Hammers head to Austria
WHUFC.com
West Ham United headed to Austria for the next phase of their pre-season training on Sunday. Following a tour of the United States, which included games against MLS side Seattle Sounders and Carolina RailHawks, Slaven Bilic and his team will now play three matches in the space of a week in the central European country. Departing from London Heathrow early on Sunday, the travelling party included the likes of Gokhan Tore, Darren Randolph, Enner Valencia, Michail Antonio and Cheikhou Kouyate, who link up with their teammates for the first time this summer. Immediately upon arrival in Austria, Bilic put his side through their paces on the training pitch, with goalkeeper Adrian delighted to get down to work. He said: “It was a good first day, training after our flight. We’ve started all together again with most of the squad and I think we have a good ten days ahead of us with three friendly games. “We have to prepare as strongly as possible and be fit for the Europa League game on 28 July “It’s good to have Darren and Rapha here and to work together again. It’s the most important thing to be competitive for us, and to give 120 percent in each training session, so for me and the rest of the goalkeepers it’s excellent.
With a UEFA Europa League third qualifying round tie against either Shakhtyor Soligorsk of Belarus or Domzale of Slovenia now less than two weeks away, the Hammers’ training camp in Austria offers the perfect preparation. Bilic will also lead his side into three testing pre-season friendlies – the first of which will be played against Czech outfit FC Slovacko in Rohrbach on Tuesday. That is followed 24 hours later with a game against Russian side Rubin Kazan in Krottendorf. The final game of the tour is against Bilic’s former side Karlsruher SC of Germany, in Kapfenberg on Saturday.
Follow full coverage of the tour right here on whufc.com and across our social media channels throughout the week.
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Antonio - I want more goals at the new Stadium
WHUFC.com
Michail Antonio is relishing the chance to wear the Club's new 2016/17 Umbro home kit at the new Stadium and hopes to carry on his memorable goal celebrations. Antonio was part of a spectacular ceremony to unveil the new iconic strip alongside the likes of club skipper Mark Noble, Winston Reid, Aaron Cresswell and new signings Gokhan Tore, Sofiane Feghouli and Havard Nordtveit. The Hammers winger played a major role for the Club last season and few could forget his celebrations after he scored the winning goal against Tottenham and then got on the scoresheet in the final ever game at the Boleyn Ground against Manchester United. After scoring nine goals for West Ham in his debut season in the Premier League, Antonio is now hoping to score even more and help the Hammers challenge for silverware. Antonio said: “I really like the new home kit and it has a nice fitting. I will enjoy wearing it next season. It was great that we could unveil it at the new Stadium as this was my first time visiting our new home. I managed to see the pitch which looks really good. “I didn't realise how big the stadium was until I got inside. It is massive and hopefully the fans can create the same atmosphere that we had at the Boleyn Ground. “It is crazy that I will be playing in front of 60,000 fans every week. To have those fans pushing us every week will help us throughout the season. “Hopefully I can get the fans going with some more goals and I want the fans to send me ideas on what new ones I can do for them! “The support we have is fantastic and I hope they enjoyed the kit unveiling.”
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West Ham prepare contract talks with Reece Oxford amid Manchester United interest
22:30, 16 JUL 2016
BY TOM HOPKINSON
The 17-year-old is currently on England Under-19 duty and the Hammers have already rejected a £10million offer from Red Bull Leipzig
The Mirror
West Ham will hold talks over a new deal with defender Reece Oxford when he returns from England Under-19 duty. The 17-year-old, who has two years left to run on his contract, is hot property and the Hammers are keen to tie him down on a long-term deal. German side Red Bull Leipzig have already had a £10million bid rejected by West Ham’s owners. While on Friday, Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham all had him watched as he helped the Young Lions beat Holland 2-1 to book their place in the Euro Under-19 Championship semi-finals in Germany. West Ham United via GettySlaven Bilic looks onLiking: Bilic is expected to make Oxford a bigger part of his first-team next season United boss Jose Mourinho is hugely keen on the youngster and is preparing to step up his bid to take him to Old Trafford. Oxford made 12 appearances for West Ham last season, including six in the Premier League.
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Swansea and Lazio in bidding war for Enner Valencia but remain short of West Ham's £15million price tag
15:32, 17 JUL 2016 UPDATED 15:39, 17 JUL 2016
BY DARREN LEWIS
The Ecuador forward is wanted in Italy and in the Premier League but Lazio and Swansea will have to increase their offers to get their man
TheMirror
Lazio are continuing to negotiate with West Ham for £15million striker Enner Valencia - but face strong competition from Swansea . The Italian club are hunting a replacement for veteran Miroslav Klose but are struggling to meet the Hammers’ asking price. Lazio want to take Valencia on loan with a view to a permanent deal. West Ham are only interested in an outright deal which sees they claw back at least the £12million they paid Mexico's Pachuca for him two years ago. But West Ham have dismissed out of hand their offer of a £2.5million loan fee with £8million payable if Valencia plays in half their games next season.
Swansea have offered £10million plus £3million in bonuses but West Ham are holding out for the deal more suitable to them.
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OUR SEARCH FOR A STRIKER BY THE ARMCHAIR HAMMER
BY EXWHUEMPLOYEE ON 17 JULY 2016 AT 9:10PM
The West HamWay.co.uk
Carlos Bacca Fifa
My nine year old son has been playing FIFA for a few years now. One of his favourite players in the game is Carlos Bacca. Why? Because on the game, he’s labelled as C .Bacca. Now my son is a Star Wars fan, as well as a Hammer, and he loves to call him Chewbacca. When I mentioned to him that there were rumours that we may be buying him – he literally danced for joy.
Ah, the innocence of youth.
Now that Bacca is stalling on signing a deal, I don’t want to (terrible pun alert) burst his bubble and crush his dreams just yet – until we know the outcome of this saga. So I’m holding off from telling him anything until Ex gives us confirmation of a deal.
Now this isn’t the first time in this window that we’ve been heavily linked with some really good strikers. Lacazette and Batshuayi set the rumour mill alight before the Euro’s and we all know what happened there.
A cynic would suggest that both of these players, or more probably their agents, were likely using us as a way to drive up interest from other clubs. Now, I seriously doubt that either player had any real interest in joining. Our ambition is high and the club is moving in a very positive direction under the stewardship of the joint-chairman. But the fact is, we are not yet playing in the Champions League and most of the high quality players we are being linked with want immediate access to Europe’s premier competition.
The only way we are likely to get these types of players in to the club is by spending vast amounts of money on transfer fees and salaries.
Don’t forget clubs around the world want to cash in on the vast riches on offer from Premiership teams this season with seemingly average players fees hugely inflated. Players agents are looking for obscenely high wages for their clients – and they will destroy our club’s current wage structure.
Our joint-chairman and indeed Lady Brady are working hard to get the club back on a solid financial footing after years of mis-management. Do we really want to go through those bleak years again?
Now this is where I go back to the Bacca situation. I’m sure the club could secure his signature if we paid him enough money, but is it worth it at the risk of losing our all-important team morale? Bear in mind, this team fights for each other. I’m no longer fearful of going a goal down – we can get back into games. Over the years, that hasn’t always been the case – trust me.
Personally, and I welcome your thoughts on this, I’d rather see players join that are as passionate and excited about joining us as we, the fans are about supporting out our team.
Don’t forget, Payet wasn’t seen as worldie when he joined us. Bilic has installed a belief in him and the team around him. We play to his obvious strengths. He, and indeed we, are reaping the benefits. The same could be said of Di Canio. He was seen as a maverick, a real punt at the time but we, the supporters, got behind him and earned his loyalty. What a player he turned out to be for us.
My point, you may be asking?
It’s this.
You need a player in the Premiership that is going to show both quality and a desire to do well for their club. These two qualities aren’t mutually exclusive. For a club with our level of ambition, I really think we need both.
Just look at some of the fantastic signings we’ve had over the years who have failed to live up to their promise. We’ve had Javier Mascherano who didn’t really get a kick, Davor Suker, Benni McCarthy, Kieron Dyer and Florin Raducioiu. The reason they flattered to deceive? They all wanted a big pay day or used us as a stepping stone.
So my hope is that we don’t get held to ransom by greedy clubs or greedy players. Instead, we bring in players who are excited about playing in front of 60,000 passionate fans every week and will give us their heart and soul. In return, we’ll give them a chant and plenty of adoration. Who could turn that down eh?
So, whether Bacca is in or out is down to him. The important question is – will he turn out to be my son’s ultimate footballing hero, or deal him the first crushing blow of his early life?
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to tell my boy about the rumour we’re signing James Rodriguez……
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