Daily WHUFC News - 27th May 2018

Carlton Cole: It's exciting times at West Ham United
WHUFC.com

Carlton Cole was in typically enthusiastic mood at London Stadium on Friday
morning, as he unveiled the new West Ham United 2018/19 Home and Away kits.
Cole predicted exciting times ahead under new boss Manuel Pellegrini. The
former Hammers striker, still a huge favourite among the Claret and Blue
faithful, told Sky Sports News that the experienced Chilean possesses all
the right credentials to take the Club forward. "It's exciting times," he
said. "We've got a world-class manager, one of the best in the Premier
League now in my opinion. We know what his credentials are and what he can
bring to the table, he's obviously got the full support of the Board and the
backing to help him take the Club to the next level. "He brings experience
at different levels. He has coached teams like Malaga, who may be considered
lesser teams in their league but have over-achieved to enjoy great success.
He is also going to bring that style of play that West Ham fans want to see.
"He is going to be attracting a few top players that he wants to fit into
the team now. He may let a few go and let a few in. His money is going to be
spent wisely. "It's hard to [pick specific positions]. I think he needs to
galvanise the team he has already got and then add a few players who can
bring different angles to the team, and help approach the style of play he
wants. "You have to look at his history – he loves to play the ball on the
floor. He will get some ball players in, and players who will make the team
stronger. "We've always had optimism, but last year we didn't produce in the
way we wanted to. This year we now have a different angle, we're going to
get behind the new manager from the start, and I'm so glad that he has been
appointed so early, so that we can start restructuring in the right way for
next season."

Cole has been involved in the Club's #ImForever campaign to support the
launch of the new Home and Away kits, and was suitably impressed by the
garment he was asked to model. "I'm loving the new kit," he said. "It's
really light and stylish, a little more Claret with less Blue this time, but
I think it's giving a nice feel to a different era for the Club."

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Javier Hernandez delaying decision on West Ham future until after World Cup
Last Updated: 26/05/18 2:10pm
SSN

West Ham striker Javier Hernandez says he will not commit his future to West
Ham until after the World Cup this summer. Hernandez, 29, has two years left
to run on the contract he signed with the Hammers following his £16m move
from Bayer Leverkusen last summer. But the Mexico striker's future has been
the subject to speculation after he lost his place in West Ham's first team
under previous manager David Moyes towards the end of last season, even
admitting he had asked to leave the club in January. The Hammers appointed
Manuel Pellegrini as new manager this week, but Hernandez was unwilling to
discuss his future with the World Cup under three weeks away. "Of course I
am a West Ham player still, but we'll see," Hernandez said at a press
conference in Los Angeles ahead of Mexico's friendly against Wales on
Tuesday morning. "Right now what can I tell you? I'm glad there's a new
manager? I'm sad there's a new manager? "It's not the moment to speak about
this. My mind is 100 per cent on the World Cup." Asked if Pellegrini - who
led Manchester City to a Premier League and Capital One Cup double in 2014 -
was a good appointment by West Ham, Hernandez replied: "I don't know."

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STICK OR TWIST: THE CENTRAL DEFENDERS
By Iain Dale 26 May 2018 at 21:10 WTID

So, we've done the goalkeepers, now let's look at our crop of central
defenders and see who we should keep or who we should sell. The key thing
here is that we need to improve on what we have.

James Collins
Much as I'd have loved to retain James Collins's services on a 'pay as you
play' basis, we have to face the fact that he's 35 in August. His departure
has certainly not been handled very well. He's also the sort of player you
might want to retain in a coaching capacity but that was always going to be
difficult with a new manager coming in.


Declan Rice
This boy is the real deal and our defence should certainly be formed around
him next season. I don't understand the thinking that he might be played in
midfield. He has certainly played well there on the rare occasion I've seen
him play there but his future is surely as a central defender. His timing is
superb and yes, he's made the odd mistake, but so does anyone who is still
learning their trade. He seemed to combine well with Ogbonna towards the end
of the season. I hope Pellegrini is as impressed y him as the rest of us.

Angelo Ogbonna
On his day Ogbonna is as good a defender as we have. An big ox of a man,
he's surprisingly mobile. But it wouldn't surprise me if he felt it was time
to move back to Italy so he can impress the new Italy manager Roberto
Mancini. He'd certainly command a fee of in excess of £20 million. I hope we
keep him, though.

Winston Reid
His constant injuries restricted his appearances last season and given his
age I am not sure that will improve. He's on a long contract and although on
his day he is a superb defender, can he be relied on to play 30 games? In
his 8 seasons with us he's only managed 30 games three times. Last season it
was 17. Given his record last season if we sold him I doubt we'd get more
than £10 million, especially as he's 30 in July.

Reece Oxford
It's surely time to tell Reece Oxford that he's really wanted at West Ham.
It's three years since he made that stupendous debut against Arsenal, but
he's only made 7 more appearances in the Premier League. His two loan spells
at Borussia Moenchengladbach has supposedly impressed the Germans, but he's
only made 7 starts there. Rumour is he wishes to join them permanently and a
fee of £8 million. I think that would be a crying shame.

Reece Burke
Burke and Oxford have had similar experiences. Neither has been given a
proper chance, yet whenever Burke has played – either at right back or in
central defence – he has impressed. Wherever he has gone out on loan he's
done well, although injury has restricted his appearances. Personally, I'd
keep him for another year and not loan him out, and let him take his chance
if it arrives.

Conclusion
With James Collins gone and Winston Reid's injury record we are light in
central defence. I'd like us to buy one top class central defender who would
be first choice alongside Declan Rice, assuming we play a 4-4-2. If we play
4-3-3 there's an argument we need two. But we must not buy central defenders
from relegated sides. It was rumoured we were in for the West Brom duo Jonny
Evans and Craig Dawson. And then there's the chap from Swansea, Alfie
Mawson. No. We ought to be setting our sights at players with a proven
record.

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STICK OR TWIST: THE GOALKEEPERS
By Iain Dale 26 May 2018 at 08:58
WTID

Over the weekend I'll post a series of articles looking at the different
positions and examine whether we should keep or sell our players who play in
that position. Let's start of with the goalkeepers…

Joe Hart
Joe was with us on a season long loan. It didn't go well and it resulted in
him losing his place in the England squad. At times he looked capable and
made some great saves, but he was error prone and you could tell the defence
didn't have confidence in him. Hart was dropped under Pellegrini at
Manchester City so it is highly unlikely he would want to keep England's
former number one.

Adrian
A mixed season for Adrian, which ended well for the crowd favourite. He was
very unhappy to lose his place at the beginning of the season, but once he
played against Manchester City in December he retained the position.
Although Hart won it back, Adrian came back into the side after a
particularly hapless performance by Hart and stayed in the team for the last
few matches of the season. His shot stopping ability isn't in doubt, but he
usually has one rush of blood to the head in each game, and I do wonder
whether Pellegrini will take to him. If we could get £12-15 million for him,
I suspect he might be sold. He won't settle to be number two.

Nathan Trott
He's been on the bench a few times, but we haven't yet had the chance to see
Nathan in action. I'm told everyone really rates him, but is he ready to
take over as our permanent number two?

VERDICT
There are rumours in the papers that Pellegrini wants to re-sign the
goalkeeper who replaced Joe Hart at Manchester City, Willy Caballero from
Chelsea. He also played for him at Malaga. He could surely only be a number
two given the fact that since 2014 he's only played 20 Premier League
matches. I'd love us to sign Jack Butland from Stoke, but they are
apparently asking £40 million for him. Tom Heaton at Burnley would be
another option as I can't imagine him wanting to play second fiddle to the
magnificent Nick Pope next season.

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WEST HAM CHASING DEAL FOR JOE ALLEN
ALEX MURRAY @Alex_Murray_
ReadWestHam

West Ham are interested in a deal for Joe Allen, with Stoke looking likely
to sell the midfielder after being relegated from the Premier League. The
Welshman, who was pivotal in Wales' Euro 2016 campaign. Was relegated from
the top flight after Paul Lambert was unable to keep the Potters in the top
flight. The Mirror report that Stoke are likely to begin a clearout after
losing their Premier League status, and West Ham could be one of the teams
picking up one of their stars. New Stoke boss Gary Rowett has been tasked
with a clearout by the clubs owners, after many high profile players failed
to perform for the Potters. Allen is one of those set to depart, along with
goalkeepers Jack Butland, who has been linked with a move back to the top
flight. West Ham could be a new home for Allen, who joined Stoke from
Liverpool in 2016.

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WEST HAM HAVE HAD LUCKY ESCAPE WITH MONEYSPINNERFeatured Image
Date: 26th May 2018 at 8:27pm
Written by: Laura OLeary
ForeverWesTHam

West Ham might not feel like they've had a lucky escape over their potential
pursuit of Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney but when they look back the club
will appreciate missing out on him. It was previously reported by the
Evening Standard, ahead of Fulham's play-off final against Aston Villa, that
the Hammers were very keen on signing the 27-year-old attacking midfielder.
The newspaper claimed that the outcome of Saturday's game could play a
factor, which seems extremely likely, and as Cairney's side won the play-off
final it seems a move for him is off the cards. While some may be
disappointed to hear that, considering the plaudits he receives and the fact
he scored the only goal on Saturday, the Hammers are lucky to miss out.
Cairney may have spectacularly shone in some of his 37 appearances for the
Cottagers this season, but a lot of his displays were disappointing due to
knee issues. These knee problems kept him out of several games but also
affected his performances in a lot of the games he was passed fit for. These
sort of injury issues always have a tendency to resurface and if his knees
are starting to cause him problems at the age of 27-years-old, there is a
genuine risk to investing in his services.

Especially when it's a big money move, £20million was thought to be his
price tag if Fulham failed to get up, as stated by the Daily Mirror, and
that's no doubt the lowest price they would take for him now after
Saturday's outcome. Therefore West Ham have been handed a lucky escape by
having an opportunity not to welcome Cairney to the London Stadium as they
were reportedly set to make a blunder by considering splashing the cash on
him.

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SNODGRASS PUNCHED HIS TICKET V FULHAMFeatured Image
Date: 26th May 2018 at 6:57pm
Written by: Laura OLeary
ForeverWestHam

While West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini wants to be firm but fair by giving
everyone an opportunity to impress him in pre-season, he must not waste his
time on Robert Snodgrass. The winger, who apparently is on a £40,000-a-week
deal at the London Stadium as per Spotrac, spent his latest campaign on loan
at Aston Villa and featured for them in the play-off final against Fulham on
Saturday. However while not wearing a Hammers kit at the time, Snodgrass'
performance should have told Pellegrini everything he needed to know about
the winger. The 30-year-old is clearly not good enough to feature at the
London Stadium or in the Premier League next season as he woefully let down
his temporary side on Saturday.
Nothing went right for Snodgrass during the game and he lumbered his way
across the pitch unable to make a positive impact on the match in any way.
It was reported by Claret & Hugh , who specialise in Hammers news, that
Pellegrini would watch the play-off final to see Snodgrass in action as he
was due back at the London Stadium when his loan deal expires. Upon viewing
his display, if the manager's first action wasn't to place him on the
transfer list then it would be a bizarre mistake to make. While seeing a
player firsthand may give a manager a better impression, that won't be the
case with Snodgrass. The winger has had his moments in his latest campaign
with the Villans, during his 42 appearances, but hasn't looked head and
shoulders above the other players in the Championship. The Hammers need to
add top quality players capable of performing in the Premier League this
summer in order to avoid being dragged into a relegation battle next season,
and Snodgrass' return to the squad will see them in a battle for their
top-flight status if anything. It's not like the £40,000-a-week winger
didn't have a chance at the London Stadium, even if it was a small one, and
he never showed a reason for him to be at the Hammers previously in the 15
times he pulled on the jersey. Therefore after a woeful final outing for the
Villans, Snodgrass has punched his own ticket out of the Hammers and will
not kick another ball while wearing a Hammers shirt if Pellegrini has any
sense.

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West Ham eyeing move for Barcelona centre back Marlon Santos after
impressing for Nice on loan last season
Barcelona's Marlon Santos had impressed on loan at Nice last campaign
The 22-year-old West Ham target has also drawn enquiries from Leicester
Santos impressed last season for Nice, featuring 27 times in all
competitions
By Simon Jones for MailOnline
PUBLISHED: 16:58, 26 May 2018 | UPDATED: 17:07, 26 May 2018

West Ham have expressed interest in signing Marlon Santos from Barcelona.
The 22-year-old Brazilian had impressed on loan at Nice last season and has
drawn enquiries from Leicester City. The centre back featured 27 times in
all competitions for the French side last campaign, helping them to an
eighth-placed finish in Ligue 1. With a lack of opportunities at Barcelona
however, Santos may seek an exit from the Nou Camp to further his career.
And after impressing during his loan spell in France, the Hammers, along
with Leicester, are now looking to acquire the services of Santos. After
joining as West Ham boss on Tuesday, Manuel Pellegrini is eager to make an
immediate impact and is looking to bolster his defensive options following a
disappointing season for the club. West Ham, who finished 13th in the
Premier League, conceded a massive 68 goals last season, the joint-most with
Stoke in the top flight.

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