WHUFC.com
The club have contacted the Italian FA and FIFA with regard to non-payment of a transfer fee instalment
08.07.2011
West Ham United have asked the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) to suspend Alessandro Diamanti's player registration with Brescia Calcio spa with immediate effect. The Italian international was transferred to Brescia in August 2010 for €2.2m. Due to the failure of Brescia to pay the latest instalment fee, West Ham have asked the FIGC to suspend the player's registration and requested that the national association and FIFA impose sporting sanctions until the matter is resolved.
Diamanti spent a year at West Ham after signing on a five-year contract from AS Livorno Calcio in August 2009. Following his return to his homeland with Brescia, he scored six goals in 31 Serie A appearances and earned his first Italy cap.
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Driver on track to succeed
WHUFC.com
Callum Driver is on course for a first-team debut after signing his first professional contract
08.07.2011
Callum Driver continued his trip down the road to West Ham United's first team by signing his first professional contract with the club. The attack-minded full-back enjoyed an outstanding 2010/11 season, catching the eye with his buccaneering play, committed tackling and accurate crossing and shooting. Driver topped off a superb campaign by scoring an impressive individual goal in a Barclays Premier Reserve League draw at Sunderland. However, it was his overall contribution and positive attitude that the 18-year-old was rewarded with a professional deal. "I'm very pleased," he said. "I've worked quite hard for it so I'm pleased to have the chance to be a professional and I'm planning to push on from here. "My fitness got better during the second half of the season, so as my fitness got better so my game got better, so the second part of the season was a lot better."
Driver is one of a host of young Academy graduates eager to impress new manager Sam Allardyce and his backroom staff during the pre-season. With the likes of Lars Jacobsen and Wayne Bridge having departed the Boleyn Ground this summer, the south London native knows he has an opportunity to push his claims for a place in the first-team squad sooner rather than later. "It's a new start. He wants to get us back up, so that's the aim. "I signed for the club when I was 12 so I've been here for six years now and am just about to start my seventh season. "Obviously I want to play for West Ham's first team. That was my aim from the start, so it's one step on the ladder and I've got to push on from here."
Having seen Jordan Spence progress at the tail-end of last season, Driver is keen to follow the likes of the former reserve-team captain and Australia Under-17 striker Dylan Tombides into the first-team squad. "It's good to have your mates around because they give you more help. We know how each other plays, so it can help you in different ways as well. "A lot of people - my Dad, Mum and my girlfriend and her family have helped me a lot and given me support. "We've all got a lot to look forward to this season."
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Carr on World Cup duo
WHUFC.com
Blair Turgott and Dylan Tombides will have learned much this summer, according to Tony Carr
08.07.2011
Tony Carr is looking forward to welcoming back attacking duo Blair Turgott and Dylan Tombides to the club after their FIFA U-17 World Cup exertions. Both players impressed in the Hammers U18 squad last season to earn their place at the Mexico finals, with Turgott reaching the quarter-finals with England and Tombides showing his worth for Australia in a competitive group. Each had the thrill of scoring on a major international stage, and Carr is convinced it will stand the pair in good stead. "They both got great experience," he told whufc.com. "For young lads of their age to play at a World Cup at that level is invaluable experience. "We are looking forward to them coming back and showing what they have learned and seeing how it has rubbed off on them. I am sure the club will see the benefit of it this season.
"It is important to remember they are still learning and still have a long way to go. At the end of the day they have to come back and perform for the club. They mustn't get carried away and keep feet on the ground."
On Turgott, Carr said he was particularly proud to see him take part in a memorable last-16 win against Argentina before their exit at the hands of Germany. "Blair had a great run with England. They got to the quarter-finals, the business end of the competition having done very well to beat Argentina. "He is an attacking midfielder who plays in the wide areas and can also play off a front player, he is exciting running with the ball, he likes to drive at the opposition. He is very good at that. He comes in off the line and creates problems."
There was similar praise for Tombides, although Carr acknowledged that his red card against Uzbekistan was something that would also prove a positive learning experience in terms of coping with discipline. "Dylan equipped himself very well although the frustration that led to a red card was a little back mark against him. He will learn from that and be better for it."
Carr reminded that Jordan Spence had demonstrated how to progress from the youth set-up and the "great experience" of a FIFA U-17 World Cup to the first-team picture. Both youngsters would have gained much as they look to push on through the development ranks at the Boleyn and into Sam Allardyce's thoughts. "At the end of the day, international football is much different to club football, it is a slower tempo at times, it is a much more technical game, more thought-provoking. In that respect if they have both learned something about those aspects and their positions they are going to see the benefits."
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Sears special on West Ham TV
WHUFC.com
Freddie Sears is feeling fit and eager to impress as the squad head for their Swiss training camp
08.07.2011
Pre-season training may be hard work, but Freddie Sears is relishing the challenge of getting himself fit for the 2011/12 campaign. The homegrown Hammer impressed during the latter half of last season, catching the eye with a succession of confident performances on the right side of midfield or a three-man attack. Now 21, Sears is ready to kick-on again and make his mark in the npower Championship under new manager Sam Allardyce. He headed out with the rest of the squad - including two triallists, the versatile Irish international Joey O'Brien and Brazilian-born defender Hernani da Rosa - to Switzerland on Friday full of confidence of making an impression in pre-season. "It's been good," he told West Ham TV. "Obviously it's not the thing you look forward to coming back and doing but you know you have got to do it and get it done and it will come in handy later in the season. "Most people go away in the summer and do a bit of work and have come in and the boys look quite sharp, to be fair. "We've done a lot of running and now we're just itching to get into the football games now, really."
Sears is one of a 25-man squad involved in the week-long pre-season training camp in Switzerland. The trip will see the players put through their paces during a series of strenuous sessions before the action gets under way with the Uhren Cup competition on Monday, when the Hammers face Swiss Super League champions FC Basel.
Then, on Wednesday, West Ham take on UEFA Europa League qualifiers BSC Young Boys. Sears is naturally looking forward to both fixtures. "Everyone is looking forward to the trip and everyone is ready for the two games," he added. "Spirit has been very good. The new gaffer has come in and there is a new lease of life around the place. Everyone wants to impress him and show him what they can do."
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West Ham United demand Alessandro Diamanti suspension
BBC.co.uk
West Ham United have asked that ex-Hammer striker Alessandro Diamanti's registration at Brescia is suspended by the Italian Football Federation. The East London club claim the latest instalment of Diamanti's £2m transfer fee from Brescia has not yet been paid. The 28-year-old joined the Hammers in 2009 from Livorno for £6m but scored only eight goals in 30 appearances. He left West Ham for Brescia after one season but has since been rewarded with his first cap for Italy. A statement from West Ham read: "Due to the failure of Brescia to pay the latest instalment fee, West Ham have asked the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) to suspend the player's registration and requested that the national association and FIFA impose sporting sanctions until the matter is resolved."
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Cole joins squad in Switzerland
KUMB.com
Filed: Saturday, 9th July 2011
By: Staff Writer
Contrary to reports elsewhere, Carlton Cole HAS travelled with West Ham United's first team squad to Switzerland. The Hammers striker was heavily linked with a move to Stoke yesterday following speculation suggesting that talks regarding a £6million move had been held. It was subsequently reported that as a result, the England international would not be joining his team mates in Switzerland for the Uhrencup tournament, which began on Friday night with Young Boys' 4-2 defeat of Hertha Berlin. However KUMB.com understands that Cole HAS been included in the travelling party - along with fellow English internationals Scott Parker and Robert Green. Also included in the group was triallist Jose Hernani - who KUMB revealed last week would be coming to England this week - and former Bolton player Joey O'Brien, who has also been training at Chadwell Heath. Meanwhile Matt Fry's exclusion - as revealed by the disappointed full-back on his Twitter account on Friday morning - was at the expense of Herita Ilunga and Fry's fellow Academy product, Jordan Brown, both of whom are included. The next game in the Uhrencup tournament takes place tonight (Saturday 9th July) when Borussia Dortmund take on FC Zürich. The Hammers are in action for the first time tomorrow (Sunday 10th) when they tackle tonight's winners, Young Boys. Later that night Basel face Hertha Berlin, whilst West Ham and Basel complete the programme on Wednesday night (13th July). The team with the best results from their two games will win the tournament.
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18 months too late?
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 8th July 2011
By: Staff Writer
Former Hammers striker Mido has been sent to jail following a fracas with a group of students. The Egyptian striker - who would have been addressed by his full name Ahmed Hossam Hussein Abdelhamid in court - was sentenced to a month inside after he and a team mate were found guilty of attacking the trio. Mido - who now plys his trade for his boyhood favourites Zamalek - was accused along with Shikabala (aka Mahmoud Abdel Razek Fadlallah) of attacking the three fans who had initially approached the pair for an autograph. According to Ahram Online, Mido agreed to the request but Shikabala refused - sparking an angry scene that is said to have ended in a melee and subsequent damage to a vehicle owned by one of the students. Both players were convicted of assault and criminal damage and sentenced to a month's jail time. Rumours that Mido was also charged with impersonating a professional footballer could not be verified at the time of writing.
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Calcio in the mire with Diamanti
KUMB.com
Filed: Friday, 8th July 2011
By: Staff Writer
West Ham United have requested that the Italian Football Federation suspend the registration of former player Alessandro Diamanti due to unpaid fees. According to a statement released on whufc.com this afternoon, the club's request follows Diamanti's current club Brescia Calcio's failure to settle the latest instalment of the £2million transfer fee. "Due to the failure of Brescia to pay the latest instalment, West Ham have asked the FIGC to suspend the player's registration and requested that the national association and FIFA impose sporting sanctions until the matter is resolved," it read. The Italian arrived in east London two years ago next month amidst controversial circumstances when it was revealed that his transfer fee - said by Livorno Director of Sport Nelso Ricci to be £5.5million - was partly paid by club sponsors SBOBet. After just 28 first team appearances - and seven goals - he was shipped out by new owners Davids Sullivan and Gold - no doubt as a result of the unusual circumstances surrounding his signing - in the 2010 summer transfer window, despite having been named the club's Best Signing 2009/10 by readers of KUMB.com. In this year's KUMB.com reader's awards, Diamanti was voted as 'Most Missed Player', an award contested by those players who left the club during the previous 12 months.
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Allardyce looking at trialists
O'Brien and De Rosa on board, as England trio edge towards exits
Last Updated: July 8, 2011 2:11pm
SSN
West Ham United boss Sam Allardyce has handed trials to Joey O'Brien and Hernani da Rosa. Both men are to take in spells training with the club in an effort to earn permanent stays. O'Brien is a player of considerable Premier League experience, having spent his entire career to date with Bolton Wanderers. He was released over the summer after seeing his contract expire. Da Rosa is a Brazilian defender who has most recently been plying his trade in Poland with Korona Kielce. The 27-year-old was granted Polish citizenship in January and is hoping to force his way into their national side in the not too distant future.
Numbers
Allardyce could be tempted to add the pair to his Upton Park ranks, as he attempts to guide the Hammers back to the top flight at the first time of asking. He is expecting to lose a number of his international stars before the transfer window slams shut, while 11 members of last season's squad have already departed. With his numbers dwindling by the day, Allardyce admits he may need to bring in as many as eight fresh faces to ensure that West Ham are competitive in the Championship.
"That (the summer exodus) has helped the financial fall-out of being relegated but now, unless there are four or five of the young players ready to come in, we probably need to sign eight from outside," he told the Evening Standard. Allardyce has also confirmed that he expects England trio Rob Green, Scott Parker Carlton Cole to soon be on their way back to the big time. He added: "The three of them will all probably want to go to clubs in the Premier League if they can. We will just have to see how things develop."
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Hammers demand Diamanti action
Championship club claim transfer instalment fee has not been paid
By Nadia Carminati. Last Updated: July 8, 2011 3:22pm
SSN
An alleged non-payment of a £2million transfer-fee instalment has seen West Ham request the Italian Football Federation to suspend Alessandro Diamanti's registration with Brescia. The striker left Upton Park after just one year, hitting eight goals in 30 matches, to join the then Serie A side in August 2010. But the latest instalment of the £2m transfer fee has not been paid, according to the Hammers, and the Championship club have called on football's governing bodies to intervene.
A statement from West Ham read: "Due to the failure of Brescia to pay the latest instalment fee, West Ham have asked the FIGC (Italian Football Federation) to suspend the player's registration and requested that the national association and Fifa impose sporting sanctions until the matter is resolved." He has since scored six goals in 31 appearances for Brescia and earned his first Italy cap.
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Lambert looking to add
Canaries boss could bring in another defender
Last Updated: July 8, 2011 5:21pm
SSN
Paul Lambert has revealed that he is still hoping to add at least one more fresh face to his Norwich squad. The Canaries have already drafted in six new recruits this summer, with Anthony Pilkington, Steve Morison, Bradley Johnson,Elliott Bennett, Ritchie de Laet and James Vaughan snapped up. They have, however, still got some room for manoeuvre as they piece together a 25-man squad for the forthcoming Premier League campaign. West Ham's Herita Ilunga is reported to be next on their wish list, and Lambert has admitted that he is still looking for defensive reinforcements.
Characters
"You never stop looking, that is the nature of the game, but the ones we have brought in have added to the squad, which is strong" he said. "We will try to bring someone else in, there might be one in the backline that I am looking at, but we will have to wait and see." He added: "I am delighted with the group which I have assembled. They are not just good players, they are good characters, which is important. "There will be times when disappointment sets in, but as long as they stick together, we will be fine."
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Baggies offer £2.5m for Collison
By ANDREW DILLON
Published: Today
The Sun
WEST BROM have bid £2.5million for West Ham ace Jack Collison. The midfielder, 22, is yet to sign a new deal with the Hammers after two weeks of talks. Baggies manager Roy Hodgson made his move this week in the face of competition from Stoke, Newcastle and Everton. The Wales star said: "It's flattering but I'm in negotiations over a contract at the moment. Let's see how that goes." Collison is one of West Ham's lowest earners on just under £4,000 a week but has two years left on his deal. But Hodgson is offering to treble Collison's salary and Premier League football. West Ham youth product Collison returned from a serious knee injury at the back-end of last season. Big Sam wants him to forge a partnership in midfield with new arrival Kevin Nolan.
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Carlton hits £6m jackPott
The Sun
By DEAN SCOGGINS
Published: Today
STOKE have agreed a £6million deal for West Ham striker Carlton Cole. The hitman will put pen to paper over the weekend and join Tony Pulis' men on their pre-season tour of Austria. Cole, 27, had a medical in the Potteries yesterday after the Hammers agreed to £4.5m up front plus an additional £1.5m based on appearances.
A source close to the deal said: "Cole was desperate to stay in the Premier League and was impressed by the plans manager Pulis has for the team. "The club targeted him and went all out to get him, which he was impressed with." Stoke had a £3m bid rejected but went back in for Cole - as SunSport revealed on Thursday.
Cole will be the fourth big name to leave Upton Park since West Ham's relegation to the Championship, after Demba Ba, Thomas Hitzlsperger and Matthew Upson.
And England goalkeeper Rob Green could make it a nap hand after moving to the top of West Brom's wishlist. Albion boss Roy Hodgson wants a new stopper - and fancied Green and Birmingham No 1 Ben Foster. Relegated Brum will not budge on their £9m valuation of Foster and that would price Baggies out of a deal. Green would be available at less than half that and Hodgson admitted both are names on his radar. QPR's Paddy Kenny is also in the frame. Hodgson said: "There are good goalkeepers available at the moment in the sense that they don't want to play in lower divisions - you'd be talking about Foster and Green. "And goalkeepers who are second choice at their club despite having a lot of experience. "If anything we have a barrage of suggestions and possibilities."
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Da Rosa's Hammers trip
Published: 08 Jul 2011
The Sun
WEST HAM will decide next week whether to sign Polish defender Hernani da Rosa. They have opted to take the Brazil-born centre-back, 27, on their pre-season tour of Switzerland after a successful four-day trial. The Hammers are said to be offering Polish club Korona Kielce an initial £500,000.
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West Ham striker set to sign for Stoke
Published 23:02 08/07/11 By Mirror Football
The Mirror
Tony Pulis is set to make Carlton Cole his first signing of the summer in a £4.5million deal. Stoke boss Pulis has agreed a fee with relegated West Ham for striker Cole that could see the Potters eventually pay £6m. Cole has been a Stoke target ever since their promotion to the Premier League and is expected to have a stringent medical over the weekend before signing a four-year deal. West Ham rejected a £3m offer last week but have accepted an improved bid and Cole will become the second high-profile departure since dropping out of the Premier League. Stoke will pay an initial £4.5m and then a further £1.5m on appearances for the 27-year-old England international. Pulis and his squad flew out to Austria for a pre-season training camp yesterday and hope Cole can join them in the next 48 hours. Goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen believes Cole, who he knows from a loan spell at former club Aston Villa, will prove a shrewd piece of business. He said: "He is a much improved player. He was fairly young when I played with him at Villa. He was a little bit indisciplined and needed a lot of work. But he has definitely improved. "The role he has had at West Ham has given him a lot of responsibility and you can see he has grown. "He has been involved with the England team and, whenever we have played him, he has been a handful with his physical presence. "He has also capped every season with quite a few goals. If he came to Stoke, I think he would be a great signing for us." Pulis will step up his bid to land Manchester United midfielder Darron Gibson and Birmingham pair Scott Dann and Cameron Jerome next week.
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ROY HODGSON EYES UP ROBERT GREEN
Daily Star
ROBERT GREEN has jumped to the front of the queue for a Premier League return with West Brom. West Ham star Robert Green is in a straight fight with Birmingham's Ben Foster to grab a top-flight lifeline at The Hawthorns. West Brom boss Roy Hodgson admitted both are on his radar as he lines up a replacement for former England stopper Scott Carson, who has left for Turkey. Carson's surprise move to Bursaspor has left Hodgson needing a new No.1. And with Green and Foster relegated last season, Hodgson knows there is no shortage of top-quality stoppers available. Birmingham's Foster would jump at the move, having stated that he is settled in the Midlands. But his main problem might be the £9m price tag Birmingham will be looking for his services. Green could be brought in from West Ham for around £2m and with West Brom reluctant to splash big money, may jump to the top of the list. Hodgson, who yesterday completed the free transfer signings of defenders Billy Jones from Preston and Gareth McAuley, from Ipswich, said: "There are good goalkeepers available right now in the sense that they don't want to play in lower divisions. "You'd be talking about Foster and Green in that regard. If anything, we have a barrage of suggestions and possibilities. "The one thing I can say is that many of the names being bandied around would be very good additions to the team."
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West Ham's Carlton Cole heads to Stoke City in £6m deal
Stoke set to pay £4.5m up front, plus add-ons
Pulis likely to end interest in Blues striker Jerome
Stuart James
guardian.co.uk, Friday 8 July 2011 23.03 BST
Stoke City have agreed a deal worth up to £6m with West Ham United for Carlton Cole. Tony Pulis, the Stoke manager, is hopeful that the 27-year-old striker will be able to join up with the Midlands club this weekend on their pre-season training camp in Austria. It is understood that Stoke will pay £4.5m up front for Cole with a further £1.5m to follow in add-ons depending on whether the player triggers various clauses. Pulis has been tracking Cole for some time and failed with a bid for the former Chelsea player last month. Queens Park Rangers also inquired about Cole, who had two years remaining on his contract at Upton Park but was always likely to move on in the wake of relegation from the Premier League last season. Cole endured a disappointing campaign, finishing with only five league goals from 35 appearances. The imminent arrival of Cole suggests that Pulis is unlikely to continue with his pursuit of the Birmingham City striker Cameron Jerome, who has similar attributes to the former England forward.
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West Ham boss Sam Allardyce craves stability for Premier League return
London 24
Friday, July 8, 2011
3:22 PM
Sam Allardyce has vowed West Ham will not be forced into a damaging fire-sale of the club's best players. New boss Allardyce is plotting a speedy return to the Premier League, after the Upton Park outfit suffered the pain of relegation to the Championship last season. But twelve players have already jumped ship since then, heaping on the pressure to quickly find replacements. Now joint owners David Gold and David Sullivan told him they are determined to get value from sales, revealed Allardyce. "In my experience people will think there will be a fire-sale, but the owners have told me that will not be the case," said Allardyce. "There will be clubs who will believe they can pinch a player just before the deadline and my experience tells me that someone will try and do a deal in the last few days, leaving us little or no time to find a replacement," he warned. "Then, it is better to bite the bullet and keep them because they will help get us promoted. I'm hoping that, if these clubs want our players, they make an offer soon because, if they have to go, it will be easier to replace them now than in a month's time."
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Allardyce targets eight new faces
Virgin
Sam Allardyce wants to sign eight more players for West Ham's crack at promotion back to the Premier League. The new Hammers boss expects to lose England internationals Scott Parker, Robert Green and Carlton Cole, with the latter a target for Stoke, while 11 of last season's squad have already left Upton Park. "That has helped the financial fall-out of being relegated but now, unless there are four or five of the young players ready to come in, we probably need to sign eight from outside," Allardyce told the Evening Standard. On his England trio, he added: "The three of them will all probably all want to go to clubs in the Premier League if they can. We will just have to see how things develop."
Allardyce, who has already brought in Kevin Nolan and Abdoulaye Faye, has handed trials to Brazilian defender Hernani da Rosa and former Bolton midfielder Joey O'Brien for the squad's pre-season trip to Switzerland. He has also appointed former Barnet manager Ian Hendon as the club's development coach.
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