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David Moyes should look to discover his Mark Noble heir by unleashing West Ham United product Keenan Appiah-Forson next season.

Noble has committed to extending his time in claret and blue into an 18th and final term by recently signing a new one-year deal, that will see the curtain fall on his Irons career in the summer of 2022.

Mr West Ham’s farewell tour will provide Moyes with a piece of welcome depth in the engine room as the veteran is presently his only back-up to Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek, who have played every minute of regular time in the Premier League this season.

West Ham could look to bolster their numbers in the centre of the pitch with a revived approach for Matias Vecino in the summer, after reports surfaced in Italy last week that Inter Milan are looking to sell the former Irons target for between €8-10m (£7-8.5m).

Yet Moyes could look to save David Sullivan and the Irons board a few million pounds that can go toward the arrival of Sebastien Haller’s replacement, simply by unleashing Appiah-Forson and seeing what the 19-year-old has in his locker.

Many people at the Hammers academy expect the Englishman to go on and achieve big things at the London Stadium, with forward Kai Corbett one of several prospects to praise Appiah-Forson in the Academy Spotlight segment of West Ham’s matchday programme.

“He does so much work, the team wouldn’t be the same without him,” Corbett noted, via quotes by The Athletic, ahead of West Ham’s 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur last month.

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Jamal Baptiste, Dan Chesters and Bernardo Rosa are also noted to believe Appiah-Forson deserves much more recognition than he currently receives, while Terry Westley – West Ham’s Academy Manager between 2014-19 – has likened him to Chelsea star N’Golo Kante.

“I left when he was still a scholar, but I’ll never forget how committed Keenan was,” Westley told The Athletic. “He always listened and wanted to improve. I can tell he’s really enjoying himself and that’s what warmed the staff to him. You could always rely on him to do well.

“Keenan’s small but he’s such a tough boy. He’s similar to N’Golo Kante in terms of his work ethic because he’s so difficult to mark. Keenan has a lot of potential and it’s great that young players are getting an opportunity at West Ham under David Moyes. Keenan could be next.”

But while Westley suggests Appiah-Forson “could” be next, the talented teen should be next and given the chance to learn first-hand from Noble, Rice and Soucek while proving his potential to Moyes as the next chapter comes into focus at West Ham.

He is an established regular in Dmitri Halajko’s Under 23s with 12 appearances and three goals in the Premier League 2 this season from the deep-lying midfield role, and has already enjoyed his first taste of senior football.

Appiah-Forson was given an example of first-team action as West Ham beat Newport County in the EFL Trophy back in September 2019, and has gone on to feature in three further cup ties – including beating Portsmouth away to the League One side last November.

The next step for Appiah-Forson is either a loan move away to enjoy consistent first-team minutes or to make the step up to Moyes’ ranks, which should soon be on offer.

AND in other news, a West Ham winter target is set to be available for £17m this summer…

Steve Bruce could potentially save Newcastle United at least £8.5m in the summer transfer window by unleashing Florian Lejeune over a move for UC Sampdoria defender Omar Colley.

What’s the word?

According to Club Doria 46, the Toon are one of four Premier League sides monitoring Colley’s situation at the Luigi Ferraris Stadium ahead of the summer market.

The Blucerchiati are expected to make Colley available for a transfer at the end of the season, despite the 25-cap Gambia titan proving to be a pillar of Claudio Ranieri’s backline.

Since being recalled to the line-up in November after carrying his struggles from a difficult 2019/20 campaign into the current term, Colley has played all but 20 minutes over 17 of Sampdoria’s last 20 Serie A fixtures.

The Genoa-based outfit believe Colley’s efforts have added an extra couple of million to his valuation, and now intend to demand in the region of €10-15m (£8.5-£12.5m) to sell amid mounting Premier League interest.

After failing to get a deal done last year, Fulham have continued to track Colley’s efforts but are now likely to face competition from Newcastle as well as Leeds and West Ham United.

The Irons, along with Celtic and Leicester City, were linked with the Gambia international in 2020, but no offer delivered to Sampdoria exceeded €6m (£5m) while the Serie A outfit demanded around €10-12m (£8.5-£10m).

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Colley was awarded a new four-and-a-half-year contract in January, but the deal is not seen as a hurdle for any side wishing to sign the 28-year-old.

Should Newcastle sign Sampdoria’s Colley?

Much can change between now and the end of the season at Newcastle, with relegation to the Championship a distinct possibility and a change in leadership also on the cards with the pressure firmly on Bruce.

And even if Bruce stays and manages to keep the Magpies in the Premier League, the St. James’ Park outfit will still be expected to operate on a shoe-string budget this summer, which could make efforts to sign Colley all the more challenging.

But Bruce could look to save the £8.5-12.5m that it would take to sign the Sampdoria star in order to strengthen elsewhere, as United still have Lejeune on the books and the Frenchman has been impressing while on loan with Deportivo Alaves.

Lejeune has earned rave reviews for his efforts in Spain, with La Liga writer Andrew Miller lauding the 29-year-old for being a “life-saver” for Alaves against FC Barcelona earlier in the season.

The CIES Football Observatory have also recognised Lejeune as Alaves’ best player of 2021 so far, which could leave Newcastle in an interesting position come the summer when he enters the final year of his £38,000-per-week contract.

Lejeune’s efforts in La Liga have often been to a higher standard than Colley’s Serie A displays, too, with the former France U20 international averaging 1.51 tackles per 90 to the Gambian’s 1.41, per FBref.

Colley further trails Lejeune for average tackles made against dribblers (0.2 to 0.61) and blocks made (1.41 to 1.67), along with success in the air due to a 63.6% win rate to the Newcastle man’s 66.1% for respective records of 63/99 and 72/109.

It remains to be seen if Bruce is willing to offer Lejeune another chance at St. James’ Park, but the 2022 free agent could save Newcastle millions compared to signing Colley.

AND in other news, Newcastle are scouting an “amazing” 13-goal striker dubbed the next Erling Haaland…

Former Leeds United defender Danny Mills has talked up the Whites’ chances of signing Alex Moreno this summer.

The next transfer window could be an exciting one at Elland Road, as Marcelo Bielsa looks to fine-tune his squad moving forward.

This is a wonderful opportunity for Leeds to kick on from an excellent first season back in the Premier League, so it is vital that they don’t sit still a crucial time.

Looking at the latest transfers being rumoured, one player who has been linked with a move to the Whites is Moreno, who has made 20 La Liga appearances for Real Betis this season, including 18 starts.

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Mills discusses Leeds signing Moreno

Someone who thinks a move for the 27-year-old makes perfect sense is Mills, who told Football Insider that he could improve further under Bielsa:

“His [Bielsa] scouting network, his network of players, his due diligence is absolutely superb. He fully understands players he brings in and understands what needs to be done to improve them.

“Again, you would assume without a doubt there’s a great opportunity to pick up, not a bargain, but a good player who can be improved.”

Transfer Tavern take

Moreno looks an excellent option for Leeds, with left-back an area that will need reinforcements, given the imminent exit of Ezgjan Alioski.

The Spaniard capable of excelling in a left wing, too, which is an added bonus, with his versatility potentially making him even more of a valuable asset, as is the case with Manchester City match-winner Stuart Dallas.

Moreno turns 28 this summer, so he is at an age where he has lots of experience, but can still hone his skills further under a top manager.

In other news, a journalist has claimed Leeds are considering a bid for a potential new signing. Read more here.

Many Glasgow Rangers fans are delighted after the club appeared to quash rumours that kitman Jimmy Bell will be leaving.

Bell is a part of the furniture at Ibrox. He has been involved with the 55-time Scottish champions for almost 40 years and has therefore been with them through thick and thin. He has become somewhat of a cult hero for many Gers supporters despite being part of the backroom staff.

Over the past few days, rumours had emerged that Bell may be leaving the club (Daily Record) after former Morton star Jim McAllister joined the backroom staff (The Scottish Sun). However, on Saturday night, the Gers’ official Twitter account shared a photo of Bell with Morelos celebrating their latest triumph with the caption: “Jimmy Bell – Still going strong and going nowhere”.

The pic attracted the attention of the Gers supporters and left them delighted. They took to the social media platform to share their thoughts.

Let’s see what the fans had to say about the Bell news below

“Better news than 55”

Credit: @andynmarshall1

“YAAAS!”

Credit: @EuanBuchanan

“Oh yes Mr Rangers”

Credit: @smithy_1872

“Better news than winning the league”

Credit: @snedco1

“Things that make me happy”

Credit: @jb55champions

“He’s a legend, plain and simple! Jimmy’s here for 56”

Credit: @IainWatson16

In other news, some Rangers fans are livid at this Old Firm news.

With the games coming thick and fast in the Premier League now for Aston Villa, Dean Smith will undoubtedly be looking for ways to keep things fresh for his side.

Wednesday night’s clash against West Ham in the Premier League will be Villa’s third game in the space of a week, and that will take its toll, both physically and mentally on the players.

One man who Smith should start tonight to try and inject that extra bit of energy is Anwar El Ghazi.

The Dutchman has found himself out of the side in recent weeks, with summer signing Bertrand Traore getting a consistent run of games in the starting eleven after being slowed ease into the Premier League by Smith.

But whenever El Ghazi has had a run of games himself, he’s impressed no end. He had a prolific spell in December when he went on goal-scoring spree, bagging five goals in the space of five league games.

And, speaking after his goal against Crystal Palace during that run, former Premier League ace Michael Brown said: “Dean Smith told me his training in how he executes those finishes is there for all to see. Craig Shakespeare then backed him straight up when I ran into him later, he just said ‘what a technician he is.’

“He’s practising in training, he has a bad week against Burnley: eight shots, great chances, can’t put one away. Then he scores against West Brom, then goes and puts one in the top bins like he did last night… Magnificent is the word we’re all looking for.”

The £7.2m-rated El Ghazi could come into the side tonight and bring some fresh legs, and ensure Villa don’t get burnout. The Dutchman is the club’s third top-scorer this season, behind only Ollie Watkins and Jack Grealish, and his underlying stats make for impressive reading.

He ranks fourth in the entire squad for shots per game, and second in dribbles, with only Jack Grealish above of him in that respect, and is a real testament to how he’s always tried to make things happen whenever he’s been afforded the chance to play.

Traore hasn’t come close to matching El Ghazi’s end product just yet, and he should be making way for the 25-year-old against the Hammers. He could well be the man to turn things in Villa’s favour when David Moyes’ side come to visit.

Leicester City were handed a 3-1 spanking by Arsenal this afternoon after the travelling Gunners cancelled out an early Youri Tielemans opener. Despite the quick start from the Foxes, Mikel Arteta’s side dominated the game and eventually made easy work of brushing aside their Premier League rivals. This result will be hugely frustrating to Brendan Rodgers and the team, but for now, they maintain their top four position on 49 points.

It was an overall poor performance from the whole squad, but one man in particular stood out with his lacklustre display. Timothy Castagne was a major weak link in the Leicester defence and Rodgers certainly won’t be happy with the standard of his shift.

Timothy Castagne disappointed vs Arsenal

A win this afternoon would have put the Foxes ahead of Manchester United – perhaps only temporarily – in the league table but the team weren’t up to the job and shipped goals from David Luiz, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe.

Leicester’s defence, as a whole, took a beating from the Gunners, but Castagne was singled out on the right-hand side. According to Sofascore, he was dribbled past an alarming five times, which was by far the highest out of any other player on the pitch today. The £50,000 per week full-back may be a player who likes to get forward, but allowing himself to be dribbled past on so many occasions simply isn’t good enough as a defender.

Additionally, Castagne lost 60% of his attempted duels and gave up possession on 11 different occasions. This just highlights how easy Arsenal found it to break him down and bully him out of the way to get access to the Leicester goal.

Castagne has suffered with muscle injuries this season and has missed 17 matches in total due to the ongoing problems, as per Transfermarkt. Rodgers will undoubtedly be angry with his performance but with a top four finish still comfortably a target, focus now shifts to Burnley on Wednesday.

In other news, Steve Howey labels this Leicester injury a “huge blow”…

Manchester United are reportedly lining up an audacious move for Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Pedro Neto.

According to The Sun, the Red Devils want to bolster their right-flank and are interested in the Portuguese winger, with him being on their transfer shortlist.

Should he arrive at Old Trafford, he could certainly emulate the type of impact that his compatriot and international teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo, had at United..

Whilst the 21-year-old still has some way to go to even come close to matching the levels of the current Juventus superstar, the signs are extremely promising.

Signed from Lazio at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, Neto had an extremely encouraging first season, notching five goals and racking up six assists in all competitions.

He has almost matched those numbers already during the current campaign under Nuno Espirito Santo, scoring five goals and notching four assists in the Premier League alone, highlighting his considerable progress.

Neto has certainly been a key player for Wolves, with the young winger contributing to 32% of his team’s entire goal haul this season.

He also got his international career off to the best possible start, scoring on his senior international debut in a 7-0 rout of Andorra.

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It could be said then there is a lot of responsibility on his young shoulders but he is certainly taking that in his stride.

Of course, should the £31.5m-rated winger sign for the Red Devils, there will certainly be inevitable comparisons to Ronaldo, but they do make some sense.

According to WhoScored, Neto is averaging two key passes, and 2.1 dribbles per game this season which are statistics that are interestingly higher than Ronaldo’s numbers of 1.1 key passes and 1.6 dribbles per game respectively.

Whilst Neto still has some way to match the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s meteoric five shots per game in all competitions, he is still up with the best in Wolves’ current squad, with only striker Raul Jimenez overcoming him.

With Nuno labelling Neto as a “very talented” player, he will surely loath losing him to a Premier League rival but the young Portuguese ace could certainly be the right-winger that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Manchester United are searching for.

AND in more news, take a closer look at Donny van de Beek’s awful showing in the Red Devils’ 3-1 defeat against Leicester…

Marcel Brands revealed earlier this week that Everton do not “expect” to make any signings during the January transfer window, as he instead works on offloading some of those players who ate currently frozen out.

In his efforts, the Blues’ Director of Football must strive to include Beni Baningime in those who depart Goodison Park, after seeing the midfielder prove to be an outcast of Carlo Ancelotti’s squad.

Bernard, Cenk Tosun and Jonjoe Kenny are among those said to be available for transfers this month, while the Blues are also hoping to see interest emerge in Yannick Bolasie and Mo Besic after neither secured moves away in the previous window.

Baningime has been a mainstay of Everton’s Under 23s side this season having started all 11 of their Premier League 2 fixtures to date, yet he has been overlooked for a senior call-up in all competitions despite captaining David Unsworth’s squad on six occasions.

The 22-year-old has not been fielded in the first-team at Goodison Park since Sam Allardyce stood at the helm in the 2017/18 season, with the one-game England boss handing Baningime eight of his 12 career senior outings.

Ancelotti briefly looked fondly upon the Everton product toward the end of last term when the DR Congo talent was listed on the bench for all bar one of the Blues’ fixtures during project restart, only for the manager to look the other way following the arrivals of Allan and Abdoulaye Doucoure in the summer.

Baningime is fast heading toward the point of no return on Merseyside with his contract due to expire in 18-months’ time, and with his market value slowly plummeting as TransferMarkt now value the midfielder at less than half of his career-high £2.7m achieved in 2018.

Ancelotti clearly does not feel Baningime is fit for the holding midfield role in his Everton side, given that we have seen Tom Davies enjoy a consistent run of matches following Allan’s hamstring injury.

Sam Allardyce had backed Baningime to continue his promising form seen during his tenure, that led supporters to laud his tenacious and tough-tackling style.

“He does seem, at such a young age, to be capable of playing at this level,” Allardyce said, via quotes by the Liverpool Echo. “If you want a hugely successful career in the Premier League and at Everton Football Club, whatever you are achieving now, you can only move your career on by achieving more.

“If you stand still, you will fall away – so the young lads have a lot of work to do if they are to get even better than they are now. Beni is showing the appetite to do that work.”

But the chance to progress has fallen away since Allardyce departed, and Everton may yet be able to use their former head coach in efforts to offload Baningime this month.

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown has tipped Allardyce to raid Goodison Park in the January transfer window as he strives to improve his West Bromwich Albion squad, and the offer of a Baningime reunion may appeal.

“Is there going to be a big sale at Everton? It’s a difficult market,” Brown told Football Insider. “You heard Sam Allardyce on Thursday, he’d been told yes to three or four and then they just haven’t materialised for him.

“At the top end of the market, where Everton are going to be looking at, I think it’s a different market when you talk about a West Brom, who I think will be looking at Everton to try and trim some of their squad.”

Selling Baningime this month would see Everton end the midfielder’s 14-year association with the club, with him having first joined the Toffees aged eight after moving to England from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

AND in other news, Everton are monitoring a £9m defensive titan ahead of a potential January transfer.

In an exclusive interview with Football FanCast, former Leeds United midfielder Carlton Palmer has tipped Marcelo Bielsa to leave the Yorkshire giants, but only if a “top five” club comes calling.

The loveable Argentine has fast become a hero at Elland Road, even before he finally guided the team back to the promised land of the Premier League last season.

Bielsa has been in charge since June 2018, bringing home a 54 per cent win record from 111 matches,  which is the best return of any Leeds manager in their history – even eclipsing the late and successful Don Revie.

However, the club have only offered the 65-year-old a one-year extension, meaning he will once again be out of contract going into next summer, and with pressure increasing on some managers in the league, might Bielsa become an easy target?

Palmer doesn’t think any of the top five are looking for someone new – after all, Frank Lampard and Mikel Arteta are still relatively fresh appointments while Pep Guardiola just signed a new two-year contract last month.

Although if any did come knocking, the former Baggies and Owls legend believes only then should Bielsa consider leaving Elland Road.

He told FFC:

“They’d have to be on the hunt for a manager, wouldn’t they?”At that moment I don’t think anybody, you know even though Arsenal are struggling I don’t think Arteta is struggling for his job.”So for Bielsa, if you’re going to leave Leeds United, which is a massive club, you’ve got to be thinking ‘where am you going to go to that’s going to be better than Leeds at the moment’.”If you’re going to leave and go to a top club, that top club has got to be Manchester United, Liverpool or Arsenal, even Man City and Chelsea too. Those are your top five clubs. If you’re not going to get those top five clubs, then stay where you are.”Leeds currently find themselves sitting in 12th place after the opening ten matches of the season.Bielsa has steered his side to an unlucky and narrow defeat to defending champions, Liverpool while also drawing to Man City and Arsenal. They are more than holding their own in the big time.In fact, no other team in the English top-flight has created more chances thus far, as per The Athletic, so you could easily see the Argentine atop of a few shortlists one day.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Carlton Palmer urges Bielsa to sign £80k-p/w dynamo for Leeds…

David Moyes is to show West Ham United’s full force in the transfer market by objecting to interest from Liverpool in defender Issa Diop.

What’s the word?

Diop has emerged as a mid-season target for Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League title-holders, with ExWHUemployee claiming the Reds are ready to pounce on the centre-back’s fall from grace at the London Stadium.

The 23-year-old has played just 27 Premier League minutes since testing positive for coronavirus in September, despite being a firm favourite of Moyes’ plans last term with starting roles in 17 of the Scottish coach’s 19 top-flight matches at the helm.

Diop was omitted from West Ham’s last matchday squad for Watford loanee Craig Dawson, though ExWHUemployee insists the decision was purely tactical with there being no signs of a rift emerging between the defender and manager.

Moyes has doubled down on his commitment to Diop, stating ahead of Wednesday’s London Derby clash with Crystal Palace that the £22.5m-rated centre-half will be going nowhere in the upcoming January window.

“I’ve got no intention in letting any players go. Issa’s one of the players we really like,” said Moyes, via quotes by the Evening Standard

“He started in the team, he picked up the virus at the same time as I did. Fabian Balbuena has come in and played very well, you know that’s what happens in football. But we’ve got no intention whatsoever letting Issa go. None.”

Showing West Ham’s full force

Liverpool may have seen Diop’s decline in Moyes’ pecking order as the perfect opportunity to sign the defender and solve their own issues, with Virgil van Dijk still a “very long” way away from making his return from a knee injury.

Diop’s limited game time this season would have seen West Ham struggle to request any fee near to the £75million they demanded last year amid interest from Manchester United, at a time FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain were also thought to be keen.

Joel Matip is also a doubt for Klopp, after the Cameron international joined Joe Gomez, Diogo Jota and Thiago Alcantara in the physio’s room after suffering from back spasms, only strengthening Liverpool’s need for options.

But Moyes will show West Ham’s full force in the transfer market by retaining Diop against any interest from Liverpool, proving the London Stadium natives are able to fight off approaches from the best even when the Hammers may appear to be in a weaker position.

Diop remaining in claret and blue for the remainder of the season, at least, will also allow the Irons a chance to see the former Arsenal target rediscover his lost form and drive his market value back up ahead of the summer window when his situation can be reassessed.

It was amid interest from the Gunners that Moyes first spoke of his hope at working with Diop for a few more years, at least, and that clearly remains the case even if the former U21 international is yet to fulfil the potential the Scot saw in him.

“If you ask me, he still has development to do as a young centre-half, he has a long way to go. But I am looking forward to working with him over the next couple of years,” the Irons boss said in January, via quotes by football.london.

AND in other news, West Ham are showing short-term vision in the transfer market by targeting a £52k-p/w star who won’t cost David Sullivan a penny.