West Ham are reportedly confident they will be able to land 20-year-old Lille midfielder Amadou Onana after increasing their bid for the Belgium international.
Onana, who made his senior international debut on June 3 against the Netherlands in Nations League action, enjoyed a terrific first season in Ligue 1 after leaving Hamburg in Bundesliga 2 for a £6million fee.
The defensive midfielder totalled 41 club appearances in the season, including eight games in the Champions League, but the Hammers may face some competition for his signature from within the Premier League.
TOP STORY – WEST HAM SET SIGHTS ON LILLE'S BIG BELGIAN YOUNGSTER
According to The Athletic, West Ham had a £25million bid rejected by the French club, but the Evening Standard claims that the English side are confident an increased bid of £30m plus add-ons will get the job done.
However, The Athletic's report states that there is also interest in Onana coming from Arsenal, Liverpool and Newcastle United, which could throw a wrench in West Ham's plans.
West Ham appear to still have plenty of business to take care of, with the Evening Standard also linking them with a £30m move for 20-year-old Chelsea striker Armando Broja, as well as trying to convince Jesse Lingard to return after a successful loan stint in the latter half of the 2020-2021 season.
ROUND-UP
– According to Sport, Barcelona are trying to attach Memphis Depay to their offer for Sevilla centre-back Jules Kounde after not meeting the €65m asking price, while Marca claims Chelsea have already agreed to personal terms with him and have offered Sevilla €55m.
– AS is reporting that Atletico Madrid have enquired with Cristiano Ronaldo's representatives about the superstar's interest in joining the club.
– Leeds United and West Ham are said to be competing for £34m Rennes striker Martin Terrier, according to L'Equipe.
– Calciomercato claims Paris Saint-Germain have been offering Georginio Wijnaldum to Roma and Milan in an effort to move him on from the club, despite arriving on a free transfer 12 months ago.
– Fabrizio Romano claims Manchester City have a bid ready to go for 23-year-old Brighton fullback Marc Cucurella to replace the outgoing Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Ilkay Gundogan looking forward to enjoying many more years with Barcelona
Ilkay Gundogan says he hopes to stay at Barcelona for many more years and wants to win titles with the Catalan giants.
The 33-year-old moved to the club in the summer after seven years at Manchester City – where he signed off by winning the Champions League.
Gundogan has played 19 times in all competitions so far this season for Xavi’s side, scoring once, and says he is starting to find his feet at the club.
“I am getting more and more used to it,” Gundogan told Barca TV.
“The start of course is always a bit difficult. You come from a different country, a different league, you don’t know many people. So there are things that you need to get used to.
“But as a family we are settling in more and more, we have found an apartment for ourselves. Everyone is amazing to me, the way I get treated here in the club.
“We love the city as a family, we feel very at home and very comfortable.
“I did not have any doubt for one second, I did not regret my choice for one second. We are very happy and we are looking forward to many more years here. And I came here to prove myself, play amazing football and win a lot of titles hopefully.”
Barcelona host Atletico Madrid on Sunday sitting fourth in LaLiga, level on points with their opponents and four adrift of Real Madrid and surprise challengers Girona.
Xavi’s men slipped up last weekend with a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano before securing their spot in the Champions League knockout phase with a 2-1 win over Porto in midweek.
Striker Robert Lewandowski knows that this is a key week for Barcelona, with home games against Atletico and Girona, and is targeting taking six points.
“We know we need to take a step forward. The season is very long,” Lewandowski said.
“We want to win every game and now we have very important games in the league and I hope to win both games and get six points.
“It’s always hard to play against Atletico Madrid. Atletico always play very well in defence, good at attacking with good players too.
“But we are Barca and we’re playing at home. From the first minute we have to play very well, attack and score goals. We’re playing two teams that are very high up in the table and I think we know how important it is for us to play well in defence.
“We attack with a lot of players in the area. With a lot of players in the area we have more chances to score goals. Of course it’s a challenge for us and now we want to start not only winning but also playing better. That’s very important for us.
“Yes it’s not just Atletico and I hope that we end up with six more points.”
Wataru Endo admits adapting to Premier League ‘harder than I thought’
Liverpool summer signing Wataru Endo has found the Premier League more difficult than he expected but is confident he can improve and contribute more.
The 30-year-old Japan international, a £12million arrival from Stuttgart, was viewed as something of a stop-gap solution to the club’s lack of defensive midfielders following Fabinho’s unexpected departure to Saudi Arabia.
Of his 15 appearances so far, only two have been Premier League starts (against Newcastle and Brentford), with manager Jurgen Klopp preferring to utilise Argentina World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister in an unfamiliar holding role.
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Endo has gained most of his game time in the Europa League and Carabao Cup and his late arrival – he was signed in mid-August – did not help his integration.
“Yes, it’s harder than I thought, but I’m very happy to be here,” he said when asked about his experience of the Premier League so far.
“Physically, it’s speedy, so it’s very hard to adapt but it’s the Premier League and I keep trying and keep playing and I’ll get better.
“I’m already 30 years old but I feel I have a chance to grow as a football player so I’m so happy to be here and I can improve.
“After I got here I had a talk with the boss about how Liverpool play. After that I just try to do that and he talks a lot with me about it.
“Every time I try to help Liverpool play and of course I always watch what they do from the bench. I think it is an important thing and I am getting better and better.”
Endo’s start to life at Anfield was not helped by the fact as the only holding midfielder there was a lot of attention on him to slot straight into the side and perform a similar role to the one that 30-year-old Fabinho did for five years.
In addition, Liverpool’s midfield underwent a complete overhaul in the summer with Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch now looking like the established first choices.
But with nine matches to come this month, Endo is likely to get more opportunities.
“I’m always ready to play every game, that’s the most important thing. We need all the players so I try to be ready every game and try to win every game,” he added.
“Liverpool has a very winning mentality so we always need to win, need to get three points, and it’s a very difficult thing but that’s why I came here. I’m enjoying the pressure.
“I’m a defensive midfielder so I have to make a difference in defence but also to take up good positions and play good football. I’m enjoying playing with amazing players.”
Discipline has ‘let us down’ and must improve, says Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou
Ange Postecoglou is excited to welcome Yves Bissouma back into the fold for Sunday’s trip to Manchester City, but admits Tottenham must improve their discipline.
Bissouma is available again after serving a one-match ban against Aston Villa for receiving five yellow cards before the halfway point of the Premier League season.
The former Brighton midfielder enjoyed a superb start to the new campaign but has only played three times since being sent off for two bookings at Luton in early October.
Bissouma is not alone in missing matches due to suspension, with Cristian Romero and Destiny Udogie also seeing red this term.
“Really pleased to get Biss back. He is such an important part of our set-up with the way he plays in that role,” Postecoglou said.
“If you look at the first third of the season, from a results perspective I reckon we are still on the positive side of the ledger.
“Performance-wise, I still think we are on the positive side of the ledger, even though we’ve had some disappointments, but an area we need to improve is discipline. He is part of that.
“That has let us down in this first half of the year. Not just in terms of cards, but being really focused in our approach and these are the things we need to learn as a team.
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“I am sure Biss probably feels himself a bit frustrated with the fact he had such a great start and now it’s been disrupted, but great to have him back. Particularly against a team like City, he is going to be really important for us.
“It is kind of a lesson for him and us as a group. If you want things to run a bit more smoothly, you have to be really disciplined in your approach and really focused in what you do.
“Hopefully he comes out of this knowing for him to maintain becoming a really important part of our team, he needs to have that discipline and focus.”
The return of Bissouma is welcome for Postecoglou, who remains without Pape Sarr (hamstring) and this week discovered Rodrigo Bentancur (ankle) will be out until February
Spurs’ list of absentees has now reached double figures, which contributes towards the visitors being long odds to upset City on Sunday.
Nevertheless, Tottenham boast an excellent record against the Premier League champions, albeit previously playing in a pragmatic way, and Postecoglou knows his markedly different attacking approach will bring questions.
He added: “That’s not a bad thing. That’s a good thing. We need to be scrutinised. I need to be scrutinised, I need to be questioned. That’s what tests my resolve.
“I ain’t gong to change, but bring it on. It doesn’t just test me, it tests the players, it tests the club. How resolved are we about doing this?
“Look at all the top teams, they’ve all been through the process, through the tough times. They’ve all got questioned, they’ve all got scrutinised, they’ve all had criticism.
“How did they handle it, the ones that are through the other side? The ones who handled it differently, where are they now?
“I have a real strong belief in what I do and where the team is heading and I’m just not going to waver from it.
“There’s a reason I’m sitting here and the reason is the end game is not to beat City. If that’s the end game, that’s been done.
“It’s a hell of an achievement to knock them off, absolutely, but it’s not why I’m here.
“I’m trying to set up a team to be successful.”
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