Julen Lopetegui’s West Ham future is likely to hinge on the outcome of next week’s FA Cup third round trip to Aston Villa, talkSPORT understands.
Lopetegui is back under pressure after Sunday’s 5-0 drubbing at home to Premier League leaders Liverpool.
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Despite having ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter waiting in the wings for several weeks, Hammers chairman David Sullivan remains reluctant to sack the Spaniard.
However the next two games, away at champions Manchester City on Saturday and the Villa cup tie are seen by many inside London Stadium as key for Lopetegui.
West Ham finished 9th last season and are languishing in the bottom half of the table having won just six of Lopetegui’s 19 league games in charge.
Chelsea monitoring Premier League duo
Chelsea are eying both Liam Delap and Evan Ferguson as potential new striker options.
The high-flying Blues are eager to bolster their forward line to ease the goal-scoring burden on Nicolas Jackson.
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talkSPORT has been told the Blues retain their long-term interest in Brighton and Republic of Ireland star Ferguson, 20, while Stamford Bridge scouts have watched Ipswich ace Delap on numerous occasions this season.
A deal for either player would be difficult to do in January with Brighton continuing to rate Ferguson in the £80-£100m bracket despite the fact he has only scored one Premier League
goal all season.
Delap meanwhile is seen as key to Ipswich’s hopes of avoiding relegation while old club Manchester City have a buy-back option from his £20m summer move to Portman Road.
Saints on the march
Southampton could have both domestic loan spots available in January with Maxwell Cornet AND Lesley Ugochukwu expected to be recalled by their parent clubs.
Between them Cornet (one) and Ugochukwu (three) have started just four Premier League since joining last summer from West Ham and Chelsea respectively.
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The Hammers are planning on terminating Cornet’s loan to try and sell the flop Ivorian permanently.
Chelsea also have reservations about Ugochukwu’s lack of playing time.
The Frenchman cost Chelsea more than £20m, but only moved to St Mary’s as a makeweight in striker Sekou Mara’s switch from Saints to the Blues’ sister club Strasbourg.
Spurs opt for tried and trusted approach
While Ange Postecoglou was watching his injury-hit Tottenham side drop two more points at home to Wolves on Sunday, it was no coincidence the club’s former transfer guru Fabio Paratici was watching on from the stands at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Paratici was forced to step down as Spurs’ sporting director in March 2023 after being banned from football for 30 months by FIFA for his role in financial irregularities at Juventus.
However, the Italian has continued to advise Spurs on their transfer policy, playing a big part in the signings of goalkeeper Vicario and James Maddison in particular.
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However, the Italian has continued to advise Spurs on their transfer policy, playing a big part in the signings of goalkeeper Vicario and James Maddison in particular.
With Postecoglou in desperate need of reinforcements, chairman Daniel Levy is expected to tap in to Paratici’s contacts book.
One player Paratici is already believed to have identified as a potential Spurs target is Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci.
