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If Thursday night was a trial, then mooted West Ham target Paul Onachu would have hardly passed with flying colours.

In fact, his performance may be enough to put new Irons head of recruitment Rob Newman completely off making a move as the 27-year-old struggled against the east London outfit in the Europa League.

The Hammers dominated Belgian outfit Genk and came out on top with a 3-0 victory at the London Stadium to maintain their 100% record in the competition.

According to the Daily Mail, West Ham are among many clubs interested in a move for the Nigeria international, who is thought to be valued at around £20m.

There is said to be competition from Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton, whilst Borussia Dortmund and Atletico Madrid have also been linked by the report.

Well, luckily for David Moyes and co, they got to witness his credentials firsthand, and on that basis alone, he could struggle to have much of an impact in England as the Irons absolutely silenced him with their two backup central defenders.

Onuachu may have bagged 11 goals in 15 appearances beforehand, providing a total of 56 goals in only 85 games for the Jupiler Pro League outfit, but there is a vast difference in the quality of opposition.

The £19.8m-rated forward, who was once dubbed a “goal king” by former Wimbledon star John Fashanu, looked rather poor against the Irons.

Both Issa Diop and Craig Dawson dealt with his 6 foot 7 stature and usually impressive aerial ability (he has won 3.6 aerial duels per league game this term) with aplomb.

Onuachu was hooked after 73 minutes, having failed to make any sort of impact. As per SofaScore, his two attempts on goal were fired off target, with one of those a particularly weak effort with what was a golden chance for the visitors, whilst the towering striker also won only 50% of his battles in the air and managed just one successful dribble from three attempts.

It’s no secret that Moyes needs another frontline addition to help provide backup to Michail Antonio, who was not even in the squad on Thursday night, but on that midweek showing, the answer may not be the Genk talisman.

Newman must steer West Ham clear of the 27-year-old or else risk making a major transfer blunder.

AND in other news, Moyes handed fresh injury blow to key West Ham star ahead of Spurs…

Lots of Wolves fans have been left reacting on social media as a transfer update emerged on Noni Madueke.

As per Sky Sports, the PSV ace is attracting interest from the Midlands club, as well as both Tottenham Hotspur and Leicester City.

However, he has a current valuation of between £30-34m, which may prove to be too expensive.

Madueke scored no fewer than nine goals and supplied a further eight assists in 32 matches in total over all competitions in the 2020/21 season, which is very impressive considering that he often operated on the wing (Transfermarkt).

Dubbed a ‘very explosive’ player by former PSV midfielder Tommie van de Leegte, he could certainly add a new dimension to Bruno Lage’s attack, but they may now have to sell a few players first in order to be able to afford him.

Wolves fans on Madueke transfer update

These members of the Molineux faithful gave their reactions as the transfer update was shared on Twitter, and while they were generally excited by the link, some feel as if it would be unrealistic to sign him:

“Won’t be this window but that would be amazing”

Credit: @CaritaMejor

“If we pull this off”

Credit: @Wolvoryan04

“Yes yes yes yes”

Credit: @charliewwfc_

“Would be some signing but idk if its worth the risk of selling Adama to afford him”

Credit: @OscarWWFC_

“All good being linked with these class wingers but we still need a CB and CM this window”

Credit: @PedroBackOfNeto

“If we sold Adama his money would be enough but I don’t really wanna sell Adama”

Credit: @Wolvoryan04

In other news, find out what injury news has been bemoaned by Wanderers here!

Aston Villa manager Steven Gerrard has been handed a significant injury boost ahead of his side’s Premier League clash against Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.

What’s the story?

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Friday ahead of the game against the Reds, the 41-year-old confirmed that the likes of Danny Ings, Matt Targett and Morgan Sanson look all set to be available for selection.

He said: “We’ve got Danny Ings back which is a real positive. People who have been coming back from injuries a few weeks back are getting fit and stronger and are pushing for places so there’s a load of positivity going around at the moment.

“Matty Targett has trained all week. He’s ready to go. Danny’s trained as well but we obviously have to be really respectful to where he’s at given the setback he had from the previous injury but he’s trained the last two sessions and has looked really strong so he’ll come back into the squad.

“We have a couple of kicks from yesterday, but we think they’re all going to pull through. Morgan Sanson wasn’t feeling too well but we’ve had good news this morning that he’ll be back in to train. Obviously, Bertrand and Leon will be missing.”

Huge injury boost for Villa

Make no mistake about it, having the trio back for the match against Liverpool later today is a significant shot in the arm for Gerrard as he looks to continue the team’s revival under his watch.

The new Villa boss has masterminded a real turnaround in form since his arrival as Dean Smith’s replacement a few weeks ago, but he will know that there is arguably no stiffer test in the Premier League than a trip to Anfield to face high-flying Liverpool.

Ings, who of course has played for the Reds himself and boasts a formidable scoring record in recent campaigns, will surely be chomping at the bit to make his mark today, while the returns of Targett and Sanson bring some more experience and quality at left-back and in midfield respectively.

Villa fans will surely be buzzing with this latest injury update from the manager as he goes back to Merseyside this afternoon.

Meanwhile, Ashley Preece has dropped a promising Aston Villa update…

Newcastle United had to settle for a point at home to Norwich City in the Premier League on Tuesday night after Ciaran Clark was sent off early on.

Callum Wilson actually put the hosts in front from the penalty spot before Teemu Pukki equalised as the score finished 1-1.

While there were some spirited performances from Eddie Howe’s team, a few seemed to struggle, as The Transfer Tavern uses statistical experts SofaScore to analyse who the three worst performers (to have played at least 45 minutes) were for the St. James’ Park faithful:

Joe Willock

Although Ciaran Clark (3.0) and Ryan Fraser (6.4) both ranked poorly by SofaScore, they did not play at least 45 minutes, and so Willock comes in third with a 6.4 rating.

The former Arsenal man was hauled off for Isaac Hayden in the 73rd minute, as he lost out on five of his duels, and also failed to record a single shot on goal from midfield, while he lost possession of the ball six times.

Javier Manquillo

Manquillo was also given a 6.4 rating by SofaScore, but comes in second place here because he played the full 90 minutes.

The Spaniard lost three duels, and recorded no successful dribbles, blocked shots, tackles, key passes, crosses or accurate long balls from right-back.

He was also guilty of losing the ball on no fewer than on 20 separate occasions in the match, the most out of any player on the pitch.

Jamal Lewis

Lewis was ranked as the worst player on the night for the North East club to have played at least 45 minutes, as SofaScore gave him a 6.3 rating.

The left-back lost seven of his duels in total, and also failed to record a successful dribble, key pass, accurate cross or long ball, losing possession 10 times.

In other news, find out who could be back for NUFC earlier than expected here!

Many Wolves fans have been left fuming as a transfer update emerged on Owen Otasowie.

As per The Daily Telegraph, the USA international, who has just a year left on his current deal, has reportedly rejected a contract offer at the Midlands club.

He could leave Molineux for around £6m before the summer window shuts, with both Wolfsburg and Anderlecht interested in his signature.

At 20 years of age, Otasowie is a player who has a lot of potential, even though was only sporadically used in the first team by former Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo last season, playing just six games in total and supplying one assist (Transfermarkt).

Wolves are pretty scarce in the central midfield position as well, and so it would seem like a strange move to let him go when he could be a valuable member of Bruno Lage’s squad over the coming months.

Wolves fans on Otasowie transfer update

These Wolves supporters fumed as the exit rumour was shared on Twitter, with one claiming that it would be ‘awful’ if Otasowie is sold and another venting their frustration at Nuno for giving him precious little game-time:

“Nahhhhhhhhhh I’m actually vexed – I really liked the kid and I’ll never forget how he made Kante look like a small boy in that Chelsea game”

Credit: @__Grav

“THIS ISN’T THE NEWS WE WANTED”

Credit: @_TightWadBill

“We’ll regret this if he does leave”

Credit: @AdamWWFC_

“Nuno you actual fraud”

Credit: @Mowiiiiiii

“Would be extremely poor if we let him go. If he wasn’t injured I’d imagine he would challenging for a starting role with how Lage plays.”

Credit: @parker_bradley

“This would be an awful loss.”

Credit: @Millenwwfc

In other news, find out what pre-season event had these Wolves fans fuming

Liverpool are prepared to let Kostas Tsimikas leave the club this summer after he struggled to make an impact last season.

What’s the story?

According to well-known journalist and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano (as reported by the Liverpool Echo), the 25-year-old is deemed surplus to requirements on Merseyside and could depart after a single campaign with the English giants.

Tsimikas joined Jurgen Klopp’s charges in an £11.75 million deal from Greek outfit Olympiakos 12 months ago but found opportunities extremely limited thanks to the performances of Andrew Robertson.

Fans will be buzzing

After struggling with multiple injuries in the first half of the campaign, Tsimikas then found himself firmly behind Robertson upon his return to fitness.

This combination limited the Greece international to just three starts in all competitions throughout 2020/21 and just five minutes of Premier League action.

Although his handful of cameo appearances may not be enough to judge the full-back’s talent, a large section of the Liverpool supporters will be buzzing to hear Tsimikas’ nightmare spell may already be coming to an end.

Romano stated: “Let’s see what happens with Tsimikas. He can leave the club,” on a recent edition of his Here We Go podcast, and the revelation may lead to a boost in the club’s transfer budget for the current window.

With the ongoing pandemic continuing to limit the spending power of teams at every level, selling some fringe players appears to be the logical solution to supplement the coffers.

The likes of Xherdan Shaqiri, Divock Origi and Harry Wilson have been linked with a Liverpool exit as a result, and it seems as though Tsimikas is the latest flop to be put up for sale.

It remains to be seen if any side comes in for the unwanted full-back but the departure of the £7.2 million-rated Tsimikas could allow Klopp more room to manoeuvre in the transfer market over the coming months.

With the versatile and experienced James Milner in his ranks, the German tactician may be comfortable not directly replacing the defender, allowing Director of Football Michael Edwards to focus funds on reinforcements in central midfield and up-front instead.

And, in other news…Edwards could find LFC’s new Salah with swoop for 17-goal gem who has lit up the EUROs 

Everton could go back in for a right-back in January, says former Toffees defender Michael Ball.

During the summer transfer window, Everton were heavily linked with a few players for that position, including both Denzel Dumfries and Nathan Patterson.

However, the Merseyside club failed to sign either, with Dumfries instead moving to Inter Milan and Patterson remaining at Rangers. It leaves Everton looking a bit light at right-back.

They do, of course, still have the experienced Seamus Coleman. But should anything happen to him, then Rafael Benitez’s men could find themselves in trouble.

Bearing that in mind, Ball expects his former side to revisit signing a right-back when the transfer window reopens in the new year. He told FFC:

“I think they would have panicked in the past and just paid the money that maybe Rangers wanted for Nathan Patterson; they might have offered more money for [Ainsley] Maitland-Niles just to get the deal over the line.

“I feel Everton could revisit this right-back option in January or next summer.”

Everton still have Jonjoe Kenny in their squad, who played in the 2-1 Carabao Cup second-round win against Huddersfield Town, so there is always that option for Benitez if Coleman picks up an injury.

Atletico Madrid could target Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez if Jan Oblak is sold, according to Spanish outlet La Razon. 

The lowdown

Villa paid £17million to sign Martinez from Arsenal ahead of the 2020/21 season and committed him to a four-year contract. Transfermarkt now value the 29-year-old at £31.5m.

Martinez kept 15 clean sheets in his debut season at Villa Park – a tally bettered only by Ederson (19) and Edouard Mendy (16), ‘keepers for the Premier League and European champions respectively (via Premier League).

The latest

The report from Spain states that Atletico find themselves ‘on the brink of the salary limit’ after bringing Antoine Griezmann back to the Wanda Metropolitano from FC Barcelona. As a result, they could be forced to offload one of their ‘stars’ next summer.

Oblak, whose contract runs until 2023, could be the one to go if he doesn’t pen an extension. Atletico are aware that he may be open to the possibility of a ‘change of scenery’.

Martinez is already being considered as a potential replacement, with his performances having caught the eye of Diego Simeone.

The reigning La Liga champions recognise that it would take ‘a significant financial outlay’ to prise him away from Villa, but are confident Oblak’s sale would more than cover the cost.

The verdict

It’s no surprise that Martinez has caught the eye. His displays for Villa, and during his final season at Arsenal, have put him amongst the elite bracket of goalkeepers in the English top flight – some pundits even had him in their team of the season last term.

The prospect of competing for titles and playing Champions League football will surely tempt Martinez, but expect Villa to present Atletico with an almighty price-tag as they look to keep hold one of their best assets.

In other news, fans react to this award nomination. 

Carlton Palmer believes that it could be worth Leeds exploring the possibility of signing free agent Andre Ayew this summer.

Ayew has been one of the standout strikers in the Championship in recent years, scoring 33 league goals across the last two seasons to help Swansea qualify for the play-offs on both occasions.

However, following their recent play-off final defeat to Brentford, the Ghanaian’s departure was confirmed, meaning he’s available to sign for nothing having run his contract down in South Wales.

Celtic are reportedly keening a close eye on the 31-year-old, but Leeds could hold an advantage due to the fact Ayew has previously played under and scored goals under Marcelo Bielsa during their one season together at Marseille in 2014-15.

Leeds already have two strikers in their ranks in Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo, but Palmer thinks that signing a proven goalscorer like Ayew on a free would be impressive business.

He told The Transfer Tavern:

“Swansea have only let him go because they didn’t get promoted and he’s their highest-paid player.

“17 goals in the Championship, 16 goals the season before stands to reason that he will go up and score goals in the Premier League. If he weighs in with 10 or 12 goals for you, and you take him on a free, that could be some good business.”

Sunderland have dropped out of their position in sixth following a draw with Plymouth Argyle on Monday night, with the League One play-off battle extremely tight, the Black Cats can’t afford to drop any more points.

Following the loss to their play-off position rivals, the top six has changed yet again with Wycombe Wanderers matching the Mackems for points on 77 with one more game played in sixth, whilst Sheffield Wednesday and Plymouth take place in fourth and fifth matched for 79 points.

With that in mind, Alex Neil must consider the changes needed in his squad and the impact needed to ensure that his team can secure a chance at promotion to the Championship at the end of this season with just three games remaining.

After the defeat to Argyle, the Black Cats manager came out to respond to concerns over Ross Stewart’s lack of goals in the last eight games:

“We’ve flogged Ross Stewart in particular into the ground this year.

“To expect a lad to come to this level and churn that out repeatedly for that amount of time, having done what he has done for us already, you are asking a lot of anybody.”

The £2.7k-per-week striker who has been claimed to be “fatigued” by Echo journalist Phil Smith, is the club’s top goal-scorer so far with 22 goals, starting every single league game only being subbed off four times in the second half over the entire season, so it is no wonder that there are concerns about the Scotsman being tired.

It would be a huge risk and a bold call to drop their star man, but if Neil does decide to axe Stewart from the starting line-up for the next game against 12th place Cambridge United on Saturday afternoon, it could ultimately pay off in the closing stages of the season.

Should Sunderland find themselves successful in finishing in the top six, there will be three huge additional games on top of the last three league games to secure promotion, so surely resting the striker against Cambridge United could be Neil’s last opportunity to allow Stewart to revive his goal-scoring form.

AND in other news: Speakman howler: SAFC may now be on the verge of repeating brutal Hugill disasterclass