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It was the news that most football fans knew that was coming, but it still dropped like a bomb when it was made official that Rafa Benitez will be leaving Newcastle United come the end of his contract on the 30th June.

It poured more misery onto Newcastle fans, who have suffered more than enough in the Mike Ashley era of the club, but the news has also shifted the outcome of this summer transfer window, and one team who could be in line to profit from it is West Ham with Salomon Rondon.

Of course, the Venezuelan striker was named Newcastle’s Player of the Season in the previous campaign as the on-loan attacker hit 11 goals and seven assists for the Magpies, and with parent club West Bromwich Albion failing to secure promotion to the Premier League, it is likely Rondon will be on the move this summer, and the Hammers have already moved in for the centre forward despite previous interest from Newcastle as per the Daily Star.

The same publication also claim that Manuel Pellegrini’s side have had a reported bid of £10 million plus Sam Byram and Jordan Hugill rejected by the Albion, though new manager Slaven Bilic is resigned to offloading his key asset for under the market value, but with Newcastle currently in crisis, West Ham have to ensure they are the ones to seal Rondon’s signature this window.

With Andy Carroll gone and Javier Hernandez and Marko Arnautovic both being reported by Goal and Tuttosport via Sempreinter respectively to be on the way out, the Hammers are in need of a striker this summer, and Rondon’s record with Newcastle last season more than makes him qualified to fill the role.

As the Toon Army look for a man to fill Benitez’s shoes, West Ham should be using this time wisely to sign their star man from last season, who has shown he can thrive in the Premier League in the right squad.

West Ham fans, will the club sign Rondon this summer? Let us know!

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Manchester United look set to fail in their pursuit of FC Barcelona’s Philippe Coutinho according to Sky Sports. Despite the Premier League club’s interest, Coutinho will not join the Red Devils out of respect to his former club Liverpool. The report also states that Paris Saint-Germain have begun discussions with the Brazilian’s representatives.

Coutinho is a very good footballer, but United may have dodged a bullet on this one. Here are two reasons why the Old Trafford outfit should be happy about this reported transfer snub…

Where would he actually fit into the team?

Whilst Coutinho can play in attacking midfield, he is at his best on the left flank. During his most productive year at Liverpool, grabbing 13 goals and seven assists, that was where he predominantly played, and it is in that position he has mainly been used since joining Barcelona.

However, United already have Anthony Martial, who is still just 23 years of age. Ed Woodward and co have already shown a reluctance to let the Frenchman go, refusing West Ham’s offer a swap deal with Issa Diop, so what would be the point in bringing in a player who could effectively take his place? With Alexis Sanchez, Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard all playing there last season too, United aren’t exactly short on backup either.

There’s the alternative of playing Coutinho centrally, something he’s more than capable of doing. But how is that actually possible while retaining the functionality of the starting XI? Paul Pogba has shown time and again through ill-disciplined displays that he needs to be the roaming element in midfield, so assuming United get their wish of keeping the Frenchman, how can Ole Gunnar Solskjaer set up an engine room that includes both without leaving his defence glaringly exposed?

You can point to David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne, but this United team are no Manchester City, and Nemanja Matic is no Fernandinho.

Another selfish superstar

As a player, Coutinho was fantastic for Liverpool, but towards the end of his time at Anfield, he showed a much more selfish side as he pushed for a move. The former Inter Milan man did not play any games for the Reds in both the summer transfer window of 2017 and the winter one in 2018 and slacked off in training in an effort to force a departure.

Who’s to say that he would not force through a move again in a few seasons after an upturn of form, or if the move to United doesn’t pan out? Aged 27, he could still have just enough time in his career for another switch of clubs, and he’s already shown the measures he’s willing to take for that to happen.

Perhaps in another era of United’s history this would be a risk worth taking. But do United really need another superstar whose loyalties can be brought into question? Martial wanted to leave last summer, according to his agent, Romelu Lukaku has been batting his eyelashes at Inter Milan’s Antonio Conte,  Pogba’s talking about a new challenge, and David De Gea’s refusing to sign a new contract.

Even if some of these players do leave Old Trafford before the end of the transfer window, surely United have experienced more than their fair share of selfish superstars for the time being.

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It will be interesting to see what business West Ham do before now and the end of the transfer window, which closes on August 8th. Today’s Hammers transfer roundup includes an update in the pursuit of a Championship striker, a boost in regards to a star midfielder and news on a La Liga player.

Khan wants to keep Mitrovic

Fulham owner Tony Khan has told Fulham podcast Fulhamish that he will do everything he can to keep Aleksandar Mitrovic at the club this summer. West Ham had been mooted as a potential destination for the Serbian, but Khan said, “I would like to retain as many of our key players as possible, and that includes Aleksandar Mitrovic. We made a big investment to get him here and I believe in him”.

Rice drops hint about future

Declan Rice has seemingly indicated that he will be staying at West Ham this summer via his Twitter page. The England international was asked whether he would be keeping the number 41 shirt with the Irons next season, and the 20-year-old confirmed that he would.

Borja Iglesias comments

Borja Iglesias has played down any suggestions that he will be on the move to West Ham this summer. Asked in an interview with La Voz de Galicia whether he would be joining his good friend Roberto, who recently left Espanyol, at the London Stadium, he said “In principle, nothing. Nothing like that”.

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West Ham United fans have expressed their delight after Robert Snodgrass signed a new contract at the club.

The Scotland international has penned a one-year extension that ties him to the Hammers until 2021, with the club confirming the deal on Tuesday.

The deal comes after Snodgrass worked his way back into Manuel Pellegrini’s plans following a loan spell at Aston Villa in the 2017/18 campaign.

He made a total of 38 appearances last season, scoring four goals and registering nine assists as the club finished 10th in the Premier League.

Indeed, Snodgrass missed just five top-flight games in total, with one of those coming through suspension.

A versatile player, he was deployed as both an attacking midfielder (17 times) and a right winger (15 times) throughout the season, with a few appearances on the left as well.

Watch West Ham United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And supporters are delighted that the 31-year-old has been rewarded for his loyalty at the Irons, and looks set to add to his 53 appearances for the club.

Take a look at the best of the reaction on Twitter below!

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s The Chalkboard series, which provides a tactical insight into teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Underwhelming and frustrating are two words you could used to describe the past 18 months of Samu Saiz’s football career.

The 28-year-old’s performances in the White of Leeds throughout 2018/19 saw him register four assists before expressing his desire to leave over the winter months, eventually signing for Getafe on loan.

However, the Spaniard managed just two starts in La Liga before he returned to Elland Road with his loan club refusing to sign him permanently.

If anything summed up the last year and a half, that was it.

But, is there any way back for him?

On the chalkboard

Earlier this month, Football Insider revealed that the club had given Saiz until July 15 for him to find a new club.

Leeds had originally knocked back a loan approach for the player in June but with nothing materialising since, he is now set to return to first-team training.

In some ways, this could be a chance at redemption and a way of working himself back into the thoughts of Marcelo Bielsa.

That may be difficult, but with 16 members of the first team squad travelling to Australia, he could benefit from the increased focus put on those who have stayed behind.

Jack Clarke and Helder Costa are two of those to stay in Yorkshire, alongside both Mateusz Klich and Saiz.

With a split squad for the time being, this could be the ideal chance for the attacking midfielder to reintegrate himself back into the side.

After previously expressing a desire to leave, this may not be what a player described as ‘mentally finished’ wants.

Yet, for the good of not only Leeds but also his football career as a whole, he needs to get on with things.

Watch Leeds United Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

A chance of revival with Getafe didn’t go according to plan and with that in mind, he now needs to improve his mentality.

In some cases, it was what was going inside their heads last season that let Leeds down and they simply cannot afford to carry a player like Saiz again.

However, if he gets increased focus and puts the work in over pre-season whilst one half of the squad are in Australia, he could reap the rewards, particularly as Bielsa stays behind.

In terms of his Leeds career, it really does feel like now or never.

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Leeds United have only made two ‘new’ additions to their first-team squad this summer in the form of Helder Costa and Ben White, but with Pontus Jansson leaving for Brentford you could argue they are only really one man stronger.

Jack Clarke and Jack Harrison have also both joined on loan, but they were part of the squad during the 2018/19 campaign anyway.

Given the number of injury issues Leeds suffered to key players last term, the fact that they don’t appear to be stronger depth wise – aside from on the wings perhaps –must be a bit of a concern.

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The Whites do have a large squad, but it’s fair to say that some of their second string players aren’t the most experienced, or have the proven quality needed to help the club compete for a top-two finish in the Championship in the upcoming campaign.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at Marcelo Bielsa’s second-choice options…

Assuming Kiko Casilla will begin next season as the first-choice stopper again, that leaves Bailey Peacock-Farrell as his back-up.

The defence has a rather youthful look with new boy White, 19-year-old Robbie Gotts, who scored in the friendly against Tadcaster Albion last week, 19-year-old Pascal Strujik and the versatile Stuart Dallas making up the numbers – the former three have never made a Championship appearance.

Ezgjan Alioski may have been an ever-present until injury struck late on during the previous campaign, but his spell at left-back in the absence of Barry Douglas may have actually left him in a precarious position when it comes to his place in the team on the wing – the returning Harrison may well now be ahead of him in the pecking order there.

Three more youngsters – Clarke, Jamie Shackleton and Mateusz Bogusz who have made eight league starts between them – join Adam Forshaw in making up the rest of the midfield, with Patrick Bamford up top.

Watch fans explain why the Football League is better than the Premier League in the video below…

While that XI does have a touch of experience it is largely filled with youngsters who are still unproven at Championship level.

Not the ideal depth for a team looking to finish in the top two next season then, which suggests that more work is needed – especially in defence – before the transfer window closes.

[ad_pod ]For a host of teams, the Europa League has been nothing short of a poisoned chalice.Many sides are reduced to starting their season in the murky depths of Europe, playing on grounds that wouldn’t be fit for cattle, let alone a bunch of professional footballers.Yet, at the end of it, Champions League football looms for the winners.The pros and the cons to the competition are both huge. Do well in Europe and it’ll significantly enhance your reputation, as well as producing greater income, but it could also be incredibly detrimental to a club’s domestic performances.However, exiting in the early rounds can also be embarrassing, especially playing against the types of opposition that arise in qualifying.

Wolves enter the competition in the second qualifying phase this week as they take on Crusaders.

It seems like something straight out of a Medieval drama as opposed to a football team, but that’s the magic of the Europa League.

Wolves will be expected to come through that tie with ease but after seeing West Ham defeated by European minnows Astra Giurgiu, you can’t write anything off.

The Midlands outfit come into this campaign off the back of comparisons with Burnley, however.

After finishing seventh in the Premier League in 2017/18, they crashed and burned before enduring a nightmare start domestically.

Undeniably Wolves could struggle with their squad depth. In 2018/19, they used just 21 players in the top-flight, two of which in Ivan Cavaleiro and Helder Costa have since departed.

They could, therefore, be staring down the barrel of the dreaded second season syndrome.

That’s unless they prove their quality and skill which many of their players have already displayed on the European stage.

After all, this is a squad filled with quality, even if it is a small one.

Among their ranks they have the likes of Rui Patricio and Joao Moutinho, two men to have won the European Championships.

Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota, meanwhile, were in the squad when Portugal achieved Nations League glory this summer.

On July 15th 2018, just under two weeks before Burnley’s Europa League campaign got underway, the value of their squad was a mere £141.1m, per Transfermarkt.

Wolves, by comparison, go into this season’s competition with a squad value of £248.1m – accurate as of July 15th 2019 – and that yawning disparity serves as a telling indicator of the clear difference in quality.

However, they will have to overcome a problematic European tradition in doing so.

Since the team that finished seventh in the Premier League were granted access to the Champions League’s sister competition, no side has ever been beyond the ground stage.

Try as they might, Southampton, West Ham, Everton and Burnley all failed.

Three of them didn’t even go beyond the qualifying phase, which tells you all you need to know about the task on Wolves’ hands.

Nuno hasn’t yet added to his squad this summer, despite moves for Patrick Cutrone, who scored four times in the Europa League last term, and Ruben Dias being touted.

Those two players would add far greater depth to a side that lacks it considerably.

A sparsity of options is one of the main issues that could reap havoc as Wolves aim to be successful in continental football, but that’s no secret.

If you don’t know the words to the Joao Moutinho chant in the video below, are you even a real Wolves fan?…

What’s arguably set Wolves up best, though, is their pre-season.

Their players already look fit and ready to go, despite various members of their squad featuring in international tournaments.

Diogo Jota has come back and scored twice in the Premier League Asia Trophy, whilst young prodigy Morgan Gibbs-White is already showing incredibly promising signs. The only concern lies with Raul Jimenez, who has just won the Gold Cup with Mexico.

But the fact is that Wolves don’t warrant Burnley comparisons. They have greater resources and to put it simply, their players have more experience at the top level.

Beyond their Portuguese contingent, Jonny and Leander Dendoncker have also played in the Europa League, further supplementing that point.

The rigmarole of playing on a Thursday and then on a Sunday can be a straining one, but many of their players have already been put through this, jetting off around the continent before playing at the weekend too.

Breaking English tradition will be difficult, but there is evidence to suggest that Nuno’s men can do it and put their doubters to the sword.

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Leeds are in danger of heading into the new Championship season with just Patrick Bamford as their main striker following an injury to Kemar Roofe.

Whether they decide to return to the transfer market remains to be seen but Tutto Mercato Web have laid claims that that’s exactly what they’ve done.

Tancredi Palmeri reports on the website that Leeds have submitted a bid worth €15m (£13.7m) for SPAL’s Andrea Petagna.

However, it’s a rumour that has caused debate among Leeds supporters with some refusing to believe it’ll happen.

One said the club didn’t have a prayer of landing him after he was linked to Leicester for €20m (£18.3m) earlier this year. Another simply said there was no chance that it would go through.

Further fans decided to compare the 24-year-old to former Leeds players as one said he was just like Pierre-Michel Lasogga, someone who scored ten goals in 33 matches for the club. He was also branded as the Italian Billy Paynter.

Petagna netted 17 goals in all competitions in Italy last term but according to Palmeri, SPAL are hoping for a fee closer to €25m (£22.9m) for his services.

Here’s the best of the discussion.

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Norwich City are interested in signing Chelsea midfielder Danny Drinkwater, according to The Sun.

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However, the club are not the only Premier League club interested in Drinkwater, with Brighton & Hove Albion wanting the midfielder on a season-long loan. According to The Sun, it now depends on who can pay the most out of the two clubs.

Chelsea prefer to sell Drinkwater as manager Frank Lampard wants to give more game time to Mason Mount and Ruben Loftus-Cheek this season.

Brighton are looking to add to their squad following the acquisition of Adam Webster from Bristol City for £22m.

Norwich City have also been linked with Watford defensive midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah, suggesting manager Daniel Farke wants to add midfield experience before Thursday’s transfer deadline.

The links with the two players come just a week or so after the news of Alex Tettey’s injury setback, which Farke said the Norwegian could need surgery on.

Danny Drinkwater enjoyed a title-winning season with former club Leicester City and is the most experienced player when compared to Watford’s Chalobah, and Tom Trybull and Louis Thompson, Norwich’s only fit defensive midfielders.

His experience outweighs all three aforementioned players, with the England international having made more than 300 career appearances.

A move for Drinkwater would be a no-brainer. The 29-year-old would add so much experience, and has shown in his last season of consistent competitive football that he has an abundance of quality. The 2016/2017 season was Drinkwater’s last season of consistent football, and he averaged more tackles and made more blocks than Trybull and Thompson managed at Norwich City last season.

Drinkwater would be a better option than Chalobah, Trybull and Thompson, due to his experience, and because he possesses the quality to make a difference should he make the move to Norfolk.

Norwich fans, would Drinkwater be a good midfield addition? Join the discussion by commenting below!

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Neil Lennon has spoken of his desire to reinvest the Kieran Tierney money in his playing side but the fans aren’t excited by his plans.

Celtic sold Tierney to Arsenal in the dying embers of the English transfer window for a fee of £25m, and it appears Lennon already has his masterplan for how to spend his new transfer kitty.

Speaking ahead of the Motherwell game, the Bhoys boss admitted he’d like as many as five new faces in, with a shortlist of three new defenders, two wingers and a striker.

It’s been a busy summer at Parkhead, though some fans are a little frustrated that more hasn’t been done, and this shopping list has got the fans questioning Lennon’s competency.

With many wingers already at the club, the prospect of two more bolstering the ranks does seem a little odd.

Others are frustrated that he’s not backing up his words, and said that they’d prefer to see the signings, rather than be told that they could happen.

Here’s how the disgruntled fans reacted to Lennon’s comments on Twitter…

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