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When Andy Carroll arrived at Upton Park on the last day of the summer transfer window many people were shocked at how a so-called £35 million player had ended up at a newly promoted side in the Premier League.

His transfer from Newcastle to Liverpool was equally as shocking considering he only really had one good season at St. James’ Park. But the big question now is whether West Ham should take up the option of first refusal at the end of the season or send him back to Liverpool where he clearly isn’t wanted.

The striker’s impact at West Ham was immediate after he was involved in Kevin Nolan’s 1st minute opener in the 3-0 home win over Fulham in September. He continued to be a handful up front and he seemed to fit perfectly into Sam Allardyce’s style of play.

However, just one goal in 10 appearances wasn’t the contribution West Ham were expecting. Many believed a new club with new surroundings and the opportunity to link up again with best friend Kevin Nolan would see Carroll re-discover the goal scoring form that earned him that big money move to Liverpool in the first place.

But should we be looking beyond his lack of goals and be appreciating the extra dimension he gives the Hammers up top? There’s no denying he plays a major part in West Ham’s attacking threat and  his aerial presence was un-rivalled in the Premier League before injury struck a few weeks ago.

During his absence, West Ham have struggled to pick up results and are clearly missing him. That makes you wonder whether he is imperative to West Ham’s success in the Premier League regardless of how many goals he scores.

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Is he worth the money? Seventeen million quid is a hell of a lot of money for a club like West Ham to be paying for one player, but if he can remain fit and continue building up an understanding with his new team mates then it’s a sacrifice I think West Ham must make.

With him due to return to action in mid-January, he will no doubt have another striker to compete for a starting place with. Allardyce is not likely to play 4-4-2 so we shouldn’t expect to see him being partnered up front with an old fashioned goal poaching forward, but the extra competition for places will help him improve and try harder to impress. After all, the pressure that huge price tag has given him will urge the striker to prove the country that he was worth every penny.

From West Ham’s point of view, and especially Sam Allardyce, it will all depend on how well he does in the second half of the season. If he gets a few assists on the board and scores some important goals then there will be a case for the club to spend a lot of money to keep him there. We all know he is the perfect fit for West Ham and their style of play, but if he can’t prove it then taking a punt on the hope that he’ll be better next season is risky.

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With Andy Carroll, he will need to make a decision on whether he wants to remain at West Ham or not. There’s no point playing at a club when your heart is elsewhere and it’s clear he dreams of a return to Newcastle. Captain Kevin Nolan will play a huge part in that decision, I’m sure, and he’ll be eager to keep Carroll in London, but if he doesn’t feel it’s right for him here then the club or the fans wouldn’t begrudge him turning down a permanent move.

It is a lot of money but, in my opinion, he will be worth every penny. He works hard and fits in well at Upton Park and with the support of the fans, Allardyce and his team mates can give him, he’ll soon realise West Ham is a perfect place for him to justify the money Liverpool paid for him. Dig deep, Gold and Sullivan, because Big Andy is what we need to continue improving in the Premier League.

Do you think West Ham should splash the cash on Andy Carroll? Or is £17 million too much for a player who we are still waiting to see the best of in the Premier League?

Leonardo Bonucci is an experienced winner having won seven league titles in his career, and now he is being linked with a move to the Premier League.

According to Calciomercato, Manchester City are one of a handful of clubs that are interested in recruiting the veteran defender.

Pep Guardiola already has a strong team at his disposal, and not a huge amount needs to be changed following last season’s title triumph.

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However, it seems that the recent two-year European ban implemented on Milan by UEFA has led City to consider a swoop for Bonucci as he is now believed to be considering his future.

Calciomercato reports that along with City, the club’s arch rivals Manchester United, as well as Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are tracking the defender.

Who do you think will win the World Cup? Let us know here and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

Guardiola are not in desperate need of a new centre-back, but there are concerns over injury prone Vincent Kompany.

Judging by the reaction on Twitter, though, City fans would rather the club did not make a move for the 31-year-old.

Mohamed Salah has been in a class of his own this season, scoring 23 goals and only failing to score twice in his last 10 Premier League games.

He’s not the only Liverpool player to make an impact since signing in the summer, though, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Virgil Van Dijk, Andrew Robertson and Dominic Solanke all making a name for themselves after arriving at Anfield either in the summer or the January transfer window.

Centre-forward Dominic Solanke has, at least quantitatively, probably been the least effective signing – with the Chelsea youth graduate appearing 16 times for Liverpool in the league this season but only earning the one assist to his name.

Left-back Andrew Robertson has fought his way into the side after barely seeing the field in the first few months of the season, and the left-back is now a first-team regular with two assists in the record books this season.

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Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Virgil Van Dijk have had the most expectation attached to them out of the new signings, with the former arriving at Anfield for £34m in the summer and Van Dijk transferring from Southampton on a £70m fee in January.

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The formal Arsenal midfielder has chipped in three goals and four assists, while the ex-Southampton centre-back has kept two clean sheets in the league since joining the club, but has either player been worth their inflated price tag?

We’ll let Liverpool fans decide who has been the best signing at the club this season – have your say by voting below…

Roy Keane has defended former Manchester United manager David Moyes, claiming the Scot was ‘snookered from the first few weeks’ at Old Trafford, reports the Daily Mirror.

Keane was speaking about his new autobiography, in which he has made controversial claims about former boss Sir Alex Ferguson. But the Irishman also spoke of David Moyes in his book, and insists he felt sorry for the former Everton boss who he claimed was let down by a ‘weak dressing room.’

“There were certainly circumstances going back to when he took over, you’re still taking over a good team and at the time probably at the time a decent dressing room. But what you don’t need, and Man United were always pretty good at it, you didn’t need that uncertainty and there was obviously that with Vidic, Rio, Evra and Giggsy coming to the end , so all that stuff didn’t help,” Keane said.

“What you need in football, more than anything else, is a couple of victories, some momentum and they never seemed to get that. There was always going to be a downturn with Ferguson leaving.

“I wouldn’t be critical of Ferguson but sometimes when you’re leaving, it gives the manager a chance to make their own mark and he brought in one or two players, didn’t get the players clearly that he was after in the summer but I don’t think that’s the manager, it’s the chief executive who can probably look at himself. I’m sure if you ask the chief exec he will say ‘yeah, we missed out on a few deals’.

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“There were two or three lined up that fell through and they ended up getting one or two on transfer deadline day, Mata in January but maybe the damage was done then. I was going to Old Trafford and there was a lot of negativity around. They got no momentum and it was as if David Moyes was snookered from the first few weeks. “That negativity can get into the dressing room and that’s why I felt it was a weak dressing room. They should have dealt with that and the player should have done better. I saw and number of games and whatever has gone on, politics, managers leaving, lack of players coming in, they should have done better and they did let him down, without a shadow of a doubt.”

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew believes his side didn’t deserve to lose their Premier League clash with Stoke.

The Magpies appeared to be on course to end a run of three straight league defeats, but the Potters came back from 1-0 down with two late goals.

Pardew was disappointed with the result and felt that his side deserved to leave the Britannia Stadium with all three points:

“The improvement from Sunday was immense and we deserved to get something from today and we certainly didn’t deserve to get beat that’s for sure, we were the better side,” Pardew told SkySports.

“There is a crucial moment in the game at 1-0 where I thought we had a handball and I just looked again and I think it is a penalty and then two sucker punches really and we have got beat,” he said.

“Their keeper has made two good saves, and it is galling really as we are on this run and we are having setback after setback and I feel sorry for the players today as they were brilliant,

“Sometimes you don’t get what you deserve and we certainly didn’t today.

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“We made a couple of errors in those goals and that has cost us. We do not make many errors but we have tonight.”

Papiss Cisse gave Newcastle the lead just after half-time, but goals from Jon Walters and Cameron Jerome in the final ten minutes swung the tie.

According to a report from Sport1, Tottenham attacker Son Heung-min could be on his way out of the Premier League club this summer. The South Korea international enjoyed a fine season in North London last term, and were Spurs to indeed sanction his departure this summer, they can wave goodbye to a possible title challenge this time round.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the 25-year-old has become an increasingly important member of Mauricio Pochettino’s squad in the last few years, not least last season in netting an impressive 18 goals and laying on 11 assists in 53 appearances for Tottenham.

Only Harry Kane (41) scored more goals for the North Londoners last time round to further underline the importance of Son to this Spurs squad, while his tally of 11 assists was only bettered by Dele Alli (13) and Christian Eriksen (17).

Thus, it’s evident that, while the likes of Kane, Alli, and Eriksen often get the plaudits, Son is equally as important to Pochettino’s side and as such will play a key part in inspiring the side to a Premier League title challenge next term.

Significantly, take Son out of the Tottenham side, and the replacements simply haven’t shown the level of form he has in recent times, with neither Erik Lamela nor Lucas Moura doing enough down the flanks, while Fernando Llorente certainly hasn’t proven his worth to be Kane’s deputy up top.

And losing Son, who can play in a more advanced central role, would further pile the pressure on Kane to get the goals for Pochettino’s side, at the same time taking a key cog of the attacking ranks out of the side.

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Arguably, the 25-year-old is one of the most underrated players in the Premier League at present such is the focus on messrs Kane, Alli, and Eriksen at Tottenham, but Son is just as important, and as such his departure would significantly weaken them heading into the 2018/19 season.

Ultimately, if Tottenham are serious about bridging the 23-point gap to champions Manchester City this term, and thus challenging for the title, not only do they need to make additions, but they absolutely have to retain their most prized assets – Son is in that category.

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Thus, the North Londoners can wave goodbye to a possible title assault if they do indeed sanction the £45 million-rated (as per Transfermarkt) star’s departure this summer.

Tottenham fans… what do you think? Let us know!

Aston Villa fans have every right to feel confident at the moment as the club have suffered defeat just once in their last eight Championship matches.

As it stands, Steve Bruce’s side are third in the table, four points adrift of the two automatic promotion places.

Their most recent outing was a frantic one as they came from behind twice to earn a 4-2 victory over Sheffield Wednesday on away soil.

The club have been hit with some injury problems in recent weeks, with Jack Grealish and Albert Adomah among those on the treatment table.

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On Tuesday evening, the Midlands outfit will take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, and they have had plenty of preparation having had last weekend’s match against Queens Park Rangers called off due to the snowy weather.

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Villa are overwhelming favourites to nab all three points given that the Black Cats are rooted to the bottom of the table having won just five of their 35 league fixtures.

Ahead of the contest, Villans have been tweeting their predictions.

Jamie Redknapp has called on Jack Wilshere and Jordan Henderson to step up and cement their roles as England’s top two central midfield players.

The Arsenal and Liverpool pair are expected to start tonight’s game against Norway in Roy Hodgson’s engine room, with the Three Lions coach short on options in the position.

With captain Steven Gerrard and experienced Manchester City ace Frank Lampard having retired and Michael Carrick and Ross Barkley missing through injury, England’s choices in the area are limited, with newbies such as Fabian Delph in the squad highlighting a lack of depth.

Redknapp believes that it’s time for Henderson and Wilshere to seize the chance and really put themselves forward at the future of the country’s midfield:

“At the moment we haven’t got a great deal of options,” he told Sky Sports.

“Jack Wilshere has taken a lot of criticism from certain quarters because we expect so much of him. When he broke into the team as a young man he looked like he was going to set the world alight.

“Things haven’t gone perhaps to plan. He has had a lot of injuries, but started the season ok and had his best game in an Arsenal shirt in a long while against Beskitas. He ran that game, dominated midfield, ran, broke, passed, played one-twos around the box and that’s exactly what we expect from him.

“Jordan Henderson, on the other hand, has been in really good form for a long while. International football is a different set-up altogether for him and I think he’s got to grow into that.

“He has tremendous energy and in the Premier League he is one of the best midfielders; I think it’s important he takes that to the international stage. I genuinely believe he can.

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“We haven’t got a lot of options apart from that. Fabian Delph is in there and is a young man and a good footballer, but we do need to be producing more central midfield players.”

England’s clash with Norway is seen as a warm-up to their EURO 2016 qualifier against Switzerland in a few days’ time.

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Kevin Nolan has labelled his goal scoring return to Newcastle as the ‘perfect scenario’ following West Ham’s 1-0 win yesterday.

The midfielder joined the Hammers from the Magpies at the beginning of last season and marked his first game back on Tyneside with the winner, giving Sam Allardyce’s side their first win at St. James’ Park for 14 years and lifting them to sixth in the Premier League.

And the West Ham captain, who refused to celebrate his goal, has admitted it was an emotional return to the place he once called ‘home.’

He told West Ham’s official site: “It was the perfect scenario for me, of course.

“It was quite emotional when I did score a goal because I had a little moment just after it. I was never going to celebrate and I never will [against Newcastle].

“I am just delighted for us because we got the three points and it moves us further up the table and it keeps us in the mix.”

Nolan also paid tribute to the Newcastle fans who applauded his return before, during and after the clash on Sunday afternoon.

“I was a bit emotional because the reception they gave me was unbelievable. I had a fantastic time here,” he admitted.

“I would like to thank the Newcastle fans for the fantastic support they gave me while I was here and for the reception they gave me on Sunday.

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“Obviously I could not have asked to have gone to a better club than West Ham for the following we have got and the commitment they have shown, so I’m delighted to be at another wonderful club. Hopefully I can do as well for them as I did up here.”

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Paul Pogba and Jesse Lingard appear to be friends as well as teammates, having emerged through the Manchester United youth setup at the same time.

The pair both annoy the more old-school football fan to a similar degree due to their confident personas, on-pitch dancing and large social media presence with the strength of feeling exacerbated by their wages being paid by a currently underperforming club.

However, their footballing journeys to this point have been markedly different. Pogba, along with Ravel Morrison, was identified early on at United as a player with all the natural talent to make it to the top.

The Frenchman developed earlier and was more impatient, moving to Juventus aged just 19 in 2012, having demanded greater first-team opportunities.

How far will England get in Russia? Tell us now and win any World Cup shirt of your choice.

He was justified in deciding to leave having watched Park ji-Sung and Rafael toil in central midfield in a 3-2 home defeat to Blackburn and his career went from strength to strength in Serie A with Juventus.

Yet, in the four years was Pogba away was winning four Serie As and making the 2015 Champions League final, Lingard was toiling away at United, forced to remain hungry and patient, trusting that he would come good and step off the carousel of loans – Leicester, Birmingham, Brighton and Derby – to become a regular for club and country.

It took until 2015/16, the year before Pogba returned to United as the most expensive player in the world, for Lingard to break into the team at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal, adding pace and vigour to a pedestrian team and scoring the winner in the FA Cup final.

Now valued at £31.5m by Transfermarkt, when England manager Gareth Southgate decides which key players should be rested for his side’s final Group G game against Belgium, Lingard should be viewed just as important as anyone, bar Harry Kane.

By contrast, Pogba has come into his second World Cup on the back of yet another season of constant debate over his best position and his worth to Jose Mourinho’s United side and underperformed for a disappointing France side.

A recent poll saw 73% of Les Bleus fans call for Pogba to be dropped. He has become a genuine global superstar, under intense scrutiny but he is failing to embrace that pressure on the pitch.

Lingard takes the joy he shows off the pitch onto the field as well and looks to be enjoying this World Cup as much as anyone, which could lead to further rewards upon his return to club football at United.

Pogba’s favoured position is on the left of a three-man midfield, and that is the exact role that Lingard switched to and shone in as England swept aside Panama 6-1, scoring the pick of the bunch with a curling first-half strike.

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It helps Lingard that England’s 3-1-4-2 is more flowing than United’s 4-3-3, but his mini-reinvention poses an interesting tactical dilemma for Mourinho.

Lingard is playing in Pogba’s favourite position and playing better than him in it. The Englishman could not be putting forward a stronger claim to take his good friend’s starting spot at Old Trafford.

Mourinho reportedly wants warriors, who have the personality to fight for everything, and judging Lingard and Pogba on that metric, there is only going to be one winner.