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According to The Sun, Newcastle United are expected to step up their pursuit of West Brom’s Salomon Rondon in the coming days.

Once that deal is done, according to a Team Talk exclusive, the Baggies are planning to invest in Middlesbrough’s Britt Assomalonga as the Venezuelan’s replacement. 

The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine campaign last time out, but he’s apparently surplus to requirements at the Championship outfit.

If Darren Moore could attract the DR Congo international to the Hawthorns then he’d be the perfect candidate to step into Salomon Rondon’s shooting boots.

The Breakdown

Rondon’s key attributes are strength, stamina and physicality. Those features, married with his smart movement and finishing, are what made the 28-year-old such a handful in the Premier League last season.

Assombalonga boasts a very similar skillset, and could, therefore, do a great job of replicating Rondon’s dedicated role in this West Brom side.

Last season he scored a very impressive 15 league goals, which is a decent return by any stretch. Naturally, then, his finishing is superb, whilst his aerial ability and physical presence makes him a real handful when moving forward more generally.

The Middlesbrough man is valued at £10.8 million by Transfermarkt and is one of the most exciting attacking talents in the second tier of English football. If West Brom could sign him with the money recouped from Rondon’s sale, then that would be an excellent move in the market and would set them up nicely for the Championship campaign ahead. With promotion back to the top flight a clear goal for the club, a major move like this would put them in good stead. 

West Brom fans – thoughts?

Let us know below!

West Ham fans are absolutely over the moon with the latest transfer news, as Javier Hernandez will definitely not be leaving the club.

For all the good signings West Ham have made this summer, there was still a feeling around East London that they would regret letting Chicharito go.

The little Mexican international had not clarified his future, and there were real concerns that the situation last season would make his mind up to leave the club.

That is not the case though, as Manuel Pellegrini has big plans for the striker, and he is now set to stay and fire in the goals up front with Marko Arnautovic.

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According to ExWHUEmployee, Hernandez will not only stay with the Hammers, but has a “big part” to play in the coming season.

This is music to fans’ ears, as adding Chicharito’s poaching ability to the fine form of players like Arnautovic will make their attack extremely dangerous.

You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below, and it seems like this might just be the best bit of transfer news all summer…

Arsenal plan to scupper Manchester United’s move for Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng, according to Kicker.

What’s the word?

Unai Emery has been shaping a squad since he became Arsene Wenger’s successor at the end of last season.

The Spaniard has brought in five new faces, including right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner and defender Sokratis.

Bernd Leno is expected to snatch the number one goalkeeper slot from Petr Cech, while Lucas Torreira has been bought to bolster the midfield and Matteo Guendouzi is one for the future.

Now, according to Kicker, the Gunners want to ruin United’s pursuit for a centre-back by making a move for Boateng.

The Germany World Cup winner has been with the Bavarians since 2011, but is believed to be available for around £44m.

How would Boateng make Arsenal better?

The club’s defence was their downfall last season, particularly during the latter stages of the campaign.

Shkodran Mustafi came under intense scrutiny after making some careless mistakes at the back.

Laurent Koscielny also made a few errors, but he was struck down with a serious injury, which will keep him out of action until the winter.

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Emery could do with a new centre-back, as well as a statement signing, and Boateng would provide that.

The defender may be approaching 30, but he still has plenty to offer a top club.

On top of having the ability and leadership qualities, Boateng also has a winning mentality and can cope under pressure.

The 29-year-old has won 14 trophies at Bayern, including an impressive six Bundesliga titles.

According to a recent report from The Sun on Sunday (05/08; page 61), Leicester City and West Ham are interested in a late summer move for Paco Alcacer. The 24-year-old currently plays his football in La Liga with champions Barcelona but only has 50 senior appearances for show for his two years at the Nou Camp, a mere 22 of which have been starts.

And it appears that Claude Puel and Manuel Pellegrini are seeking to take advantage of his first team struggles by luring the striker to the Premier League, but the man himself should forget about the King Power Stadium, as he would be much better served opting for the London Stadium.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, while Puel’s Foxes finished above the Hammers last season and as such may appear to be closer to the Premier League’s top six clubs, first team opportunities are unlikely to be overly forthcoming at Leicester given the current options available to the Frenchman.

Jamie Vardy is comfortably the number one striker at the King Power Stadium, and no wonder given he has reached the 20-goal mark in two of his last three seasons, while ex-Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho began to produce the goods late last term, and has enjoyed a fine pre-season to date with four goals in three games.

Thus, those two appear to be the front-runners for Puel’s starting role, and even were Iheanacho to play more as a number ten this term, as he did at times last season, Alcacer still isn’t going to dispose Vardy of the main striker’s role.

Whereas there does appear to be an opening under Pellegrini at West Ham, as other than Marko Arnautovic, who himself moved to the London Stadium as more of a winger, the striking options do appear to be lacking.

The likes of Andre Ayew and Diafra Sakho left the club back in the January transfer window to leave Andy Carroll, Javier Hernandez, and Jordan Hugill as the main out-and-out strikers, and with injuries decimating the former’s career, and uncertainty regarding the latter’s future, Pellegrini doesn’t have too many to choose from.

And that is why Alcacer appears to be much better served opting for West Ham over Leicester, not just because the investment at the London Stadium this summer suggests that the Hammers are moving towards something big, but because first team opportunities appear to be more forthcoming in the capital than in the Midlands.

And after a testing time at Barcelona, in which he has spent the best part of his two-year stint on the bench, first team football will surely be of paramount importance to the 24-year-old this summer.

As such, the £13.5 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt) should forget about Leicester, and instead seek to make the move to West Ham this summer.

West Ham and Leicester fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Alan Hutton signed a new one-year contract at Aston Villa this summer, with The Daily Record reporting that the Scotsman took a huge paycut in order to seal the deal when Steve Bruce’s side were in dire financial trouble. Perhaps in celebration, he treated the Villa fans to his best display in his seven years at the club so far in their opening game of the Championship season against Hull.

The 33-year-old joined Villa from Tottenham for around £4m in the summer of 2011 and, after three short loan deals in his early years at Villa Park, he established himself as the club’s first choice right-back. Since making his debut for Scotland in 2007, the Glasgow-born defender has also racked up 50 caps for his country.

Goals, however, are not something one would immediately think of when speaking about Hutton. Before his fabulous solo run and finish on Monday at the KCOM Stadium, the veteran full-back had only netted once for Villa in their 2014/15 Premier League campaign.

Villa fans may have been fearing the worst on Monday night when their side fell behind after just seven minutes as Hull’s attacking midfielder Evandro looped the ball into the net from the edge of the box. However, Hutton and co. rallied to produce a fine opening weekend performance and put the worries of the summer behind them.

Hutton was imperious in defence, winning four aerial duels and making four clearances, as well as marauding forward to help the attack. Only left-back Neil Taylor had more touches of the ball for Villa than the 69 made by the Scottish international, proving just how important Bruce’s full-backs were in the win.

Perhaps the only negative of Hutton’s performance was the obligatory yellow card he picked up, although he won’t get many in his career for jumping into the crowd to celebrate goals.

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West Ham United will look to bounce back from their opening-weekend defeat to Liverpool when they host Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

The Hammers suffered a 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield last time out, but will fancy their chances of bouncing back at home to the Cherries this weekend.

Marko Arnautovic was handed the starting position at the tip of the West Ham attack against the Reds, meaning that Javier Hernandez was on the bench.

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Hernandez was strongly linked with a move away from West Ham towards the end of last season, but has stayed at the club following talks with new boss Manuel Pellegrini.

The 5ft 9in Mexican scored eight Premier League goals last term despite his lack of starts, and now the West Ham fans have demanded that he is named in the starting XI this weekend.

A number of West Ham supporters have called for the likes of Mark Noble to be dropped following the Liverpool match, and the inclusion of Hernandez against Bournemouth would certainly be a popular decision.

A selection of the Twitter reaction can be seen below:

Roberto Firmino has established himself as one of Liverpool’s most important players.

The Brazil international is part of a dynamic trio alongside Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.

The attacker scored 15 goals in the Premier League last season but he is yet to get off the mark in the 2018-19 campaign.

On Monday night, Firmino started Liverpool’s clash against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, but he failed to contribute to the scoreline.

James Milner netted from the penalty spot and Sadio Mane found the second in a 2-0 victory on away turf.

Firmino is known for his skilful presence up front, but he also has an admirable work ethic that involves tracking back and tackling when required.

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Against Palace, some Liverpool fans felt that the Brazilian was slightly off the pace as he had a quiet match by his standards.

In fairness to the Eagles, they defended well and kept Firmino quiet for the most part.

Some Liverpool fans pointed out on Twitter that their star forward was ineffective, and a few feel concerned.

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Leeds were dealt their first loss of the season as they lost 2-0 to Preston in the League Cup on Tuesday night.

Although Leeds lost, the club have made an incredible start to the season and currently sit at the top of the Championship.

Moreover, under Bielsa’s brand of high tempo football, the Whites have played some of the best football in the league.

At the back, Bielsa’s men have only conceded four goals in the Championship, albeit they conceded two of those against Swansea. A huge part of the reason they conceded two goals was the loss of Liam Cooper due to injury.

The defender also missed the club’s 3-0 to Norwich but as reported by Yorkshire Evening Post reporter, Leon Wobschall, the defender is set to be fit for the club’s next game against Middlesbrough.

The Breakdown

The return of Cooper is great news for Bielsa as they go into the huge game against their fellow promotion contender.

The defender was a key player for the club last year and made 30 appearances for the club and has already shown that he is a vital player for Bielsa already this season.

Able to read the game well, be a physical presence at the back and a leader for the team, having the Scottish defender back in the team for such a crucial game is a huge plus.

After the loss to Preston in the League Cup, the club need to bounce back and keep up their unbeaten run in the league.

Happy Leeds fans?

Loads of Sunderland fans are calling for one final transfer move, hoping to cash in on Papy Djilobodji before the window slams shut.

According to Roker Report, Hannover 96 will push to sign Djilobodji before the European window shuts on Friday evening.

The towering defender has been linked with a move away from Sunderland all summer, but the Black Cats have been unable to find a suitor so far.

However, the report claims the Bundesliga side have ended their interest in Norwich City’s Timm Klose, and will now switch their attention to Djilobodji.

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Fans are now desperate to get rid of the defender, even at the reported asking price of just €1.5m (£1.35m).

The 29 year-old has angered fans all summer with his complete refusal to fight for the shirt, after he spent last season on loan in Ligue 1.

Djilobodji was actually very good on loan at Dijon last season, so the Black Cats should probably be asking for more money, but fans just want to see the back of him now regardless of the fee.

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You can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Birmingham City should seek to add some steel to their midfield by making a move for free agent Claudio Yacob.

What’s the word?

Yacob finds himself currently without a club having been released by West Brom at the end of last season upon their relegation from the Premier League. The 31-year-old joined the Baggies in 2012, and enjoyed six seasons as a first team regular in the top flight before his contract with the club came to an end.

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Yacob has even earned three caps for the Argentina national side. 

Garry Monk should now seek to tempt the defensive midfielder to join West Brom’s Midlands rivals, Birmingham City.

Midfield steel

The Blues have endured a tricky start to the new Championship campaign. Hard working, determined performances have yet to be rewarded with victory, and the team have struggled to take control in the middle of the park and create chances.

Yacob, with his Premier League experience and quality on the ball could offer an awful lot of authority to Monk’s midfield contingent. Last time out, at home against fellow strugglers QPR, Birmingham only managed 40% of the possession – the introduction of a player like Yacob could go a long way towards improving those figures. 

A drop down to Championship level would also help to ensure that Yacob has an opportunity to play regular football again.

As an ex-West Brom player, it may take some convincing for him to join the ranks at St Andrew’s, but with some solid performances he would soon win around the Blues faithful.

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