West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed the club are in talks with former Chelsea winger Salomon Kalou, as reported by Sky Sports.
The Hammers are keen to bring the Ivorian back to the Premier League after he impressed for Lille last season in France.
The versatile 27 year old has a £2.8million buy-out clause in his current contract and has admitted that he wants to return to England.
West Ham want the former Chelsea man to use either out wide or down the middle if and when summer signing Andy Carroll gets injured.
West Brom are also interested in signing Kalou and have also been in contact with the players agent but Allardyce is confident the East London club can get a deal done.
“As far as I know, back at West Ham, I think the chairman is speaking with the player’s agent,” Allardyce told Sky Sports News.
“We understand the player wants to come back and play in England, whether that is with us or with whoever, we are having a look at it.
“Obviously from his record at Chelsea, and his goalscoring record this season in France, and his age, he is very appealing to us.
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“But whether that will come off or not in terms or what regular position he wants to play, may be the stumbling block.”
In the modern era the debate over nationality is becoming harder and harder. Long gone are the days where birthplace dictated nationality, in today’s world citizenship can be determined by ancestry, employment as well as political asylum. Adnan Januzaj’s dilemma is one faced by a number of rising stars in today’s game and it is beginning to become a complex issue for both the individual and countries concerned.
Jack Wilshere today waded into the debate by suggesting that all players to represent England should be born in England:
“The only people who should play for England are English people. If you live in England for five years it doesn’t make you English. If I went to Spain and lived there for five years I’m not going to play for Spain.”
Is he right?
Clearly this is as much a legal issue as it a moral one. It is easy to forget that we ourselves are a country of immigrants, a definite part of our culture and not something to take lightly. Wilshere may be right though, if someone has only lived here for five years can they really understand what it means to be English and in footballing terms the honour of donning the Three Lions? Wilshere clearly believes that Englishman are born and not manufactured, that there is a definite English mentality that cannot simply be taught:
“We have to remember what we are, we are English and we tackle hard and we are tough on the pitch and we are hard to beat. We have great characters. You think of Spain and they are technical, but you think of England and you think they are brave and they tackle hard.”
The England first team squad is entirely English born as it stands, something at odds with almost all the major sports we as a country play. The national Rugby and Cricket teams are full of mainly South African born talent that have become eligible through and English mother or father. An England cricket team without Jonathan Trott or Kevin Pieterson would be almost unimaginable now and for fans of our national team we really cannot pass up the chance of delving into this new talent loophole.
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Our U-21 side already contains a handful of foreign born stars including Wilfried Zaha and Nathaniel Chalobah. These are some of the top young prospects in the Premier League and in my mind certain stars of the national side in the near future. It is unsurprising therefore that U-21 manager Gareth Southgate took a much more sensible stance on the matter:
“We have lots of boys in our squad who weren’t born here but whose families have fled here — and some wonderful stories,” Southgate said.
“Saido, Wilf, Nat Chalobah. All incredibly proud to play for England. The world is changing, families are moving more, working abroad.”
I think Southgate is right. Our world is becoming more and more globalised, the national boundaries are blurring and it is just a natural transition for our national sides to contain foreign born stars. Being foreign born doesn’t mean that someone doesn’t care about their adoptive country, in many cases it is quite the opposite with immigrants keen to get as immersed in their new culture as is possible.
Of course in an ideal world our squad would be full of English born players ready to go out and do battle for the cross of St George. The reality now is that the world has changed and our national team must move with it. It is down to the likes of Roy Hodgson to ease the transition, ensuring the likes of a Zaha realise the importance of the decision they have made.
Someone like Wilshere rather than marginalising these foreign born kids should take it upon himself as well to put an arm around their shoulder and teach them about the ethics we have as a national team.
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Countries around the world are already taking advantage of the way in which eligibility criteria work and if England step away on moral grounds I think it would be a huge loss for us in purely footballing terms. Now clearly the case of a Januzaj is different to a Wilfried Zaha,the latter has English relatives whereas the former’s eligibility appears purely employment related.
The FA need to draw a line somewhere, but for me suggesting that English players must be born English is plainly ridiculous.
Is Wilshere right here or do we need to start accepting change?
If Roberto Soldado’s scoring drought – we’ll call it that because there’s something unpleasant, almost deceiving about penalties – wasn’t enough to keep him out of Spain’s squad for next summer’s World Cup, the form and availability of Diego Costa is.
Soldado’s decision to move on from Valencia this past summer wouldn’t have been taken lightly. Even with Fernando Torres and to a lesser extent David Villa “out of form,” the current Tottenham striker knew that it would be a struggle to keep his place in the Spanish squad, even with a hat-trick to his name in a game against Venezuela early last year.
But Costa’s impact at Atletico Madrid and in La Liga as a whole has been phenomenal. We’re looking at a striker who thus far has surpassed Lionel Messi (eight) and matched Cristiano Ronaldo for league goals with 13.
We’re forgetting about the loss of Radamel Falcao, almost as if his presence at Atletico was an age ago. Costa has been in such good form that there’s an aura around him now, one that forces audiences to stand up in expectation for something positive and even impressive to happen. If this sounds like hyperbole, it’s probably because so few could have seen the Brazilian-born forward reaching these heights.
By comparison, Soldado is now well down the pecking order, with every other major Spanish striker, bar Fernando Llorente, doing enough to either retain a position or force the Spurs forward out of the squad.
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Needless to say, Soldado doesn’t have the reputation or the familiarity with his international teammates as Villa or Torres do. Those two, provided they’re fit, will be among the first on the plane. And why not? Their success at club and international level is as good as it gets, with only a domestic league title yet to feature on Torres’ list of achievements. Soldado’s inclusion at the World Cup will be purely on scoring merit – and that’s not a swipe at either of the other two forwards.
Even Alvaro Negredo has done a lot to impress since swapping La Liga for the Premier League. It’s not that Soldado has been bad – importantly, this Tottenham side are not set up to get the best out of him – but that others have been so good. Costa’s confirmation of his choice to represent Spain at international level has only added another name to battle for the small pool of forwards who will be selected. At this point, Costa is far and away the most in form.
Brazil haven’t taken this lightly, either. To say the Brazilian Football Federation are upset would be an enormous understatement. They’ve even attempted to revoke Costa’s nationality, to which the government put a halt. But they danced around the issue of his inclusion for long enough. Yes, Neymar is in fantastic form for club and country, but beyond him, the talent pool of forwards at Luiz Felipe Scolari’s disposal isn’t what it was. With Spain unquestionably the best in the world, Brazil know they’ll only be strengthened by the addition of Costa. And remember, the Atletico forward hasn’t broken any rules here.
But Soldado’s problem is one that most Spanish players have to face: there are simply too many options for Vicente Del Bosque that some, even those who would walk into other national sides, have to be overlooked. Spain’s occasional deployment of the false nine means they’re only likely to take three natural strikers.
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Form is an issue that Soldado can overcome. But there’s little he can do when a player like Costa comes onto the scene and automatically – as he’s been promised – takes up one of the much-desired places on the plane to Brazil.
Will Soldado overcome this hurdle and be included in Spain’s World Cup squad?
The news that David McGoldrick will be injured until the last week of the season was a big disappointment for anyone associated with Ipswich Town.
The 26-year-old striker has netted 16 goals for the Tractor Boys so far this season and he has stood out as the best forward in the squad.
Statistics only tell you part of the reason why McGoldrick is so important for Ipswich though as he does more for the team than just score goals. The former Nottingham Forest striker gets involved in the build up play, works hard, tracks back and uses his movement to pull defenders out of position.
Whilst the Tractor Boys do have some different striking options, I do not believe that they have anyone capable of having as much influence on the pitch as McGoldrick.
Daryl Murphy is a player that I rate highly and I believe he is taken slightly for granted.
The Irishman works incredibly hard, provides a great physical presence in all areas of the pitch and is just as important for the team defensively as he is going forward. When Murphy is not playing for Ipswich they are not as defensively solid, cannot threaten as much from set pieces and have to adjust their style of play. That said, he does not fill the same role as McGoldrick and Ipswich need someone else to compliment Murphy upfront from now on.
I believe that Paul Taylor is similar to Ipswich’s injured striker in terms of his technical ability, agility and flair so he could potentially be a solid replacement.
The problem with the former Peterborough man is that he is not convincing enough as a proper striker and his goal scoring record is not consistent enough to justify putting him in that role. Taylor certainly gets the fans exited at times by running at defenders and making quick turns on the ball, but the main problem is that he doesn’t actually make anything happen on a consistent basis.
Frank Nouble is certainly a different type of player to Taylor but similarly he also has problems with consistency.
Nouble’s work rate is fantastic and it is great to see him chasing after every lost cause but much like Taylor you are left asking yourself where is the end result? I personally think that both players have a role to play at the club, it is just unfortunate that they cannot fill the role that McGoldrick has left.
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With Jack Marriott out on loan that only leaves Ipswich with one other striker which is Sylvan Ebanks-Blake. The former Plymouth man is desperately trying to get as many minutes under his belt as possible in order to return to match fitness after injury problems interrupted his debut. Personally I believe that Ebanks-Blake is very similar to McGoldrick in terms of playing style and is probably the teams best bet in terms of a replacement.
There is no way of telling how well Ebanks-Blake has recovered from all of the injury problems he has had though. If he can replicate the form he previously had at Championship level then Ipswich will not be damaged as much by McGoldricks injury. Although it does seem unlikely that this will be the case and he will need time to get back to his best after such a long lay off.
It appears very likely that the injury to McGoldrick will have a large impact on Ipswich’s chances of making the play-offs but it is important to remember that if the Tractor Boys do make the top six then their star striker will have recovered by then.
It seems as though the previous summer was merely an anomaly – when it comes to Manchester City sniffing round Arsenal’s squad – with reports emerging that City are ready to offer Bacary Sagna the three-year contract he desires.
With Arsenal having seemingly shaken off the tag of ‘selling club’, it should be of paramount importance for the club’s hierarchy to tie the Frenchman down to a long-term contract.
With 276 games under his belt, Sagna is the most-capped right-back during Wenger’s years as Arsenal boss and has been a model of consistency. His first season in 2007-08 he was inducted into the PFA Premier League Team of the Year, and repeated this achievement three years later.
Arsenal’s policy of one-year contract extensions for over-30s makes the situation with Sagna a difficult one. But Arsenal and Wenger’s well-known stubbornness needs to give a little. Two leg-breaks in the space of a year saw Sagna struggle briefly for form. But this season he has proven his worth to the side. Sagna has been a regular fixture in a defence which has, on the whole, made significant leaps forward from the Arsenal teams of recent years.
In terms of commitment and work-rate there are few in the Arsenal side who can match Sagna. When backs are against the wall, Bac usually comes up trumps. The Gunners’ ability to grind out more results this season is tribute to the defensive resolve they have shown and Sagna is often right in the mix. He is gritty, determined and hyper-physical, all characteristics not often attributed to Arsene Wenger’s side.
Sagna’s versatility is also something that Wenger cannot afford to overlook. With just three recognised centre-backs in the first-team squad, his ability to fill the gap if needs be is necessary. Wenger isn’t one for making large squad changes in the summer transfer window so the likelihood of recruiting two new centre-backs, assuming Thomas Vermaelen leaves, is quite low.
Despite his relative inexperience in the position, Sagna’s positional awareness and experience have shone through during the times he’s been called upon to fill a central role.
It brings into questions the club’s appreciation of somebody as loyal as Sagna if they don’t cede somewhat in negotiations. For seven years he’s been omnipresent in a side that has had more than a few wobbles along the way. There have been no stories of dressing room problems, no paper talk of him itching for a move away, and no off-field drama of the type Olivier Giroud has excelled at this season.
If there ever was a person the club should look into recalibrating its contract policy for, Sagna is that person.
Despite recent hiccups, it would be fair to suggest that this season Arsenal have made steps in the direction they want to head in. And defensive improvements have been a large part in this. If the club wants to continue to progress, having players like Sagna around the club with the experience and know-how of the club is vital.
With Carl Jenkinson still in need of some development before he could fairly stake his claim to be the first choice option, there are few better players to learn the trade from than Bacary Sagna.
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Reports in The Mirror have suggested in recent days that Arsenal are actually prepared to bend when it comes to Sagna. But the fact that his contract expires in just three months is a great concern. The club should be breaking their backs to get him to sign up.
He’s been Mr Consistent for a number of years now and Arsenal need more of that. Losing him would be a great loss to the club. And losing him to Manchester city would rub further salt into the wounds.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that the club are looking to add yet more players to their squad despite their arrivals count for this window standing at a whopping six.
The Reds have spent close to £90m this summer to snap up a host of talented players, with the sale of Luis Suarez offsetting £75m of the splurge.
Southampton trio Adam Lallana, Dejan Lovren and Rickie Lambert have been joined at Anfield by Lazar Markovic, Emre Can and Divock Origi – the latter will return to Lille on loan – in a hectic few weeks on Merseyside.
WANT MORE? >> Liverpool transfer news | Latest transfer news
Spanish defenders Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo are expected to become Liverpool players in the coming weeks, but beyond them even more names are being linked with the club.
Although Rodgers admitted that he’s happy with both his concluded and imminent business, the Northern Irishman says that he has more areas of his squad he wants to strengthen:
“It’s just purely on the back of us having a really thin squad last season where we were very, very short.” He is quoted by Goal.
“The players did remarkably well and it was incredible what they achieved but they need help this year – they need assistance.
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“We’ve got the belief this year we can go on and do well in all of the competitions. Especially after the Christmas period on the back end of a World Cup year, we need to make sure we have freshness in every game we play because of the nature of our game.
“There are still one or two areas to look at. There’s no point mentioning numbers or positions – we want a couple of positions strengthened and if we can do that, I’ll be really, really happy.”
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Daniel Sturridge picked up an injury on international duty and missed out on England’s victory over Switzerland.
However, it was Liverpool fans who were more worried and angered by his set-back as England got by just fine in the end as Danny Welbeck stepped up to the plate. Most football fans have experienced players getting injured on international duty and it’s certainly irritating, but in Liverpool’s case, how much of an impact will this injury have on their upcoming fixtures?
First of all we must stress that the extent of his injury has not been confirmed but various reports would suggest that he will be out for somewhere before 2-4 weeks. That would therefore make the England striker a major doubt for Saturday’s game versus Aston Villa and also for Liverpool’s first Champions League game against Ludogorets. As it stands he would also be a doubt for The Reds’ journey to Upton Park as they take on West Ham. On paper it’s not the trickiest spell of fixtures, and you would expect Liverpool to win all three with or without Sturridge but what do the statistics suggest about the severity of Sturridge’s absence?
‘Danny’ has played the full 90 minutes in all of Liverpool’s three fixtures so far this season and he scored on the opening day versus Southampton. He’s been relatively quiet so far compared to The Reds’ new star Raheem Sterling who is taking all the plaudits. The ex-Chelsea ace was largely shown up by a teammate last season too, despite performing fantastically as Luis Suarez did what he does.
We all know how prolific Sturridge was last year but how did Liverpool do without the 25-year-old?
Last season in all competitions, Liverpool lost four out of the 30 games when Daniel Sturridge started the match. However during Sturridge’s injury period, where he missed nine games The Reds lost three times. Liverpool may have lost considerably more in that nine game period had they not had Luis Suarez (as they don’t this year) as the Uruguayan netted a sensational 11 goals in that time.
Danny scored in most games in which he started, but when he didn’t score Liverpool lost 40% of the time. When he did score, Liverpool won 85%. Quite influential.
Interestingly Liverpool were actually less prolific when Sturridge started the game. With the English striker The Reds averaged 2.3 goals per game. However in the 10 games which he missed Suarez seemingly found his mojo easier as Liverpool’s strike rate went up to 2.7 goals per game without the ex-Man City youth star.
In summary, based on last season, Liverpool certainly perform better with Daniel Sturridge in the side however they were less prolific when he played compared to when he didn’t. One big change has happened at Liverpool since last year however, and the loss of Suarez has given The Reds a completely different feel. One thing for sure, they’ll still need someone to step up to the plate like the Uruguayan did when Danny was injured for a substantial period last season. Have they got that luxury – we’ll have to wait and see how they fare in three very winnable fixtures should Sturridge miss out through injury.
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Back in August 1999, Thierry Henry transferred from Juventus to Arsenal for a fee of around £11m. The Frenchman was 22-years-old at the time and had being struggling on the wing for the Italian side before getting his chance to play up front in north London team. It was a position he craved.
The Gunners’ £16m summer transfer deadline day buy Danny Welbeck, is in a similar boat as he left previous club Manchester United due to his limited chances of playing centre forward for the Red Devils.
When Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was asked after his side defeated Aston Villa 3-0 if there were similarities between Welbeck and Henry, he smiled and said: “Give me some time. It is a bit early to say that when you look at the number of goals Thierry Henry scored.
“I think he has an interesting potential and let’s see how he develops. He has a good mentality, good physical potential, and good technical potential.
“He contributes to our team play because he doesn’t lose the ball up front and those are important qualities.”
Obviously Welbeck still has a long way to go before ever reaching the same levels Henry reached during his time at the club. Henry scored 226 goals from 369 appearances and won several individual and team awards such as two Premier League titles, PFA Players’ Player of the Year, PFA Team of the Year and the Premier League Golden Boot in four different seasons. He was also part of the famous Arsenal’s invincible squad of the 2003/04 Premier League season which went the whole season without losing.
With Welbeck having started his third game in succession in his preferred centre forward position, his chances of developing into a Henry-type player are increasing. A chance he was never really given while at Manchester United.
The Englishman may be squandering chances in the games he has played so far, but in time and with confidence, I think he will start to find the back of the net on a more frequent basis. This would mean Wenger would have a difficult decision to make once injured Frenchman Oliver Giroud is fit to play again.
Welbeck shares some similarities with Henry. Both players are strong at passing, finishing and contributing defensively Both players are also good at cutting inside and playing through balls.
One area of his game which Welbeck can improve upon is his decision making. This is why United manager Louis van Gaal said Welbeck’s scoring statistics were not up to the standard expected at Old Trafford.
Wenger has insisted Welbeck will adapt an animalistic nature to finding the back of the net for Arsenal.
“I think it is not a question of potential it is more a nervous problem because in training he scores goals like a real striker. He rushed a bit his finishing until now maybe because he didn’t score,” Wenger said.
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“He has played at Manchester United in the position wide for the last two or three years, never through the middle. You lose a little bit of that instinct to score and as well that pressure which is a little animalistic to score.
“You need to always be in the middle and wait for your chance to kill the opponent. On the flank you have less of that responsibility.”
Maybe now that Welbeck is being played through the middle instead of out wide, he will rekindle his scoring ways like a real striker. The prologue of Welbeck’s story, which is yet to be told, does sound a lot like Henry’s story before he became a world class player. Maybe Welbeck is destined for the same fate.
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Since arriving at Villa Park from Belgian side Genk in the summer of 2012, Aston Villa’s star striker Christian Benteke has become a priceless signing for Paul Lambert’s side. After netting 30 goals in just over 60 Premier League games, is it now time for the Belgium international to make the move away from Villa?
At just £7m, Benteke has been one of the Premier League’s great bargains. The Belgian was one of Lambert’s first signings and without a doubt his best. With 19 league goals in his first season, followed up by 10 in the next – Benteke has quickly become one of the Premier League’s most coveted strikers. The 24-year-old has been linked with a number of big clubs since he arrived in England – surely now is the time for Benteke to make the move away in January.
Aston Villa currently sit 11th in the Premier League table after five wins, four draws and six defeats so far. Benteke missed the back-end of last season, the World Cup and the start of this campaign through injury. But since his return in early October, it has only taken him a handful of games settle back into first-team action. He was foolishly dismissed in the 2-1 home defeat to Tottenham in early November, but he then quickly repaid his team with the only goal in the Villans’ 1-0 away win over Crystal Palace a week ago.
No disrespect to Aston Villa, but the Belgium striker certainly deserves a crack at a bigger club. Villa may have opened the Premier League door for Benteke, but he must now go onto bigger and better things. The ex-Genk man has flourished in the last couple of seasons in an average Aston Villa side and it would be very interesting indeed to see how good a player he could become at a bigger club.
You know what you are going to get with Christian Benteke, he’s fast, athletic, good in the air, physical and one of the Premier League’s best finishers. Benteke is certainly invaluable to Villa’s side, and if he was to move on, he will be sorely missed at the Midlands club. The likes of Arsenal, Tottenham and Liverpool to name a few have been linked – and all would really benefit from his services.
Paul Lambert has done, and will continue to, swiftly dismiss any suggestions that he could be leaving the club. After Benteke handed in a transfer request (which was subsequently withdrawn) at the start of last season, speculation of him leaving Villa Park has never been too far away. One thing is for sure though, it will take a substantial offer to Villa’s chairman Randy Lerner to prize the Belgian away.
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Benteke has been at Villa Park for over two years now, and despite handing in the transfer request, has remained largely loyal to the club – many other players in the striker’s position would have pushed harder for a transfer. The Villa fans will be hoping and praying that they can keep their star man in a claret and blue shirt for the foreseeable future. But surely now the time is right for Benteke to move on.