Daily WHUFC News - 26th June 2017

Quina – I'm excited for the new season
WHUFC.com

Domingos Quina is ready to push on in 2017/18 after a successful first
season with the Hammers
The young Portugal youth international made his first team debut in the
Europa League last term
Quina was also named as a substitute 12 times by Slaven Bilic for Premier
League clashes last season

Young Hammer Domingos Quina is hoping the first team experiences he enjoyed
last season can help him push on and seize more senior opportunities in the
upcoming campaign. The Portugal youth international, who was crowned a UEFA
European Champion with his country in the U17 tournament last summer, made
his West Ham debut in the Europa League last campaign. And after playing in
the Club's London Stadium official opener against Juventus, the midfield
talent was named on the substitutes' bench for 12 Premier League matches
during the term. Quina also signed a new long-term deal with the Hammers
before topping off the campaign by winning the Dylan Tombides award as the
season came to its climax. The teenager believes he learned a lot during his
first year in English football, and is now ready to kick on once again in
2017/18. "Training with the first team so much in my first season has
definitely developed me as a player," he said. "The tempo of the game, the
physical side of it; I'm getting used to all that now and more often. It
will definitely help going into next season and being more ready from the
start of it. I'm excited for it to start already. "Hopefully now I can play
in the Premier League as well, and that's the aim. It was a good first year
but now I want to kick on. It was a good first year but now I want to kick
on. Training with the first team so much in my first season has definitely
developed me as a player
"I came here and went straight into training with the first team quickly,
and I wasn't expecting that. "When I first came in, I thought that I would
be looking to impress at the Academy and earn a chance later in the season
to go with the first team, so that was huge that I was trusted to go
straight in there."

Despite the numerous inclusions in matchday squads throughout the season in
the league as well as the FA Cup, playing his part in London Stadium's
official Betway Cup opener against this season's Champions League finalists
was the highlight for the 17-year-old. "It was amazing," the youngster
recalled. "Playing at the Stadium against them was definitely one of the top
highlights. "Playing in front of so many fans was incredible. And then, of
course, we were playing Juventus themselves – they're such a big team around
the world so it was amazing. "To be down there, warming up or sitting on the
bench many other times during the season, it has been amazing for me."

Quina, who was a much sought-after talent before the Hammers snapped him up
last summer, not only impressed on the senior stage, but also with the U23
side last season. The midfielder was often instrumental for the Academy of
Football outfit, playing a huge part as they eventually won promotion to
Premier League 2 Division 1. The summer signing also caught the eye with his
stunning halfway-line strike which sailed over Leicester City U23s' keeper's
head in a Premier League Cup clash before the turn of the year. "That goal
was also a special moment," he said. "I've tried it a few times before and
I'm glad that it came off. It's been a great year for the 23s this season
for me. "I have enjoyed playing as both a No10 and a No8 in midfield, but I
think at the moment I like playing as an eight more, because I can get on
the ball more, be myself and do what I want to do. "In ten, you get the ball
less often and not all the time, and I like to have the ball and try and
affect the play. I think No8 is where in the future I see myself playing,
and hopefully for West Ham."

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WHAT DOES SLAVEN HAVE TO DO THIS YEAR TO GET A NEW DEAL?
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 25 JUNE 2017 AT 5:46PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk
Written by Adam LeatherBarrow @_ldesign

Slaven Bilic faces a career changing season. His current win ratio for the
club is well below par and you can understand why he hasn't been given a new
deal. So What does Slaven need to do to save his West Ham career?

During the 2015-16 he managed to win 16 games which gave Slaven a 42.1%-win
rate, but he was given a vast amount to players to work with. That summer
the club brought in fifteen players, players such as Pedro Obiang, Dimitri
Payet, Manuel Lanzini, Darren Randolph, Angelo Ogbonna, Carl Jenkinson, Alex
Song, Michail Antonio, Nikica Jelavic and Victor Moses. Three of those
players were our stand out players last season.

A counter argument could be said that last season the club invested again in
players who were considered an "improvement" to the squad previously. We saw
a three players leave in the summer and two leave in the winters, most
significantly Dimitri Payet. But we saw the same amount of players come to
the club, players such as Feghouli, Martinez, Nordviet, Quina, Fletcher,
Masukau, Fernandes, Arbeloa, Fonte, Holland, Snodgrass, Zaza, Tore, Calleri
and Club record signing Ayew.

For Slaven to be given a new deal he has to get near his "club career" win
ratio of 49.8% – which means he needs to win 19 games of the total premier
league fixtures, bear in mind Manchester United won 18 games last season.
Along with his international jobs, it was his performances as a club head
coach that had got him the job at West Ham in the first place, although he
was the boards third choice. It's not mainly about how many points you get,
it's about winning games and the club need to win more games regularly and
be able to take control of the game and the season.

I predict that if Slaven replicates the 2015-16 season, he will be given a
new deal and hopefully continue this form to be able to qualify for Europa
League football outright. If he carries on performing like last season
despite investing in players, then it would be safe to say that Slaven Bilic
will NOT be West Ham manager for the 2018-19 season.

This season Slaven will get a FULL support until the final kick of the ball
happens in May 2018. I do hope we see the best of Bilic again and I hope we
the squad fitness is improved and tweaked by high quality players rather
than average squad fillers. With the reported £85m transfer kitty, I would
rather see 3-4 £25-30m players that are "match winners" and "game changers"
to improve the quality of the team. The club had that in Payet and we STILL
miss his performances, skill and free kicks immensely even though he left
the club on bad terms. The club do not NEED to sign fifteen players as
we've seen the past two seasons.

COYI, Arms and fingers crossed the club bring in the players to help Slaven
save his West Ham career by delivering a season to remember.

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EXWHUEMPLOYEE'S EXCLUSIVE COLUMN: NEW CONTRACTS AND POTENTIAL PLAYERS IN AND
OUT
AUTHOR: EXWHUEMPLOYEE. PUBLISHED: 25 JUNE 2017 AT 10:07PM
TheWestHamWay.co.uk

So we are approaching July and it is this month where I think we will start
to make some of our signings. I understand it has been a frustrating month
for us fans and I am as eager to see new players arrive soon as well.

For those of you that follow my updates on the radio and through my twitter
account you will know that I have said a number of times that the club are
deliberartely making news harder to obtain for most people. This is why I
believe the newspapers and some other West Ham sites are recycling transfer
news from the last windows and linking us with almost every player or just
simply making it up. This is a good thing that the news is restricted and
something that the fans hoped they would see from the club.

I am still obtaining some information though my sources but the chairman and
their family certainly are not revealing anything to anyone at this point
and so it is coming from different avenues. The departures of Oxford and
Nordtveit, that I had covered for a couple of weeks now, were finally
confirmed last week and this has freed up further wage space. We have also
released Stephen Hendrie to get him off the wage bill.

Nortveit left for around £5m with clauses taking the deal up a bit more
should they be met. He was also on £45k a week so we wanted this wage out of
our budget as soon as possible. Oxford is on £20k a week so moving quickly
to get this wage off as well helps, as well as getting him a top German club
for which there are certain agreements in place that mean he will play for
them. Oxford's performances and attitude for Reading have been questioned by
some and this is his chance to now prove he is the player he has been billed
to be. He will certainly learn defensive discipline in the German top
flight.

As I have tweeted this week I expect a number of youth team players to
follow, on loan, out of the club this window. The management team believe
that these youngsters need to prove themselves at Championship level at
least. This could mean the likes of Samuelson, Browne, Martinez, Fletcher,
Quina, Rice and Burke could all go on loan next year. Some of them will get
game time in preseason and then the judgement will be made then. Reece Burke
has been told he will go on loan again with Bolton and Birmingham showing
interest and there is also a Premier League club who have launched a bid to
buy the player. Although it hasn't been confirmed who they are I suspect
this club could be Brighton who had enquired about a couple of our defenders
recently. This is disappointing to be told this by a very reliable source as
I had hoped some of the youngsters would get a chance this coming season.
One player who I had been told could get his chance is Josh Cullen, he is
expected to play in preseason however if a top championship side come in for
him with the promise of first team football this could be a temptation for
him.

The forward situation is a frustrating one for the club at the moment. We
have put in around 8 different bids for different forwards but at the moment
clubs are not really listening to offers until they are clear on whether
they are signing players. This can be said especially for Arsenal and
Chelsea. We want Giroud but they do not want to sell at the moment until
they sign other forwards and we also have serious competition from Lyon for
his services (Lyon is a team close to his place of birth). Giroud wants to
play regularly so he leads the French attack at the next World Cup. He is
said to be keen to stay in London too so it could be a battle between
ourselves and Lyon should Arsenal decide to sell the player. We have also
looked at Perez of the same club too but the same applies with him at the
moment in terms of transfer movement and Giroud is the preferred choice. The
Walcott story has reappeared again, I think due to the papers not having
much stories coming to them and I don't think Arsenal want to sell him
either. Should he be available we would be keen on bringing him to the club
but as yet we haven't made a move.

We still want Batshuayi but again this depends on Chelsea's business and the
competition out there. Iheanacho was a player we desperately wanted at the
start of the window and we launched a bid for him. The buyback clause has
caused a concern for us as City want to be able to buy him back for a low
buy back fee. We are worried that we will develop a player, put a lot into
this only to have to sell him back for a minimal profit should he be a
success. Other clubs are now interested but I wouldn't count us out of the
running just yet, we could return with a new offer around the buyback clause
this week.

Another transfer that may have some movement this week is Henry Onyekuru who
is expected to be granted a work permit for his move to England. A number of
clubs including Arsenal, Swansea and Birmingham are said to also be after
the player. There was talk that his club wanted him to join a more
"prestigious" club than us but that he had turned down Arsenal because he
wants to be promised first team football so it will be interesting to see
how this develops. Our interest has been lodged we will meet the release
clause fee, we will do all we can to sign the player,, so hopefully we will
be successful.

There has been a lot of links with centre backs this week, none of which I
think have any legs at this point. We did have an interest in Hart on loan
but this depends on his wages being massively reduced and there is a
possibility that Ruddy will be signed as a third keeper, as he is on a free,
having been released from Norwich. There is some talk within the club that
we could move for a midfielder now that Nordtveit has gone. If Barkley of
Everton becomes available, especially for a loan deal, we could explore that
option further into the window.

Slav has made it clear he also wants a tricky and pacey winger with Traore
of Middlesborough being the main target. He is said to have cut his holiday
short to discuss his future with 'Boro but so far we have yet to agree a
deal for him. The clubs demands are very high. Unfortunately at this time of
year this is often the case with transfers and the demands gradually lower
as the weeks go on. We made a move for Modeste for example and we told that
his club wanted over £40m for him, which is way too high for a player that
has had a few decent seasons.

Some good news is that we plan to offer new contracts to a number of players
including Lanzini and Obiang. Lanzini will be made to be one of the highest
players at the club which stands at Andy Carroll on £90k a week and Obiang
will be given a significant improvement to his contract. Andre Ayew has said
he wants to stay at the club and Kouyate's comments have been taken out of
context it seems and he is just keen to play in midfield next year and not
be a right back experiment again.

I went to the London Stadium on Friday for Robbie Williams' concert as a
treat to the wife. In fairness it was a great show and showed the stadium
off really well. Although it could be argued it is more designed for music
events then sports. Although I think time will tell on this one. I was upset
to see that the Founders Wall had been taken down as I wanted to find my
name as I never get time before the match. I have checked with the club and
this was taken down because of the various events that are taking place
there and the fear of vandalism of it from opposing fans and it should be
back for next season.

On Wednesday we had the pleasure of interviewing Kenny Brown on our radio
show and I believe it was one of the most interesting shows we have done.
Kenny spoke of the Redknapp/Bonds fall out, Joey Beauchamp, Paulo Futre,
Hutchison's sandwiches in the face, John Moncur's antics and many more
really interesting stories. He answered these questions in brilliant honesty
and showed his love for the club. If you haven't listened yet I would really
recommend you doing so, here is the link:
https://www.mixcloud.com/phoenixfm/the-west-ham-way-show-46-21-jun-2017/

There is also less than two weeks until Sammy's big fight, he has sold lots
of tickets and they are going quick. Make sure you get your tickets quickly
as this is going to be a proper West Ham event. We have also donated two
tickets to Sammy to draw out to anyone that buys tickets for his fight to
our West Ham Way Pre Match events. So far we have had confirmation that
Bobby Zamora, Jack Collison, David Connolly, Kenny Brown Jnr, Alan
Devonshire and the one and only Billy Bonds will be guests next season.
Other top names are expected to confirm soon too and we will start to
confirm dates so we hope the prematch events will continue to grow in
success!

I hope I have some more positive news to tell you all about on the radio
show on Wednesday. I am getting as frustrated as some of you but we have to
remember it is early and not many clubs have bought players yet. I hope this
doesn't replicate last year's window but at this point it is too early to
judge. We rarely sign players in June but I hope in early July we will have
players to talk about. We shall see, if anything changes I will let you know
if and when I find out. If you are interested in advertising with the site
or any of the other things that we do please get in touch as we can offer
some excellent packages with good exposure and it would help a lot with the
running of it all.

Have a great week! COYI

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West Ham to take huge loss by selling Enner Valencia - but Pachuca could
hijack Tigres deal
HITC
Olly Dawes

West Ham United's Enner Valencia is reportedly set to leave the club.
According to Football.London, West Ham United are set to sell striker Enner
Valencia for just £5million, less than half of the £12million they paid
three years ago. Valencia, 27, enjoyed a stunning 2014 World Cup campaign,
scoring all three of Ecuador's goals in the competition, and those displays
earned him a big-money move to England with West Ham. The attacker, who can
play out wide or up front, impressed with his pace in his first season at
West Ham, scoring five goals in 37 games under Sam Allardyce, but he was
less of a regular under Slaven Bilic during the 2015-16 campaign. After five
goals in 23 games that season, Valencia was sent out on loan to Everton in
August, where he found the net just three time in 23 games, with the Toffees
unsurprisingly rejecting the chance to purchase him permanently. Valencia
appears to have no future under Bilic, and Football.London report that the
former Pachuca star is set for a return to Mexico, with West Ham ready to
sell him to UANL Tigres for just £5million. That's a huge loss for West Ham,
and another example of why team shouldn't just sign players based on their
World Cup displays – as the Hammers also found with Mexican winger Pablo
Barrera in 2010.
Valencia's move isn't quite so simple though, as the report adds that his
former club Pachuca are interested in re-signing him too, and could hijack
the deal at the last minute to beat rivals Tigres to the punch. That would
give Bilic a little more money to spend in the transfer market, and get more
dead wood out of the London Stadium, having already parted ways with the
likes of Alvaro Arbeloa, Gokhan Tore and Havard Nordtveit this summer.

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Safe standing at the London Stadium: Will West Ham be the next to sign up
and are the fans in favour?
HITC
Damien Lucas

The Premier League is currently canvassing opinion on safe standing at
football grounds, something advocated by West Ham United co-owner David
Gold.
The Hammers want to introduce safe standing at their 60,000 seater Olympic
Stadium home with co-owner Gold having held talks last September. Gold is a
big advocate for safe standing and has been involved in the process of
trying to add a non-seating section to the London Stadium to help improve
atmosphere and ensure like-minded supporters have more choice to stand
together. West Ham discussed the idea with the same company who installed
the Ferco Seating system at Celtic Park in the summer, as reported by The
Sun. Now Sky Sports has reported that West Bromwich Albion have thrown their
hat into the ring to be part of the pilot scheme. And given West Ham's
standing on the issue, they could well be next. The Premier League has
written to all 20 clubs asking if they would be interested in taking part in
a trial, which could eventually see the reintroduction of standing areas
within grounds. It is thought that the government and police forces remain
opposed to the idea on safety grounds. Sky reports a Department of Culture,
Media and Sport spokesperson said: "The government currently has no plans to
change its position and introduce standing accommodation at grounds covered
by the all-seater requirement."

Clubs in England's top two divisions have been legally required to have
all-seater grounds since the measure was recommended by the 1990 Taylor
Report into the Hillsborough disaster. The last time the issue was raised,
as previously reported by HITC, Gold said: "I have been speaking with the
people who put in the rail seating at Celtic Park. "I have been an advocate
of this for many years and it is something I am working on. "We are working
on it. I believe in it, we are in touch and we will do everything we can to
resolve the issue."
The Hammers were reportedly set to meet with the FA and Premier League about
the idea but a torrid second season under Slaven Bilic and a number of
issues with the stadium move ended up taking priority. But now with the
matter back on the agenda, West Ham could be next to sign up for the scheme.

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Reece Oxford exit leaves 'The Academy' in limbo as West Ham mimic Chelsea
JOHN DILLON
Evening Standard

'The Academy of Football'... that's in Germany, isn't it? Well, not quite.
But there's little doubt that Reece Oxford, West Ham's teenage starlet
defender, will benefit from the year he will spend on loan at Borussia
Monchangladbach next season - even though it appears to have unsettled some
of the supporters. If it was good enough for Rio Ferdinand to spend 10 games
at Bournemouth in 1996-97 in the old third tier, it's certainly an upgrade
for 18-year-old Oxford to add to his experience with the team which finished
fourth in the Bundesliga. He could even play in the Champions League, with
the club having qualified for the play-off round. Still, it tells you a lot
about the harsh realities of life for young hopefuls in the Premier League
that the English club, which brands itself in its marketing splurges as one
of the great young player factories, now sends its best prospects off to
learn elsewhere. For a club which hasn't won anything since 1980, talent
production has been a huge source of pride for the supporters. Now they fear
the modern game and its finance-driven priorities will cut off that
life-blood of hope.
This is the great vexed question at the top level of the English game these
days. It's why the advance of the England side to the European U21
Championship semi-final against Germany on Tuesday is prompting discussion
about whether the players involved will ever fully establish themsleves with
top domestic clubs.
And that's a debate we've already had once this season following the U20s'
triumph in the World Cup last month - so complex is the issue.

So it is at West Ham. To some unhappy supporters, the departure of Oxford
for Europe has prompted world-weary musings about his long-term future at
the club, even though he recently signed a new three-year contract. There is
a lot of excitement among those supporters about young prospects like
Domingos Quina, Reece Burke, Josh Cullen, Toni Martinez and Declan Rice. But
West Ham's policy has been to send most of them out on loan in order for
them to get the experience which is so hard for them to gain while the
competitive demands upon Premier League bosses are so intense. Of course, it
should be a tremendous opportunity in the Bundesliga for Oxford, who spent
the second half of last season at Reading - after memorably making his first
team debut as a 16-year-old at Arsenal in August, 2015. But one of the
problems here is about timing - and the enduring ability of West Ham's
owners to say things which simply wind up their own fans.
Co-chairman David Gold received a hefty amount of criticism from the fans
when he declared two months back that there will be few opportunities for
youngsters to get into the current Hammers side, despite their troubles last
season. "We all have to accept that it is extremely unlikely that a teenager
will break into a Premier League team full of seasoned internationals," Gold
tweeted in May. "Playing teenagers doesn't guarantee success. Hull came
fifth (in number of youngsters played) and got relegated. Chelsea came last
and won the league." He's not wrong. He was telling it as it is. But fans
don't like hearing it, even though all Premier League clubs are now so
wealthy they can cherry-pick ready-made, experienced players from across the
globe.

In the case of defenders like Oxford, managers are particularly unwilling to
risk raw youths at the back in such a highly physical and helter-skelter
football environment as the Premier League. Chelsea's huge successes of the
Abramovich era have been built upon a clearly-defined policy of buying
seasoned internationals rather than promotion of any homegrown products.
Their priority is to consistently win the biggest prizes. And they know
exactly how it's done.
For the supporters of clubs like West Ham, there is a difference - a
question of degree. They know their club isn't going to win anything big.
And their cup record of recent seasons suggests it will be some time before
they can think about winning anything 'small' either. So there is another
kind of satisfaction and achievement to be enjoyed if a youth player reaches
the top. It's my guess that is this has prompted the twitchiness about
Oxford's loan move. The fans want to see him in the first team. But the
nature of the Premier League and legislates against it. Bilic has given
debuts to 11 Academy graduates since he took charge. And he has said this
summer that he hopes to give more of the kids a chance. He will have to
solve English football's great Catch 22 problem to make it happen, though.

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Report: West Ham submit bid for Yann Karamoh
HITC
Vincent Ralph

West Ham united are said to have made a move for the attacker. According to
Goal.com in France, West Ham United have made an £8.7million bid for Caen
winger Yann Karamoh, with a decision on his future expected next week. His
current club are said to have put that price tag on his head ahead of a
likely summer move, and both West Ham and German club RB Leipzig have
reportedly matched it. With just a year remaining on his current contract,
Karamoh's future looks to be away from the Lige 1 club and now he may have
to decide whether to move to the Bundesliga or the Premier League. West Ham
fans are desperate for the club to make some quality attacking signings this
summer but for now they are left fearing it could be a repeat of the 2016
summer window. Karamoh is predominantly a right winger although he can also
play up front if required, and while he is still only 18 he is fresh off the
back of his breakthrough campaign in France. The teenager featured 36 times
for Caen last season, scoring five goals and providing four assists in the
process, and were he to arrive at West Ham it would be interesting to see
where Hammers manager Slaven Bilic used him. Karamoh played all but six of
his matches last season out wide, but it is through the middle where West
Ham are in most need of additions. He may not be the big-name signing
Hammers fans are hoping for but at least the club are looking to kick on
with their business ahead of a vital second season at the London Stadium.

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