Monday, May 29

Daily WHUFC News - 29th May 2017

Hammers youngsters impress overseas
WHUFC.com

West Ham United's youngsters did the Club proud at two international
post-season tournaments.

Fresh from gaining promotion to Premier League 2 Division 1, the Academy
sent squads to the Blue Stars/FIFA Youth Cup 2017 in Switzerland and the
HKFC Citi Soccer Sevens in Hong Kong.

Academy Director Terry Westley led the Hammers in Switzerland, where the
ten-team Blue Stars competition was being held for the 79th time.

West Ham defeated host club FC Blue Stars 3-0 in their opening Group A
fixture, before falling to a 2-0 defeat by eventual champions Olympique Lyon
of France in their second game.

Onto the second day of competition and the east London side were held to
goalless draws by Grasshopper Club of Switzerland and lndependiente Santa Fe
of Colombia to leave them third in the group behind Lyon and Grasshopper.

Those results put the Hammers through to the 5th/6th place final, where they
scored an impressive 3-1 victory over Benfica courtesy of an outstanding
goal from Grady Diangana and two smart finishes from Toni Martinez.

Farther afield, the Hammers also sent a squad to the Far East for the HKFC
Citi Soccer Sevens – a tournament in which they have finished as runners-up
in each of the last two years.

U18s assistant manager Mark Phillips led the West Ham group, which included
midfielder Moses Makasi, who was named on the bench for the final Premier
League game of the season at Burnley, before signing a new one-year contract
last week.

After drawing 0-0 with Yau Yee League Select, beating Kitchee 3-0 and losing
3-0 to French club Olympique Marseille on the opening day of competition in
Group D, the Hammers were beaten 3-1 by eventual champions Leicester City to
drop into the Shield competition.

There, they overcame HKFA U-23s 2-1 after extra-time before defeating
Italian outfit Cagliari 2-0, with goals from Joe Powell and Jaanai Gordon,
to secure a piece of silverware to bring home to England.

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Hammer Kemp set for England debut
WHUFC.com

West Ham United Academy winger Dan Kemp hopes to make his England debut when
the Young Lions kick-off at the Toulon Tournament in France on Monday.

The teenager, who helped the Hammers win promotion to Premier League 2
Division 1 earlier this month, has been included in Neil Dewsnip's 18-man
squad, which includes players form U18, U19 and U20 age-groups.

Kemp has enjoyed a memorable season, totalling 29 Premier League 2, EFL
Trophy and U18 Premier League appearances for the Hammers' last season,
scoring three goals and assisting five more, before being named on the
Premier League substitutes' bench for the final-day fixture at Burnley last
weekend.

England won the tournament last summer and will kick-off the defence of
their title by tackling Angola at the Stade de Lattre in Aubagne on Monday
29 May, followed by further Group A fixtures with Cuba at the Stade
d'Honneur Marcel Roustan, Salon-de-Provence on Thursday 1 June and Japan in
Aubagne on Sunday 4 June.

"I'm delighted," confirmed the 18-year-old Kemp. "It's always a dream to be
called up for England and I'm honoured to have been called up for my
country, so hopefully I can make my debut while we're over there.

"I want to kick on now and play a lot of games for England and keep moving
forward. England won the tournament last season and it's an excellent
competition, so it'll be an amazing experience and I'm over the moon.

"I'm really pleased with how the season has gone. It's been a great one for
me and my best to date."

The 12-nation tournament also features hosts France, Brazil, Scotland and
Wales, with the three group winners and best-placed runner-up qualifying for
semi-finals. The final will be played in Aubagne on Saturday 10 June.

Among the future stars to feature in previous editions of the competition
were former Hammers Javier Mascherano and Ricardo Vaz Te, as did Zinedine
Zidane, Thierry Henry, Alan Shearer, Rui Costa, James Rodriguez and
Cristiano Ronaldo.

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Hammers duo hail support over land and sea
WHUFC.com

Wherever the Hammers play, the Claret & Blue army follow.

West Ham United's legendary away support is a key feature of the Club's
matches on the road and its impact does not go unnoticed on the pitch.

Speaking at the launch of the Hammers' 2017/18 blue Away Kit, Mark Noble and
Jose Fonte both hailed the travelling support as the best possible.

Skipper Noble said: "We take [large numbers of] away fans wherever we go -
they're fantastic. When we're winning it feels like we're playing at home.

Portugal defender Fonte added: "They go the whole game supporting the team,
being loud and passionate - that's what we want. We have the best fans.

"For us it's massive to have this support and we want to thank them for
their commitment to the team and to the Club. Hopefully we can give them
more reasons to smile, to be happy and more wins."

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West Ham make offer for Man City's Kelechi Iheanacho
Last Updated: 28/05/17 5:24pm
SSN

West Ham have put in an offer for Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho,
according to Sky sources. City value the 20-year-old at £20m and several
other Premier League clubs are reportedly interested. Iheanacho has started
only once for City this year - on January 2 versus Burnley - and is not
believed to be in manager Pep Guardiola's long-term plans. We reported
earlier this month that West Ham were to keen to sign Iheanacho, with Andy
Carroll and Diafra Sakho enduring injury-hit 2016/17 campaigns. The Hammers
have already agreed a deal for full-back Pablo Zabaleta, who will leave
Manchester City when his contract expires at the end of the month and become
a West Ham player on July 1.

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West Ham table bid for Manchester City starlet Kelechi Iheanacho with Pep
Guardiola willing to let Nigerian leave
The 20-year-old striker has found it tough to break into City's first team
due to the form of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus
The Mirror
BYJOHN CROSS
17:44, 28 MAY 2017UPDATED17:46, 28 MAY 2017

West Ham have made a bid for Manchester City's £20m-rated striker Kelechi
Iheanacho. City boss Pep Guardiola is likely to allow the 20-year-old to
leave this summer with West Ham heading up the queue of clubs keen to sign
him. West Ham are unlikely to meet City's sky-high valuation but they are
hopeful of getting a deal done after tabling a first formal bid which is
designed to get things moving. City could be interested in a loan as they
realise he is a good prospect but has found it difficult to get into the
first team at the Etihad. West Ham are keen to strengthen their strike
force especially after allowing Jonathan Calleri to leave after having him
on loan. They have also agreed a Bosman-style free transfer deal for City's
Pablo Zabaleta who is out of contract this summer.

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West Ham to offer cash plus Adrian to Sunderland and want Jordan Pickford in
return - reports
Adrian is being dangled as bait to the relegated Black Cats in exchange for
their prized asset
Football London
BYSAM INKERSOLE
19:00, 28 MAY 2017

West Ham are thought to be preparing a cash-plus-player offer worth around
£25m for Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. The 22-year-old shot-stopper
is hot property, even more so now the Black Cats have been relegated from
the Premier League. Pickford was a shining light in a fairly disastrous
season for Sunderland and was nominated for the PFA Young Player of the
Year. He made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the English top
flight and has caught the eye of just about every top club in the country.
Sunderland are said to be demanding around £30mn before they leven consider
letting go of their Academy of Light graduate and is under contract on
Wearside until 2020. David Moyes told Pickford before he left the club to
stay at Sunderland and warned him against sitting on the bench at another
club. That wouldn't be the case if he were to head to the London Stadium,
where he would surely be first choice as The Sun claim they're going to
offer goalkeeper Adrian as part of the deal. West Ham value the goalkeeper
at £6m and are therefore offering £17m cash on top of that for Pickford.
Adrian was recalled for the final five games of the Premier League season
and kept three clean sheets, so West Ham decided to activate a two-year
option on his contract so he could stay a bit longer, but meaning he also
has value to them and could be used as a makeweight.

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