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Speaking to Football Insider, pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor has told GSB to sign Brentford striker Ivan Toney as competition for Michail Antonio – coming after a recent ExWHUemployee claim that he is on the Hammers’ agenda. 

Toney, who is the current Championship top scorer with an impressive 24 goals this season and has also managed to assist his teammates nine times (Football Insider), has West Ham interested according to numerous reliable claims.

Indeed, transfer insider Dean Jones also revealed last week that the Irons hold an interest in signing him, with ExWHUemployee explaining two days later on his podcast that Toney is indeed on the Hammers agenda.

Agbonlahor tells GSB to sign Toney for West Ham

In response to these recent reports, Agbonlahor has claimed he would be a ‘great signing’ for West Ham and has told GSB to do a deal.

“He’d be a great signing 100%,” he explained to Football Insider.

“West Ham have got to start looking at younger players. They’ve got to start looking at players that they could get a good six or seven years out of, rather than older players.

“We’ve seen what Watkins has done in the Premier League after coming from the Championship and there’s no reason that Toney can’t do the same.

“I think he’d be a great signing and he can give Antonio competition next season and push him for a starting place, maybe even take his place off him.

“It will add to Antonio’s game knowing that he’s not guaranteed to start every week.”

Transfer Tavern take

Whether or not West Ham do sign Toney in the summer remains to be seen, but it could be an astute bit of business by GSB given his impressive goal record this season.

Reliable external sources indicate the interest is there, and after the club’s failure to sign a striker last month, supporters could be hoping something is done to replicate that next window.

In other news: West Ham could sell this ace as Irons react, find out more here.

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Ricardo Oliveira se poupou durante toda a negociação com o Beijing Guoan, da China, que lhe fez uma proposta de R$ 50 milhões para jogar por dois anos na Ásia. Agora, em entrevista pela primeira vez após as tratativas, o atacante do Santos não se intimidou e não escondeu que ficou triste com o desfecho da negociação, que resultou na sua permanência na Vila Belmiro por causa do próprio Peixe.

No entanto, o camisa 9 da Seleção Brasileira foi enfático ao falar e fez questão de deixar claro para a torcida santista que seu comprometimento será o mesmo.

-Fiquei triste. Gostaria que as coisas tivessem caminhado de outra maneira? Sim. Mas passou. Não posso lamentar. Não vou jamais me resguardar. Não vou deixar de correr. Nunca vou fazer corpo mole. Tenho contrato até 2017 e vamos cumprir – disse o centroavante.

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Oliveira ainda fez questão de deixar claro, por meio do canal oficial do Alvinegro, a Santos TV, por que ele queria ter ido jogar no Beinjing Guoan, time que conta com Renato Augusto e Ralf.

-Vi uma possibilidade enorme de deixar no clube um valor que não se esperava. Porque, de fato, jogador passa dos 30 anos e perde valor. Não se compra mais. E eu cheguei com 34 anos. Vendo todas as situações, o que eu abri mão, vi uma possibilidade muito boa financeiramente, para minha família, e oportunidade extremamente boa para a instituição – explicou.

Ao Santos, o Beijing Guoan ofereceu 4 milhões de euros (R$ 16 milhões) parcelados em duas vezes, o que foi rejeitado.

This has been a rather unsavoury festive period for Sunderland and Lee Johnson.

He’d only been in the Stadium of Light hot seat a matter of weeks before the club came to a grinding halt following a bout of Covid.

Fortunately, that is now over and done with.

On the chalkboard

Sunderland have seen their last four games postponed because of the ongoing pandemic but thankfully, we’ll finally get to see them back on the pitch this Saturday.

What’s more is that Johnson nearly has a full squad of players to pick from. Josh Scowen is set to return in a few weeks after a scan revealed that he hadn’t actually fractured his shin. Meanwhile, Luke O’Nien and Denver Hume are the only other players missing.

Therefore, the new boss has a wealth of individuals he could choose from. He’ll have plenty of dilemmas too, particularly in defence. Left-back Callum McFadzean gave away a penalty against Wimbledon and they were also without Tom Flanagan.

The Mackems conceded in the process and as a result, only walked away with a solitary point.

The solution

We’ve already suggested that young full-back Cieran Dunne should get a run out at left-back, but Johnson needs to stick by his centre-back pairing of Bailey Wright and Dion Sanderson. Thus, there should be no room for the fit-again Flanagan.

Although the pairing shipped a goal, they looked comfortable throughout and should remain together for the Northampton clash.

Wright came up with Sunderland’s equaliser and Sanderson looked particularly assured, doing everything to near perfection. The Wolves loanee won 75% of his duels and completed an eye-catching 93% of his passes against Wimbledon.

On top of that, he used his tricky frame to draw two fouls from the opposition. Clearly, he is a player that’s a handful to play against.

Sanderson’s usual position is at full-back but he did a stellar job filling in centrally last time out and if he plays on Saturday, he could frighten the life out of Keith Curle and his players.

Alex Dicken, Wolves correspondent for Birmingham Live, once described Sanderson as a player with “lots of pace”, so it’s clear to see why he can bully attackers.

The 21-year-old has only made five appearances in League One this term but deserves more game time. That starts this weekend.

AND in other news, Johnson must unleash rapid SAFC prodigy who Sam Greenwood destroyed…

Writing on Twitter, reliable West Ham United inside source ExWHUemployee has dropped an enticing three-word hint over a potential move for free agent Diego Costa in January – coming as the club could look to commence their search for a ‘perfect’ striker who can provide strength in depth. 

Indeed, due to consistent fitness issues for Michail Antonio, and the topsy-turvy form of club-record signing Sebastien Haller, numerous reports have claimed that the Hammers are targeting a forward in January.

ExWHUemployee drops Costa hint

Of all the names being linked, West Ham reportedly have their eyes on Olivier Giroud, Abdallah Sima, Moussa Dembele and Joshua King – but now a fresh name could enter the mix.

Costa, who has recently agreed to terminate his contract with Atletico Madrid by mutual consent, could potentially move to the Irons in January as he emerges as a realistic signing for GSB and the club.

ExWHUemployee, writing on social media, has dropped an enticing three-word hint as he believes the move is possible – going on to say ‘Wouldn’t surprise me’.

Transfer Tavern take

The Spaniard, proven at Premier League level with Chelsea, could potentially make a move to the London Stadium and is free to negotiate with any club following his new status as a free agent.

He also wouldn’t command a fee, however, it remains to be seen whether the target man would be willing to take a huge cut on his most recent £270,000-per-week wages with Atletico.

Described as a ‘beast’, given he is free to negotiate a potential Premier League return, West Ham could very well land him in January – and reliable insider ExWHUemployee believes the move is a realistic one.

In other news: West Ham fans buzzed over this inside claim, find out more here.

Glasgow Rangers dodged a massive bullet by not signing Sheffield United striker Rhian Brewster this summer after Rangers emerged as one of several clubs who were said to be battling to secure the services of the former Liverpool academy graduate.

What was the story?

According to The Sun, Ross Wilson sought to bolster Steven Gerrard’s firepower in the summer with a raid on Anfield for Brewster after he scored 11 goals in 22 games across all competitions whilst on loan at Swansea City last season.

Jurgen Klopp admitted it wasn’t an easy decision to sell the highly-coveted 20-year-old after he left the club due to doubts about the amount of game time he would get at Anfield.

His heroics at the Liberty Stadium saw him courted by some plenty of clubs in the summer, including Premier League sides like Aston Villa, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Sheffield United.

It’s fair to say that Rangers would have faced a tough task trying to acquire his services as he had made it clear that he wanted to play Premier League football, but they appear to have dodged a bullet given his obvious struggles so far this season.

Dodged a bullet

The England U21 international was previously described as a “nightmare” in training by Liverpool first-team assistant goalkeeping coach Jack Robinson, with John Achterberg’s assistant saying: “You sort of get an idea for how good they are, but then you put them into the environment that they’ve had with Vitor and the first team, and with the finishing sessions that Pep and Pete put on as well, they are a nightmare.”

However, Brewster has found goals hard to come by in the current campaign, as he has failed to find the back of the net in 11 appearances across all competitions, having started just four games in the Premier League so far.

It’s believed that Sheff United signed him from Liverpool for £23.5m on a five-year contract, according to the BBC.

United boss Chris Wilder has even been open to benching the club’s record signing on a regular basis as well, with the youngster absent from the first four matchday squads in a row and coming off the bench as the Blades pushed for an equaliser against Manchester United at Bramall Lane last time out.

In fact, his start at Brighton was his first since the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge back in November, while he is averaging just 0.7 shots per game in the league, via WhoScored, all of which will give the Gers plenty of reasons to see why they should count their lucky stars that they decided against pursuing a deal for the misfiring centre-forward.

AND in other news, Glasgow Rangers must cash in on Greg Stewart in January…

كشف يحيى الكومي رئيس مجلس إدارة نادي الإسماعيلي، عن تطورات ملف المدير الفني للفريق الكروي الأول، وفتح حساب بنكي لقلعة الدراويش، مشيرًا إلى ترحيبه برحيل باهر المحمدي إلى الأهلي بشرط توافر 3 عناصر.

وقال الكومي في تصريحات تلفزيونية لفضائية “تن” عبر برنامج “البريمو”: “لدينا ثلاث مدربين مرشحين لتدريب الإسماعيلي”.

وأصاف: “أول مدرب سيأتي غدًا إذا ربنا وفقنا سيتولى المهمة، وهو خوان براون مدرب أرجنتيني وسيكون معه مدرب أحمال ومساعد له”.

وأضاف: “المسؤولية كبيرة وفترة عصيبة، نحن استلمنا النادي والفريق تعرض لثلاث خسائر، ولا يوجد مدرب مصري سوف تصبر عليه الجماهير”.

طالع | يحيي الكومي يحفز لاعبي الإسماعيلي: مكافآت مجزية للنتائج الجيدة.. وننتظركم أمام الزمالك

وأردف: “مدرب الأحمال الذي سيتواجد مع المدير الفني هو المعد البدني للمنتخب الأول الأرجنتيني”.

وأكد: “قررنا فتح حساب بنكي لتلقي تبرعات لنادي الإسماعيلي”.

واستكمل: “موقف باهر المحمدي؟ مجلس الإدارة يريد التجديد لكل اللاعبين بالفريق، وإذا طلب الأهلي ضمه فسننظر إلى العرض، إذا نال موافقة الجهاز الفني واللجنة الفنية ولجنة التعاقدات لا توجد لدينا أزمة كمجلس إدارة، أنا لا أعرف المركز الذي يشارك فيه اللاعب”.

وأشار: “لو الأهلي يريد التعاقد معه لا توجد لدي مشكلة طالما تتوفر ثلاثة أشياء المذكورة سلفا”.

واختتم: “لا نمانع في التعاون مع النادي الأهلي في تبادل الصفقات، نريد لاعبين من الأحمر، وتحدثت مع المسؤولين في القلعة الحمراء ورحبوا بذلك”.

West Bromwich Albion will be looking to pick up their first win of the season as they head south to face Southampton at St Mary’s Stadium this lunchtime.

The Baggies have been thrashed by Leicester City and Everton but should have grabbed all three points against Chelsea last weekend having gone into the break three goals to the good.

Slaven Bilic has seen his side leak 11 goals despite playing three-at-the-back, so will the Croatian make any alterations for this fixture?

Here’s what we are predicting…

There could be just two changes from the side that drew to the Blues last time out, although Bilic is likely to revert back to the 4-3-3 which saw them promoted last term.

Sam Johnstone remains between the sticks as the Baggies’ number one and he’ll be protected by a back four this time. It means Semi Ajayi drops to the bench with Dara O’Shea and Kyle Bartley emerging as the trusted central duo. Both Conor Townsend and Darnell Furlong keep their places.

In midfield, skipper Jake Livermore also keeps his spot but he’s joined by academy graduate Sam Field to provide that extra defensive stability in the middle.

And playing slightly further forward could be Conor Gallagher who makes his Premier League debut for the club, meaning Romaine Sawyers is dropped following a run of poor performances.

We’re likely to also see Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira start too, even despite Filip Krovinovic’s return to the Hawthorns this week whilst Callum Robinson leads the line once again.

The bench could feature the Croatian as well as the likes of Branislav Ivanovic, Kyle Edwards and Hal Robson-Kanu.

AND in other news, West Brom should look to £65k-p/w “real handful” as cheap Grant alternative…

West Bromwich Albion are struggling to reach an agreement with Benfica regarding Filip Krovinovic, according to the Sunday issue of Report (via Sport Witness).

The two clubs have been locked in negotiations throughout the transfer window, yet it seems they are still unable to reach an agreement.

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One thing that has been holding up the move is the structure being proposed, as it will be a loan to buy option, though the Baggies only want that to stand if they stay in the Premier League, while Benfica feel it should be automatically triggered.

It has now been revealed that there is even a disagreement regarding the amount West Brom will need to pay if the clause is eventually triggered. This comes with West Brom wanting to pay €6m (£5.6m), while Benfica are holding out for €10m (£9.3m).

With all of the above considered, it seems as though there may be a while yet until the two sides are able to reach an agreement to see the Croatian return to The Hawthorns.

If Krovinovic does return, it would see him follow Grady Diangana, Matheus Pereira and Callum Robinson, who have all come back after loans from West Ham United, Sporting CP and Sheffield United respectively.

We all love football kits. There’s something about seeing a certain jersey from a time forgot, and the instant nostalgia it brings along with it – resurfacing memories of the beautiful game that had been pushed to the recesses of your memory to one day be unearthed once more.

During the 1990s, the Italian league was regarded as the best in the world, showcasing the best teams with the best players, and a style of football unknown to the people of England. Channel 4’s broadcasting of Football Italia brought a newfound fandom for Italian clubs from the people of the United Kingdom, seeing the Catenaccio system full flow and in all of its beauty – along with some of the most iconic and eye-catching kits known to man.

When looking back at the Italian kits of this era, you can see the inspiration that they provide even now, and it can be hard to choose your favourites from that time, with so many incredible examples to choose from.

With that being said, here we are going to have a look at some of the best kits from the ’90s in the Serie A, in no particular order of course – given that would be an impossible task to perform. So, without further ado, here are some of the best Serie A kits of the 1990s…

Parma A.C. Home, 1995-97

This was a great one from Parma back in 1995, the club wore this kit until the end of the 1996/97 season. The first campaign with it the club managed their highest ever finish in the Serie A, coming second place and just one point behind Champions Juventus. It was also Carlo Ancelotti’s first season managing the club, and what a great kit it was to do it in.

The manufacturer’s Puma really went for it with this one, and the patterning on the sleeves along with a great sponsor is what sells this one for me – whenever someone says Parma you instantly think of the Parmalat sponsor, as well as the iconic white, yellow, and blue colour pallet. All in all, this was a lovely kit, it’s just a shame Stoichkov couldn’t score more goals in it.

Inter Milan Home, 1992-94

A stand out of the 90s era for kits, not just in Italy but worldwide. The Inter Milan home kit that debuted in 1992, is an absolute masterpiece – the standout feature being the iridescent INTER that you can see faintly across the iconic blue and black stripes.

The gold badge and logo are also a standout feature, as well as a fantastic sponsor in Fiorucci – the collar and button are another nice touches, along with the gold INTER also stitched alongside the button on the said collar. This season saw the club win the UEFA Cup against Casino Salzburg, beating the Austrian club 2-0 on aggregate.

SSC Napoli Home, 1989-90

This iconic Napoli kit was made famous for the man wearing it, Diego Maradona. The 1989-90 season saw the club win their second-ever league title – thanks to the attacking talent of Maradona and Gianfranco Zola, finishing the season on 51 points, two above second-place Milan.

This season saw the Argentinian forward score 16 goals in the league for Napoli, captaining the team to a historic title win. The best thing about this kit is the simplicity – the all-over blue with a fantastic ‘Mars” sponsor, but the collar is one of the standouts, it is simple yet effective, and another key aspect was the choice by the manufacturer Ennerre to swap their logo and the club badge around.

Usually, the club badge is placed on the left side of the kit and the manufacturer logo on the right – another aspect that made this kit unique and different despite the simplicity.

AS Roma Home, 1990-91

Another simple yet effective kit from the Italian manufacturer Ennerre – the AS Roma home kit of 1990-91 was an absolute stunner. Roma home strips have always been recognisable thanks to the deep and rich carmine red along with the subtle golden yellow that is iconic to the club, and this kit was no different.

The club won the Coppa Italia that season with a 4-1 victory over Sampdoria – with most notably Rudi Völler upfront for I Giallorossi, with this fantastic kit showcased along with it. The Barilla sponsor is a classic for Roma and something that many associates with the club – the short sleeve take on the kit is my personal favourite, and the golden yellow pop up collar is something that makes this kit a real classic.

Fiorentina A.C.F. Home, 1998-99

The infamous Batigoal in action for Fiorentina, sporting quite possibly one of the best kits the club has ever had the pleasure of wearing. Fiorentina has a great history with their iconic purple home kit – and the 1998-99 strip followed suit.

The fantastic Nintendo sponsor stands out the most, along with the glistening purple and the white panel detail on the top of the sleeves. The club finished third in the Serie A that season, with Batistuta finishing the campaign on 22 goals and was named the Argentine Player of the Year in the league, as well as finishing 3rd for the World Player of the Year award. An iconic shirt, worn by an iconic player.

Juventus Home, 1992-94

It wouldn’t be an article on the 90s Serie A kits without the inclusion of the Old Lady. This simple yet classic strip was used for the 1992-94 season and is sportingly shown off here by Del Boy in 1993 after joining from Calcio Padova.

The classic black and white stripe are synonymous with the club, but the use of just the two gold stars for the club badge is what made this one a classic, along with the simple green Kappa logo rather than the classic Kappa sleeves that you often see on the manufacturer’s kits over time.

The Danone sponsor is another aspect that sticks to mind as it fits along with the aesthetic of the kit. The club finished 4th in the Serie A during their first season in this kit but saved their season by winning the now Europa League, beating German club Borussia Dortmund 6-1 on aggregate. Roberto Baggio finished the season as the top goalscorer for the club, with 21 goals, despite being played as a trequartista.

U.C. Sampdoria Home, 1990-91

The classic kit was worn by the club during their first and only title-winning season guided by Serbian manager Vujadin Boškov – along with Gianluca Vialli becoming the club’s top goalscorer that season in the league with 19 goals.

The kit was not much different from the season before, with Asics taking over as manufacturer, and placing the iconic ERG sponsor big and bold above the club badge and the iconic white, red, and black stripes that ran around the kit – along with the Italy badge on the top left shoulder.

The kit features a wide v neck collar, a very Italian stylistic approach, along with the lovely shiny bright blue base colour of the kit – overall a timeless classic that Sampdoria has become remembered for. The kit was worn by the iconic Vialli, Mancini, Lombardo, Pagliuca, and Vierchowod during the season that went down in Samp history.

A.C. Milan Home, 1991-92

The 1991-92 season was Fabio Capello’s first in charge of Milan, and the club finished 1st in the Serie A after an incredible unbeaten season that saw start striker Marco van Basten avoid injury to finish the season as the club’s top goalscorer with 25 goals in the league and 29 in all competitions.

The form of the team was no surprise, with defenders such as Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, and Alessandro Costacurta and midfielder such as Carlo Ancelotti, Ruud Gullit, and Frank Rijkaard – all of which ran the Serie A that season in this iconic Milan kit.

The classic red and black stripe is simple enough, but along with the classic Adidas badge and great sponsor – as well as the gold star badge and Champions League trophy underneath for European competitions, the kit has became an instant classic, and one of the clubs best in history.

Leeds United are back in the big-time after an arduous 16-year absence and they could kickstart their ambitions with a swoop for a player that’s done it on the biggest stage.

What’s the word?

According to Phil Hay at The Athletic, the Yorkshire giants have ‘cast their eye’ over AS Roma star Alessandro Florenzi with the Italian expected to leave the Serie A outfit this summer.

He also claims that he’s a player that would suit Marcelo Bielsa due to his versatility – being able to play both right-back and in central midfield.

Although the Whites face a battle to secure him as Florenzi would prefer to stay in his native country with the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Sampdoria all keen on signing him too.

Shades of Dallas

Florenzi, who is valued at £14.4m by Transfermarkt, has endured an indifferent season in the Italian capital playing just 14 times before a loan switch to Valencia.

But he’s a player that the Premier League newcomers should absolutely be looking at as he’d bring a wealth of experience which has seen him competing on the international stage and across Europe for several years.

The 29-year-old has been capped 35 times by Italy and has notched 42 appearances across the Champions and Europa League.

A move for Florenzi would certainly feel very similar to that of Stuart Dallas as the 5 foot 8 ace is deft in multiple positions – other than being a goalkeeper or a striker, he’s played in just about every other role imaginable.

Javier Zanetti once lauded the right-back as his heir, admiring his attitude to the game, whilst Brazil legend Dani Alves described Florenzi as a “fantastic player” who’s “got quality in abundance and a wonderful touch.”

Whilst it remains to be seen exactly how much the Roma ace would command, Victor Orta and co should absolutely try to land him given his versatility and experience in the top-flight.

AND in other news, Orta can resolve huge Bielsa headache if he lands £15m target…