credit: @AndrewIron85

“Diop back to his usual standards”

Credit: @LH_WHU

“Diop is literally the defensive version of Haller. Just when you thought he was getting better he pulls a stunt like that”

Credit: @moyes_boy

“Areola should have done better but absolutely shambolic from Diop”

Credit: @whucharlie_

In other news: West Ham still want ‘unreal’ powerhouse who was allegedly ‘very keen’ to join Moyes. 

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hinted that Sadio Mane could sign a new deal, after claiming he could play at the top well into his 30s.

The Lowdown: Mane’s deal expiring

The 30-year-old has been one of the superstars of this memorable era at Anfield, maturing into one of the world’s best attacking players.

Mane has sealed Premier League and Champions League glory during his time at Liverpool, also scoring 115 goals and registering 45 assists in 259 Reds appearances.

Recent reports suggested that the Senegalese sensation could sign a new deal at Anfield, with his current contract expiring at the end of next season.

The Latest: Klopp hints at extension

Speaking in his pre-Manchester United press conference on Monday [via the Express], Klopp hinted at him wanting Mane at Liverpool for years to come, with his current level likely to remain for a long time:

“His physicality shows his dedication, yes, and he is a talent too. If you do the same training as Sadio – or I do – we will never look like him…it is not possible.

“He is blessed, let me put it like this. He does a lot (of training) absolutely, but he is a bit lucky as well. He will play on well into his 30s…if he wants to.”

[web_stories_embed url=”https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/web-stories/latest-liverpool-transfer-news-29/” title=”Latest Liverpool transfer news!” poster=”” width=”360″ height=”600″ align=”none”]

The Verdict: No-brainer for Liverpool

When it comes to Liverpool offering Mane a new deal or not, it should be considered an absolute no-brainer, with the forward still such a huge force in the game.

Granted, he has lost a little bit of the explosive pace that he once had, but he is excelling in a new central attacking role and already has 18 goals this season, including two against Manchester City on Saturday.

It may be that Mane has to accept a long-term contract may not come his way, but assuming he wants to stay put, extending his time as a Liverpool player by at least a couple of years would be a massive positive.

In other news, the race for one Liverpool target is heating up. Read more here.

Flocking to Twitter, a number of Manchester City fans have reacted to a squad update arising from this week’s training footage, which suggests some of Pep Guardiola’s stars will not be available for Wednesday night’s game against Brentford.

Man City will head into their next game on a high following their chaotic Boxing day clash against Leicester City, which saw Guardiola’s men emerge victorious with a 6-3 score-line at the Etihad.

The Cityzens sit six points clear at the top of the Premier League table. However, second-place Liverpool have the potential to halve the points gap with a win in their upcoming fixture against the Foxes at the King Power Stadium.

Man City fans react to squad update

City Xtra recently took to Twitter to share the names of those who were not pictured in City’s training footage this week, with many noticeable omissions coming in the form of defenders.

Kyle Walker, John Stones, Rodri, Joao Cancelo, and Oleksandr Zinchenko were all seemingly missing, and while the latter duo are reportedly fit to play, the other absences could still leave the manager a little light of depth at the back.

Here’s what the fans had to say about the news:

“We don’t even have first team fullback anymore”

Credit: @CityJoul

“Brentford and arsenal winning if we have none of these players”

Credit: @TheFloatBros

“well that’s not very fun is it”

Credit: @SxrgioSZN

“no fullbacks??? what’s happening”

Credit: @mxnciteh

“Not funny”

Credit: @Keane4K

“WHOOOOO”

Credit: @trevsenpai

West Bromwich Albion have learned the latest regarding the future of on-loan striker Jordan Hugill as they look to put together a promotion charge in the second half of the Championship campaign.

What’s the latest?

West Brom will maintain the services of Norwich City loanee Jordan Hugill for the remainder of the season after Canaries manager Dean Smith revealed that there is no recall option in the 29-year-old’s contract at The Hawthorns.

Speaking to the Eastern Daily Press, Smith said: “I don’t believe there is a recall option. I’ve spoken to Andy [Hughes], who’s our loans’ manager who keeps in touch with all the loan players. I’m going to be speaking to Jordan over the next 24 hours to see how he is finding it there.

“I don’t believe there’s a release clause but I’ll have a chat and see how he is.”

The Englishman was benched for the 2-1 FA Cup defeat to Brighton and then left out of the matchday squad entirely on Saturday as Albion were beaten 1-0 late on at QPR.

After the defeat in West London, Baggies boss Valerien Ismael stated: “Yes it was my decision,” when asked post-match about Hugill’s absence. “I spoke to him about the situation, he came to me. I think now for him it’s a new situation. We spoke openly about the situation.”

However, finding a new situation may not be as straightforward as hoped with the complications regarding Hugill’s recall possibilities.

Ismael will be furious

Naturally, both parties will want the best for Hugill with there still four-and-a-half months of the season to be played. However, it does appear that the 29-year-old’s spell in the West Midlands is up.

The Norwich striker has scored just once in 20 appearances during his loan spell with Ismael’s side and has recently fallen further down the pecking order with the West Brom manager reuniting with former Barnsley loanee Daryl Dike.

The 21-year-old scored nine goals in 22 appearances for the South Yorkshire side last term as they reached the Championship play-off semi-final. However, a permanent move didn’t materialise and the American returned to his parent club MLS outfit Orlando City.

Now, the striker has finally made a permanent move to the Championship, following Ismael from Oakwell to The Hawthorns and signing a four-and-a-half deal with the West Midlands club.

If Hugill is no longer in Ismael’s plans, then West Brom and Norwich City will have to find a solution with the future of the Englishman in their best interest. Ideally, Norwich will recall the striker and send him on loan elsewhere, however, solving the predicament doesn’t appear to be that straightforward.

As a result, Albion are left with a player who clearly adds nothing to their side; an eventuality that won’t suit them at all in the back end of the campaign. Ismael will rightfully be frustrated as a result.

In other news: West Brom handed worrying transfer update that will have fans sweating

West Ham United have made an approach in a bid to bring Leandro Trossard to the London Stadium in the January transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a claim made by Pete O’Rourke, with the journalist revealing in a post on Twitter that West Ham have made an enquiry with Brighton & Hove Albion regarding a deal to sign the 27-year-old forward, with David Moyes desperate to bring in attacking reinforcements prior to Monday’s transfer deadline.

In his tweet, O’Rourke said: “Understand West Ham have made a shock enquiry for Brighton attacker Leandro Trossard.”

Fans will finally be pleased

While it is true that Trossard is naturally a winger, the Belgium international’s impressive positional versatility – being able to operate on either flank, in attacking midfield or at centre-forward – is undoubtedly a major reason for West Ham’s interest in the attacker.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/check-out-the-latest-west-ham-news” title=”Check out the latest West Ham News”]

Furthermore, the £15.3m-rated forward is also proven in the Premier League, something that the 58-year-old Hammers manager typically prefers his signings to be – in order to reduce the amount of time it takes for a player to settle into the club.

However, not only does Trossard possess top-flight experience, the winger demonstrated over his 35 league outings last season that he has the ability to thrive in the division, scoring five goals, registering five assists and creating six big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.7 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

These returns saw the £35k-per-week Belgian earn a highly impressive seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.03, ranking him as Graham Potter’s fifth-best performer in the Premier League last time out.

As such, while the 27-year-old is not an out and out centre-forward, considering his impressive returns in the final third, his versatility in attacking roles and his experience in the division, the Brighton star would very much appear to make an excellent addition to Moyes’ attacking arsenal at the London Stadium – with fans undoubtedly being delighted to hear that the 58-year-old is finally addressing a problem position in his squad.

In other news: Deal off: WHU insider reveals fresh transfer setback, Moyes can kiss top four goodbye

Newcastle United return to action this evening as they face off against Wolves at St James’ Park in the Premier League.

The Magpies are currently on a run of three straight defeats and will be looking to put their poor form to an end with a positive result against Bruno Lage’s side.

Eddie Howe’s men were given a thrashing last time out in the top flight as they were hammered 5-1 by Antonio Conte’s Tottenham last weekend.

The ex-Cherries head coach will surely make changes to his team in the hope of turning in an improved performance, and one player he must finally unleash from the start is Bruno Guimaraes after benching him last week.

The midfielder came on as a substitute against Spurs and caught the eye with a strong showing amid a number of poor displays from his team-mates. As per SofaScore, he won seven of his nine duels, made four tackles and completed 96% of his attempted passes – resulting in one key pass – in just 31 minutes on the pitch.

To put those statistics into context, Joe Willock (six), Jonjo Shelvey (three) and Joelinton (two) all failed to win as many duels as the Brazilian despite all of them starting the match, with the former two playing the full 90 minutes and Joelinton coming off in the 59th minute.

His former Lyon team-mate Houssem Aouar dubbed Bruno as someone who “constantly offers solutions” for his team’s defenders by sweeping up ahead of them. This was on full display in his cameo performance in north London as the 24-year-old got stuck in and won possession back for his team in the little time that he had on the pitch.

Howe previously hailed the midfielder as a “standout” player and that is exactly what he can be for Newcastle against Wolves if he is named in the starting XI.

In his last Premier League start – against Everton in mid-March – Bruno impressed in the middle of the park. As per SofaScore, he won seven of his nine duels and made three tackles, whilst completing 97% of his passes and all nine of his long pass attempts.

This display – along with his ability to outshine Willock, Shelvey and Joelinton against Spurs – suggests that he has the quality to run the midfield for the Magpies. He can excel both on and off the ball and it is time for Howe to throw him in from the start at St James’ Park tonight.

AND in other news, Signed for free, now worth £9m: Ashley sealed his final NUFC gift in £35k-p/w “dream”…

Wolves winger Pedro Neto could make his long-awaited injury return at some point in January, according to manager Bruno Lage.

The Lowdown: Neto missing for months

The young Portuguese star hasn’t featured at all yet this season, as he continues to recover from a fractured kneecap suffered back in April.

Neto had arguably been Wolves’ standout player in the 2020/21 campaign prior to that setback, scoring five goals and registering six assists in the Premier League.

It appears as though his return is edging closer all the time, however, acting as a boost for all concerned.

The Latest: Lage gives injury update

Speaking in his pre-Everton press conference on Friday [via The Athletic], Lage confirmed that he expects Neto to return to first-team action in mid-January, after undergoing his own pre-season schedule:

“The good news is everything is OK with his injury. Now he will start to work harder than he has.

“I think maybe he’ll start with the team in one more month. After he’ll need to do a normal pre-season, for two or three weeks, to work and be fit to play in this competition.

“Maybe in the middle of January we’ll have him in the stadium to start to play with us. He can work harder now, this is the good news.”

The Verdict: Play the long game

Any Wolves fan is going to be desperate to see Neto back on the pitch as soon as possible, but it is vital that the club handle him with care.

Rushing him back too soon could end up having dire consequences further down the line, so an element of caution is required with a player so young and full of potential.

Having Neto back from injury will feel like an almighty boost, though – pundit Adrian Clarke has described him as ‘brilliant’ – adding quality and goal threat to a team who are already thriving at the moment, grabbing ten points from their last four games.

In other news, Tim Spiers has delivered a key Wolves injury update. Read more here.

Paul John Dykes has dropped a worrying claim on the future of Celtic winger Karamoko Dembele.

What’s been said?

In comments made on a recent episode of the A Celtic State of Mind podcast, Dykes stated his belief that – with the 19-year-old’s current contract at Parkhead set to expire at the end of the season, and, as yet, the winger being yet to agree a new deal with Ange Postecoglou’s side – the former England U18 international looks as if he will be on his way out of the club this summer.

Speaking about Dembele’s contractual situation, the podcaster said: “I think that Dembele – I feel as though he’s run his race at Celtic. I hope I’m wrong. I hope Ange Postecoglou can convince him to stay another two or three years.”

Disaster for Celtic

Considering how much expectation there has been regarding Dembele’s future ever since his debut for Celtic’s U20 side as a 13-year-old back in 2016, should the winger go on to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, it would undoubtedly be a disaster for Postecoglou and his side.

Indeed, the £225k-rated sensation was named on the shortlist for the European Golden Boy award as recently as 2020, while, shortly after his arrival at Parkhead, the 56-year-old Bhoys boss also stated his excitement at the potential the £2k-per-week forward possessed, saying:

“He is obviously a hugely talented boy. He has been here for a while and I guess he gets an opportunity now. I think the way we play will suit him.”

However, despite recovering from an ankle injury that had kept him sidelined for the first half of the season towards the beginning of February, Dembele has since played just six minutes of Premiership football, as well as being completely left out of Postecoglou’s matchday squad for Celtic’s last two league fixtures – something that does not exactly appear to be the opportunity the Greek-Australian manager suggested the 19-year-old would receive.

And, following the news that fellow Celtic prospect Ben Doak also appears extremely close to sealing a move to Liverpool, should Dembele indeed join the 16-year-old in moving onto pastures new this summer, it would certainly come as a huge blow to everyone involved with the club – with the Parkhead faithful surely being devastated at the thought of losing a talent as promising as the forward for free.

AND in other news: Ange can axe “infectious” ace as Celtic become “serious contenders” for “massive” deal

Many Everton fans have been left buzzing over some manager news involving Jose Mourinho.

As per Italian football journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, the former Tottenham Hotspur manager will not leave Roma this season, and the vacant job at Goodison Park is currently ‘not in his plans’.

Sky Sports broke on Tuesday evening that Mourinho was ‘under consideration’ to become the next permanent boss on Merseyside following the departure of Rafa Benitez, with Duncan Ferguson only in temporary charge for now.

However, it looks as if it is very unlikely that he would take the job with the Toffees given his desire to stay at Roma, meaning that the board will now have to look at other candidates.

Of course, Mourinho has succeeded in English football, winning the Premier League title no fewer than three times with Chelsea, but he is arguably not the manager he once was, having left both Spurs and Manchester United midway through campaigns while outside of the UEFA Champions League places.

Blues supporters may not like his pragmatic style of play either, and so it is no surprise to see them feeling as if they have dodged a bullet.

Everton fans on Mourinho manager news

These Evertonians buzzed as the manager news was shared on Twitter:

“Fantastic”

Credit: @EvertoniaMatt

“Best news I’ve heard. Now tell me Lampard got lost on the M25 driving up to his ‘interview'”

Credit: @Tw1ttr1

“Happy days”

Credit: @Pablo_Beezo

“Thank heavens for that.”

Credit: @owendeasha

“Panic over”

Credit: @Day89

“Siuuuuuu”

Credit: @blue_toffees

In other news, find out what other manager update has EFC fans buzzing here!

Everton owner Farhad Moshiri insists under-fire manager Rafa Benitez will not be sacked by the Premier League outfit as he ‘needs more time’ to turn their poor form around.

What’s the story?

The British-Iranian businessman responded to talkSPORT host Jim White’s text message asking for an update on the 61-year-old tactician’s future following their 4-1 thrashing in the Merseyside Derby on Tuesday night.

“This was my message to Farhad”, said White live on air. “‘Can you text me a message to the fans? Do you still back Rafa?’

“He replied: ‘Yes. Football is about crisis one day and glory the following day. Rafa is a good manager and underperformance is largely due to the injuries.

“’Next two weeks, we will get to a full squad and, in the meantime, results will improve. Rafa needs time to have his mark on the squad. He will be supported to add depth to the squad. Managers need time. I have no doubt that we will have a strong second-half to the season’.”

The Athletic’s Everton reporter Patrick Boyland then relayed the update online, tweeting: “Farhad Moshiri tells Talksport that Rafa Benitez “needs more time” and will not be sacked”.

Everton fans will be gutted

News that Benitez is set to stay in the Everton dugout for the foreseeable future may leave large sections of the Everton fanbase feeling gutted, given his recent struggles.

The Blues are currently enduring an eight-game winless run, have scored just one goal in their last four fixtures and are now hovering only five points above the relegation zone.

Benitez was already an unpopular choice with the club’s supporters upon his arrival due to his previous connections with fierce rivals Liverpool, and his inability to produce quality results has failed to endear him further.

With key players such as Yerry Mina and Dominic Calvert-Lewin expected to return to action soon, the next few weeks could be crucial in Benitez’s Everton tenure. For now, however, he feels like the wrong man for the job.

And, in other news…Everton line up “leader of the year” to succeed Benitez, Toffees fans will be ecstatic