West Ham have had a wonderful season despite their defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League semi-finals.

A seventh-place Premier League finish would see David Moyes’ men secure another shot at European glory next year, albeit in the Conference League, and this could be crucial in their pursuit of players who want to showcase their skills on the continent.

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Howeve, the Scot already has some excellent youngsters at the club and could save a fortune by developing and unleashing them next season to see if they are up to the demands of Premier League football.

One such player is left-back Emmanuel Longelo who has been performing well for the under-23s in Premier League 2 this season, contributing one goal and four assists in 17 appearances.

Roshane Thomas declared the 21-year-old as a player to ‘watch out for’ in 2019, and his stellar performances this year have led many to believe that a stable first-team berth might not be far away.

In fact, he even made his full first-team debut against Dinamo Zagreb in the Europa League group stage, with his performance being lauded as “very impressive” by Jack Rosser, and this led to interest from Nottingham Forest during the January transfer window.

Nothing materialised on that front, though, and this could well please Moyes, who will surely be on the lookout for a long-term replacement for Aaron Cresswell, who will turn 33 before the year is out.

The manager won’t have far to look in Longelo, who appears to have the necessary skills and attributes which are required for success at the top level. With a European appearance in his back pocket already, a full pre-season amongst the first team would be a massive boost to his confidence, and he could be a capable and financially sensible solution to the post-Cresswell dilemma.

AND in other news, Forget Rice: Moyes now set for West Ham disaster on “remarkable” £125k-p/w giant

ScorecardCallum Ferguson carried on from the first day to bring up his highest first-class score•Getty Images

Queensland’s Wade Townsend and Joe Burns scored half-centuries and shared an unbeaten 80-run fourth-wicket stand to end the second day 267 runs behind South Australia in Adelaide. Queensland were jolted at the start of their innings when they lost their opener Alex Kemp in the sixth over. They were in a tricky situation early in the third session at 3 for 55 after Dan Christian struck in quick succession to remove Usman Khawaja, who scored 19, and Peter Forrest.Further damage in the day was prevented, as Burns and Townsend put up a fight in the last session. Burns was the more aggressive of the two and hit eight boundaries in his half-century. Townsend, who was dropped in the slips earlier in the day, remained unbeaten on 50 off 132 balls.Queensland had a tough session in the morning. After keeping a tab on the scoring rate on the first day, Queensland bowlers were unable to control the flow of runs as Callum Ferguson brought up his highest first-class score of 164 and shared an attacking 162-run sixth-wicket stand with wicketkeeper Tim Ludeman, who scored 78. Both batsmen were out early in the second session and the tail helped South Australia past 400 and declared immediately after the fall of the ninth wicket. Ben Cutting was the most successful bowler for Queensland with 3 for 73.

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Virgil van Dijk is in contention to play against Leicester City on Wednesday after an injury scare, according to a fitness update from Jurgen Klopp posted on Liverpool’s official website.

Van Dijk picked up an illness during the Reds’ trip to Dubai last week.

However, Klopp revealed on Tuesday that he has taken part in training this week, raising the possibility that he could be involved on Wednesday.

FFC’s James Jones has identified the one thing that could cost Liverpool the title. Find out what it is in the video below…

Van Dijk has not missed a Premier League game for Liverpool since last January, per Transfermarkt, when the Reds faced Huddersfield Town, and will likely partner either Joel Matip or Dejan Lovren at Anfield.

Indeed, the Netherlands international has been a colossus at the centre of the defence this season, even captaining the club on five occasions, donning the armband in the Merseyside derby against Everton and in wins over Cardiff City, Fulham, Manchester United and Arsenal. He also wore the armband in the Champions League victory over Red Star.

And fans have expressed their delight at the news that Van Dijk is set to continue in the heart of defence.

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Aston Villa are desperate to sign Newcastle United’s Isaac Hayden before the transfer deadline, according to the Birmingham Mail.

The club are reportedly hoping to sign three players before the end of the transfer window and have made Hayden their top priority.

What’s the word?

Hayden is keen to leave Newcastle this month, according to the Birmingham Mail.

They quote him as saying, at the weekend: “The clubs that are interested in me are waiting, and the clubs that I want to go to are waiting.

“It’s just a case of whether Newcastle say: ‘Yeah, you can go’. If they say that, I can go. That’s where it is really.”

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Villa are keen to bring in a number of players, as per the Birmingham Mail, before Thursday’s deadline, but Hayden is their top target and contact has been made between the two parties.

Newcastle have so far refused to sell the defensive-minded midfielder but he could be allowed to leave if the Magpies are able to sign a replacement; they are closing in on signing Andreas Samaris, according to Sky Sports.

West Bromwich Albion are also said to be interested, but the Birmingham Mail claim that the Villans are at the front of the queue to secure his signature.

Shore up leaky defence

Villa have struggled to keep clean sheets this season.

They are currently four points adrift of sixth-placed Derby County in the play-offs.

However, they have conceded 46 goals thus far this season, with only Rotherham (48) and rock-bottom Ipswich Town (50) letting in more.

Hayden, though, would go a long way to remedying the issue.

He is a defensive-minded midfielder and he has the ability to get stuck in without picking up too many cards.

Bringing him in is a logical move and will help Villa fix one of their biggest problems: conceding goals.

West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest faced each other at the Hawthorns on Tuesday night with the home team looking to overcome a pretty poor patch of form against recently rallied Martin O’Neill’s Forest side.

The first-half was dominated by the visitors, who looked like a new team under former Ireland boss Martin O’Neill, and Roy Keane, and their efforts were duly rewarded when a nicely conducted moved was luckily dispatched by Ryan Yates, whose wayward shot deflected into the back of the net via West Brom’s Stefan Johansen.

Forest headed into the break deserved leaders.

With the prospect of losing their grip on the top three, the home side headed into the second half with far more conviction than the first. A nicely struck volley by Rekeem Harper in the 54th minute, which bounced off the crossbar, was followed up by Jacob Murphy who tapped home his first for the club and the West Brom’s vital equaliser.

Their forward efforts were quickly negated however, following another Ryan Yates’ contribution. 2-1 to the visitors.

The three points looked all but secure until a pinch of last-minute controversy helped the Baggies secure a much-needed lifeline through a Jay Rodriguez penalty.

2-2 final score as the spoils were shared in what was a thrilling game.

Indeed, special credit should be given to Rodriguez who, above anyone else, looked most certain to make an impact on the day. The pressure of the penalty in the dying moments of the game could have gotten the better of any player, but he was calm and composed and executed it well.

West Brom fans will be concerned with the general performance of their players, however, with most turning out fairly abysmal ratings for their lacklustre efforts in both defensive and offensive play (ratings via Birmingham Live).

No one player truly deserved this award – Rodriguez was just the best of a bad bunch.

أفادت تقارير صحفية بريطانية، أن نادي يوفنتوس وضع الدولي الفرنسي أوليفيه جيرو مهاجم تشيلسي الإنجليزي، على طاولة مفاوضاته لتعزيز هجومه في الصيف الجاري.

يوفنتوس يسعى للتعاقد مع مهاجم، بعدما استغنى عن جونزالو هيجواين، وفي ظل تعقيد صفقة انتقال سواريز من برشلونة الإسباني.

شبكة “سكاي” البريطانية، أكدت أن نادي يوفنتوس وضع الدولي الفرنسي أوليفيه جيرو بطل العالم مع الديوك منذ عامين، على رادار البيانكونيري، لتعويض فشل التعاقد مع سواريز.

الشبكة العالمية قالت إن أندريا بيرلو طلب من إدارة يوفنتوس التعاقد مع إيدين دجيكو مهاجم روما، ويبدو أن تلك الصفقة في طريقها للحسم، مع اقتراب ميليك مهاجم نابولي من الانتقال إلى الجيالوروسي، مما يفتح الطريق أمام البوسني للانتقال إلى السيدة العجوز.

وشددت التقارير على أن صفقة سواريز لم تتعقد بشكل نهائي، ولكن هناك شكوك حول إتمامها، مما يجعل يوفنتوس يضع أوليفيه جيرو، ليكون خيارًا في حالة عدم التعاقد مع لويزيتو.

جيرو وجد نفسه هذا الموسم المهاجم الثالث لـ تشيلسي، بعد تعاقد البلوز مع تيمو فيرنر، وتواجد الشاب تامي أبراهام، في ستامفورد بريدج، مما يجعله قد يغادر للبحث عن فرصة للمشاركة أساسيًا.

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Eros Grezda has not played a single minute of first-team football for Rangers in 2019.

Indeed, the 23-year-old’s last appearance for the Scottish giants came against St Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership in the latter stages of December.

Grezda has not even made the squad since Boxing Day, but used his social media on Thursday to announce his return to the training field.

Since arriving at Rangers from NK Osijek in August 2018, the nine-time Albania international has made just 14 appearances for the Gers.

It would be fair to say that the club’s fans are yet to really see what the 5 foot 11 winger has to offer, although he did score twice in the early stages of the campaign.

The Rangers supporters are seemingly behind the attacker, however, with many taking to social media to respond positively to Grezda’s tweet.

A selection of the Twitter reaction from the Scottish outfit’s fans can be seen below:

According to the Tottenham Hotspur website, Tottenham midfielder Moussa Sissoko is in contention to play in the League Cup semi-final against Chelsea tomorrow. 

Spurs carry a slender 1-0 lead into their second leg at Stamford Bridge, but have had a raft of injuries since their first meeting. Both Harry Kane and Dele Alli have sustained serious injuries, while Son Heung-min is with South Korea at the Asian Games.

Kane’s ankle injury stole the headlines after Tottenham’s loss to Man United at Wembley two weeks ago, but Sissoko also sustained a groin injury in that match as well, as he hobbled off just before half time. The club feared that he would miss up to a month of football, so this is a timely return that will ease a huge amount of pressure on manager Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentinian would have been struggling to work out how he would shape his team ahead of the trip across London to Chelsea tomorrow. The Frenchman relieves a huge amount of that pressure, particularly due to his versatility.

Sissoko has primarily been deployed as a defensive midfielder so far this season, but with Harry Winks in the team, and Eric Dier potentially making a return, Sissoko could play in a more attacking role, coming straight in for Alli.

Sissoko offers something different to Alli, and his direct dribbling and attitude may actually be an advantage against a Chelsea team that will surely dominate possession. The 29-year-old offers a counter-attacking option further up the field which Spurs lacked in the first leg when they were under pressure. This return could be pivotal to success tomorrow.

Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping the Hammers can kick on in their remaining fixtures to secure a place in Europe at the end of the season.

West Ham have been much improved under the Chilean’s leadership but their form has been inconsistent. Only Fulham have kept fewer clean sheets than the London side who have kept out their opponents only four times in 25 league games so far. Pellegrini will hope his side can iron out their issues and string together a solid run of form during the run in.

Finishing in Europe would provide extra funds to strengthen his squad when the transfer window reopens in the summer. West Ham would also be able to attract a much higher calibre of player and would be an attractive option to any player looking to further their career.

One man Pellegrini should be keeping a close eye on with a view to a summer move is Brentford winger – Said Benrahma. Valued at just £1.35m by Transfermarkt, the former Algeria international is a new arrival at the Bees having signed from Nice back in July. Benrahma has made an instant impact at his new side, becoming a crucial player at Griffin Park.

The 23-year-old has netted five goals in all competitions as well as registering an impressive 12 assists for his team-mates. Benrahma is capable of playing right across the forward line making him a useful option for Pellegrini to have at his disposal. With bags of tricks and excellent dribbling ability, the former Angers man would be a nightmare for Premier League defenders.

Still developing and improving, this signing could prove to be a wonderful addition to the Hammers squad.

West Ham fans, thoughts?