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Sky Sports man Kevin Hatchard believes that West Ham will have to shell out a lot of money to land striker target Youssef En-Nesyri.

The Lowdown: Moyes looking for more firepower

Despite being backed heavily over the summer and handed eight new players, West Ham and David Moyes only find themselves above the bottom three via goal difference having won just four league games all season.

Therefore, it’s no surprise that West Ham are looking to bring in yet more bodies in their attempts to get out of their precarious league position, with Moyes seemingly under pressure at the moment.

Having scored just 15 goals in the league this season, West Ham clearly need more firepower, and that will be why they are once again being linked with Morocco star En-Nesyri, with the east Londoners previously trying to bring him to the London Stadium in 2021.

The Latest: En-Nesyri won’t be an easy signing

En-Nesyri appears to be a top target for the Hammers, but after his World Cup displays, his price tag appears to have gone up according to Hatchard, who’s been speaking live on Sky Sports about the current rumours.

He said: “Did well at the World Cup, hasn’t done that well for Sevilla. The team hasn’t done well, Jorge Sampaoli’s there now, having replaced Julen Lopetegui.

“They’re in a relegation battle, so it’s going to have to be a lot to tempt Sevilla to part company with him, but since he got a load of goals a couple of seasons ago, we’ve not really seen the same player, so there’s an element of risk there, I think.”

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The Verdict: Would be a huge gamble for West Ham

It has recently been reported that the Hammers are keen on landing En-Nesyri for the rest of the season before splashing out £25m on the striker in the summer, which would be a sizeable outlay – especially when his goalscoring record is taken into consideration.

Since the start of last season, the Moroccan has just five league goals to his name, so that doesn’t necessarily show how he will help West Ham get out of this rut.

West Ham’s top scorer is currently Gianluca Scamacca with three league goals, but given that the Premier League is already 18 games old, that’s simply not good enough, and while En-Nesyri doesn’t necessarily look to be the answer given his poor form in front of goal, Moyes himself labelled the striker ‘incredible’ during the Qatar World Cup, so he’s clearly still a huge admirer.

Manchester United have reached a ‘full, verbal agreement to sign Wout Weghorst’ on loan from Burnley, Fabrizio Romano reports.

The Lowdown: Butland in

The Red Devils have already made a January signing by securing the services of goalkeeper Jack Butland from Crystal Palace on loan until the end of the season.

United acted swiftly after Newcastle United recalled Martin Dubravka, with Butland set to provide cover for David de Gea alongside Tom Heaton.

Old Trafford chiefs are now working on signing Weghorst after they parted ways with Cristiano Ronaldo towards the end of 2022.

The Latest: Weghorst next?

Romano took to Twitter on Tuesday to share an update on Weghorst. He revealed that a ‘full, verbal agreement’ has been reached which will see United pay Burnley a €3m (£2.7m) loan fee.

The transfer expert added that Besiktas, where the forward is currently on loan, still need to approve a transfer and will only do so if they find a replacement.

The Verdict: Good move for United

Described as a ‘World Cup hero’ by journalist Alex Brotherton following his two goals against Argentina in the quarter-finals, Weghorst has plenty of experience at the highest level for club and country.

The Adidas-sponsored forward contributed to five goals in 20 games in the Premier League for Burnley last season and has impressed in Turkey, scoring eight times in 16 league appearances for Besiktas.

The 30-year-old, who stands at 6 foot 6, will give Erik ten Hag a different option at centre-forward to Anthony Martial, should a move go through. That in turn should allow Marcus Rashford to remain out wide, looking to continue his fine goalscoring form.

West Ham United’s underwhelming campaign has fallen into dangerously murky territory, with the slide in stability and performance seeing them plummet into the dreaded relegation zone in the Premier League.

Having clinched European qualification across the past two seasons under David Moyes and reached the Europa League semi-finals last year, losing to eventual winners Eintracht Frankfurt – optimism was at the brim when the campaign commenced, with a spendthrift summer transfer window only bolstering hopes that previous successes could be emulated, if not surpassed.

Languishing in 18th place in the league with a paltry 15 points, the Irons are in dire need of some respite. According to Voce Giallorossa, that could come in the form of AS Roma’s Nicolo Zaniolo, with the report stating that West Ham are among the interested parties for the forward.

The Hammers will face stiff competition from London rivals Tottenham Hotspur for the player’s signature, with other reports stating that Antonio Conte’s outfit currently lead the race to clinch the 23-year-old.

This season, Zaniolo has scored two goals and supplied three assists from 15 starting appearances, failing to live up to the heights of last season when he returned eight goals and nine assists.

Quite simply, the 23-year-old would be a “frightening” – as lauded by CBS Sports reporter Ben Jacobs – force in West Ham’s team, capable of lifting them away from near the bottom of the Premier League table and back towards a loftier position, navigating a course back towards success.

Zaniolo could emulate the feats of Manchester United’s in-form talisman Marcus Rashford, who has scored in all seven matches since the resumption of club football following the World Cup in Qatar – where he also netted three times for England – taking his total for the Red Devils this season to 16 goals and six assists across 26 appearances.

With FBref ranking the English phenomenon among the most comparable players to Zaniolo, West Ham fans could be buzzing with cautious optimism over the feasibility of a transfer, which would represent a monumental coup for a club desperately seeking to assert themselves again after a woeful season so far.

Indeed, the Italian ranks within the top 5% of attacking midfielders/wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for total shots, and in the top 13% for progressive passes received. While Rashford ranks considerably lower across both of those metrics, he does perch within the top 7% of positional peers for rate of non-penalty goals, primarily thanks to his recent purple patch.

If the £79k-p/w Zaniolo can rediscover his goalscoring touch, he could nicely supplement the natural instinct, physicality and electric bursts of pace to emulate Man United’s endeared talent.

Moyes will have the proposition of Europa Conference League football as a carrot to try and lure Zaniolo to the London Stadium. It’s a competition that the 11-cap Italian knows well, having won it with Roma last season, scoring the solitary goal in the final against Feyenoord.

Should the West Ham manager prove successful in a bid for the 23-year-old, the Irons might just have a new star in their ranks, capable of leading the charge towards the upper end of the Premier League table once more.

Crystal Palace’s reported hopes of signing Djed Spence on loan from Tottenham Hotspur this month have been given a significant boost and Steve Parish should now look to bring him to Selhurst Park.

What’s the word?

According to 90min, Antonio Conte’s side are now willing to let the right-back leave on a temporary basis this month due to his lack of game time since his summer switch from Middlesbrough.

With Spurs hoping to bring in Pedro Porro from Sporting Lisbon before the transfer window shuts, it seems as if the 22-year-old’s chances of breaking into the first team will be even slimmer, so it makes sense that he gets a Premier League loan rather than sitting on the bench for the rest of the campaign.

It’s said that Palace, West Ham, Southampton, Bournemouth and Burnley all have an interest in the English defender, who played a starring role in Nottingham Forest’s promotion from the Championship last season.

Parish must act

Vieira will surely be looking to strengthen at full-back this season, as Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne have both struggled for consistent form, with WhoScored ranking them as the ninth and 15th-best performers at Selhurst Park, with dismal 6.54 and 6.27 ratings respectively.

When Spurs spent £20m to bring in Spence during the summer of 2022, he was regarded as one of the best in his position after his phenomenal performances in the second tier for Steve Cooper’s side.

The young defender would make 42 appearances in the Championship, contributing two goals and four assists, averaging a superb 7.05 rating from WhoScored across the campaign, way above that of both Ward and Clyne.

It demonstrates an attacking efficiency rarely seen from Vieira’s pre-prepared options at right full-back, with the aforementioned duo failing to contribute a single goal or assist this term.

Both in their 30s, perhaps a more energetic and vibrant presence on the right flank could take Palace to the next level. Certainly, words from Palace legend Ian Wright last term suggest he’d do very well at Selhurst Park.

After a win for Forest over Arsenal in the FA Cup, he said: “Let me say, that was one of the best right-back performances I have seen for a very long time. A very long time.

“If we are talking about right-backs performing at an unbelievable level, we’re talking Reece James and Trent (Alexander-Arnold).

“But I have not seen a combative, technical, swashbuckling performance like that for a very long time.”

Spence is yet to start a game for Spurs since his arrival in north London and Palace would represent an ideal loan spell in terms of geography, as well as Vieira’s obvious need for another full-back, so Parish must act now and beat other suitors to the 22-year-old’s temporary signature in the coming days.

Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has given his verdict on what ‘priority number one’ is for Sean Dyche should he takes the reins at Everton.

The Lowdown: Dyche arrives at Finch Farm for talks

Dyche arrived at Finch Farm over the weekend to sign a two-and-a-half-year deal with the club, according to Sky Sports. It is also believed that an announcement is due very soon.

The Toffees sacked former boss Frank Lampard last week following a 2-0 loss to West Ham United, with Everton now sitting second from bottom in the Premier League table, two points from safety.

The Latest: Sheth makes Dyche claim

Sheth spoke to GiveMeSport, claiming that the 51-year-old will look to keep his squad together and have to decide on potential deals for who the Everton hierarchy wants to bring in during the January transfer window.

He stated: “Priority number one for Dyche, I think, now that Anthony Gordon is on his way out, is just to keep the squad together, it really is. I think he needs to have a look at everyone. He’s joining really late in the transfer window.

“If they were having talks with him as soon as Frank Lampard had been sacked, if there were any deals in the pipeline, they would’ve spoken to him about it, I’m sure, to say ‘look we’ve got potential deals with one or two players, are you still interested if we bring them in?’ and he’ll have had to make a decision to Everton as well. So it’ll be interesting to see what they do in the last couple of days.”

The Verdict: No easy task

We believe that Dyche has a big task on his hands considering where the Toffees are in the league, but we believe that he’s one of the best candidates for the job.

The former Burnley boss spent nearly 10 years in charge of the Clarets, where he was able to keep them in the Premier League for six straight seasons, so in our view, he knows what it takes to survive in the league.

He was sacked in April of last year before the 2021/22 season ended. An argument could be made that the Clarets could’ve stayed up had they decided to stick with him.

Elsewhere, Dyche won’t be going into the job a stranger, as he’ll be reuniting with a couple of familiar faces in the form of James Tarkowski and Dwight McNeil.

TalkSport’s Simon Jordan praised Everton’s decision to go for Dyche, labelling it as a ‘sensible’ appointment. Jordan also stated that the ex-Burnley boss can get Tarkowski playing at a ‘better level’.

With his knowledge of the Premier League and his experience with the aforementioned Toffees duo, we can see why Dyche could be viewed as the best option to keep Everton up from now until the end of the season.

Journalist Dean Jones has claimed that there could be late transfer movement in the January transfer window for Rangers forward Alfredo Morelos.

The Lowdown: Preparing his replacement?

In a recent press conference, Michael Beale said that the Scottish Premiership side will be ‘looking’ for a new striker between now and the summer.

Morelos’ deal at Ibrox runs out at the end of May and is on course to bring a six-year stint in Glasgow to a close.

In that time, the 26-year-old has played 253 times for the Gers in all competitions, scoring 119 goals.

The Latest: Potential movement

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Jones claimed that some clubs are aware of the situation surrounding Morelos and that there could be a late swoop for him this month.

He stated: “Clubs have been made aware of his situation and his potential availability.

“And it’s at this point of a window when you would kind of expect those interested clubs to come forward because let’s face it, if you’ve got a particular problem and you’re a bit desperate, this is the moment to try and solve that with a player like Morelos.”

The Verdict: Big shoes to fill

We believe that losing Morelos would be a huge blow for Rangers as he’s been a consistent source of goals for a number of years.

His former boss, Steven Gerrard, has spoken highly of him in the past, labelling the forward as a ‘fantastic’ and ‘perfect’ player.

However, Rangers do have a great alternative in Antonio Colak. The Croatian is the club’s top scorer in all competitions with 11 goals from 22 appearances.

In our view, with a return like that, Colak could definitely be someone to take over as the Gers’ undisputed first-choice striker.

Meanwhile, it appears as if Beale is potentially looking to bring in a younger attacker into his squad. According to Wales Online, Swansea City have rejected a recent £2m bid for winger Morgan Whittaker.

Adding the 22-year-old into the mix would allow Colak to lead the line and have Whittaker, who can play across the frontline, as a backup for the 29-year-old.

Whittaker certainly scored plenty of goals whilst on loan at Plymouth Argyle, but he could learn a lot from both Morelos and Colak and help him settle into life at Rangers if he decides to make the switch.

Aston Villa are believed to be ‘working’ on a last-gasp deal to sign exciting Lyon midfielder Houssem Aouar, according to a fresh transfer rumour.

The Lowdown: Aouar a huge talent

The 24-year-old has arguably been considered one of the most gifted French players for some time now, having racked up 224 appearances for Lyon since breaking into their first-team as a teenager.

Aouar is out of contract at his current club at end of this season however, at which point he would be able to seal a free transfer to another club.

It could be that Lyon are willing to the sell Frenchman before January comes to an end in order not to lose one of their top assets for nothing, which is where Villa come into play.

The Latest: Villa linked with late move

According to Football Insider, the Villans are looking at sealing a late move for Aouar before deadline day ends on Tuesday night.

It is stated that Unai Emery is still ‘in the market’ for a central midfielder this month and NSWE have now ‘turned their attention’ to the Lyon star, with negotiations ongoing over a short-term deal.

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The Verdict: What a signing

Aouar could be a superb signing for Villa if they manage to get a deal over the line, bringing in genuine star quality and bags of experience, despite still only being 24.

The one-cap France international has been hailed as an ‘incredible’ footballer by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, which says a lot about his ability, and his attacking metrics for a midfielder are off the scale, sitting in the 75th percentile or higher in every single piece of FBRef’s goalscoring and playmaking data.

Aouar’s creativity is outlined by a tally of 35 assists for Lyon and he could bring a sprinkling of unpredictability alongside the industriousness of Douglas Luiz and Boubacar Kamara.

Chelsea had an expensive transfer window in January spending £323m on eight new additions to improve their Premier League season, however, it looks like the club are not finished in their pursuit of transforming the squad as a new potential target emerges.

What’s the latest?

According to 90min, Chelsea are amongst a number of clubs scouting talented Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa.

As per the report, it is claimed that the Blues are set to address their goalkeeper situation at Stamford Bridge in the summer with both Kepa Arrizabalaga and Edouard Mendy out of contract in 2025.

It is believed that Chelsea scouts are active across Europe with Costa one of the potential targets they are keeping an eye on alongside Manchester United who have also taken an interest in the young keeper.

Potter could ditch Kepa

There is no doubt that Todd Boehly is an ambitious owner who is dedicated to getting Chelsea back in contention for trophies as well as domination in both the Premier League and European football too.

The west Londoners are currently ninth in the top-flight table after a disappointing run of performance over their first 21 outings and are currently ten points adrift from a Champions League qualifying spot inside the top four.

Chelsea have the worst goal difference and have scored the fewest amount inside the top half of the table, missing out on crucial points and progression due to tight margins that have cost them dearly – losing by just one goal in a number of their games over the last few months against Manchester City, Fulham, Newcastle United and Arsenal.

Kepa – dubbed “error-prone” by broadcaster Bolarinwa Olajide – has been occupying the starting spot in goal for the Blues this season due to Mendy’s injury issues and the controversial ‘keeper has seen better days, conceding up to four goals per game on more than one occasion so far, having allowed in four against Man City in the FA Cup and another four against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League back in October.

Indeed, the club’s recruitment drive has been largely focused on improving the attacking threat over the most recent transfer window, but the signing of Costa in the summer could be a huge boost in their ability to see out games and improve next term.

The 23-year-old – who was dubbed an “enormous talent” by Sergio Conceicao – ranks in the top 2% of keepers in the next eight best competitive leagues for goals against and clean sheet percentage, as well as ranking in the top 12% for crosses stopped.

Not only that, over 19 league appearances this season the shot-stopper has made 36 saves, kept an impressive ten clean sheets and conceded only 11 goals so far, as well as winning 100% of his aerial duels per game, which is extremely eye-catching and could make him hugely valuable to Chelsea in the future.

With that being said, if the powers at Stamford Bridge are considering their options for a new gloveman this summer they should look no further than Costa. Indeed, he could provide the consistency and longevity needed to get Chelsea competing at the highest level once again.

Tony Scott has admitted on the All Together Now podcast he’s not excited by the appointment of Lee Sargesson because Farhad Moshiri still runs Everton.

The Lowdown: Moshiri the key problem

Given Everton have experienced a steady fall from grace over the last few years there has always been one person that’s been front and centre of many problems and that is Moshiri.

The Everton owner has appointed a ridiculous number of managers during his time owning the club with very few of them having the same style of play as the one before them which shows a lack of planning.

Moshiri has also spent a huge sum of money, over £500 million since he bought Everton, and that has ultimately seen them become hamstrung by Financial Fair Play regulations of late, but he is seemingly trying to get things right on a transfer and recruiting front now as Everton have prised away Sargesson from Brighton.

The Latest: Off-field improvements being made

Scott has acknowledged the appointment of Sargesson as the clubs’ manager of scouting operations but knows nothing will change at Everton until Moshiri leaves or at least relinquishes his power and control.

He said: (9:40) “We had Steve Walsh come from Leicester who handpicked Riyad Mahrez, Jamie Vardy, Kante and all these players and look what happened there. We had Marcel Brands with the pedigree he had coming from PSV and we were saying he’s found all these European wonder kids and then nothing.

“Because they weren’t allowed to do their job so you just hoping that we have found someone who’s allowed to do their job because we know for a fact that Marcelo Bielsa was Farhad Moshiri’s man, Kevin Thelwell wasn’t allowed to do his job and this is what it all boils down to and not getting optimistic about changes at the football club because we know the man that’s pulling the strings is Moshiri.

“It shouldn’t be, he’s the owner and should let Kevin Thelwell run the football club from top to bottom but he’s not being allowed to and we know this from signings and we know this from managerial appointments. He will have had a say in the Sean Dyche appointment but we know quite well he wouldn’t have wanted Marcelo Bielsa in a month of Sundays.

The Verdict: Everton have to get off-field decisions correct

As Scott has pointed out on the podcast, Everton have indeed appointed some well-thought-about footballing people over the last few years and the fact that none of them have worked out would point towards them not being the problem.

Instead, the finger must be pointed at the owner Moshiri, who so far, is yet to learn from any of his past mistakes, but with Dyche at the helm and the experienced Thelwell working alongside him, this could be his chance to take a back seat.

If Moshiri continues to speak and get involved with what happens on a day-to-day basis then Everton will continue to be on a slide towards the Championship, but if they can indeed get their own house in order, things could soon look brighter.

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder George Byers is ‘available’ for the League One game vs MK Dons, according to journalist Joe Crann.

The Lowdown: Injury concerns

The Owls secured a 3-0 victory over Morecambe in midweek but there was cause for concern when the 26-year-old had to be substituted during the break at the Hillsborough Stadium.

The Yorkshire outfit introduced Fisayo Dele-Bashiru as their talisman’s replacement after he was seen walking down the tunnel in some discomfort with the medical team, though Darren Moore has now delivered a positive update on his fitness.

The Latest: Byers fitness update

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Crann relayed welcoming news on Byers’ situation from the Wednesday boss’ press conference. He wrote:

“Darren Moore just told me that George Byers is available for selection tomorrow – still no Mallik Wilks though.”

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The Verdict: Boost for Moore

Byers has been hailed a Wednesday fan ‘favourite’ by Crann himself and so it’ll be a massive boost for Moore to have him available for selection again.

The Ilford-born talent has scored five goals and provided three assists in 20 third-tier appearances so far this season, with two man-of-the-match awards to his name (WhoScored).

The Owls playmaker has also put 17 crosses into the box which is just four away from the 21 he managed throughout the whole of 2021/22, showing how much he’s improved over the last 12 months.

Byers has had a significant impact on his side’s success so far this term and he will undoubtedly continue to be an integral part of the club’s push for automatic promotion in the weeks and months ahead.