[West Ham United to sign young Brazilian defender Luizão]
West Ham United to sign young Brazilian defender Luizão
West Ham United is pleased to confirm that a deal has been agreed to sign promising Brazilian defender Luizão. The 20-year-old will join the Hammers from São Paulo on 1 January 2023, subject to international clearance, on a contract until the summer of 2026. A centre-back, Luizão made his senior debut in May and has since made 20 first-team appearances and helped São Paulo reach the final of the Copa Sudamericana and Copa Do Brasil semi-finals. The 6’2 player will initially join Mark Robson’s developmental squad and continue his evolution at the Academy of Football. Everyone at West Ham United would like to welcome Luizão to the Club and wish him every success in his career in Claret and Blue
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Areola denied second FIFA World Cup win by former Hammer Scaloni’s Argentina
West Ham United goalkeeper Alphonse Areola ended as a 2022 FIFA World Cup runner-up as France were beaten in a thrilling final by Argentina on Sunday. Kylian Mbappé became just the second man after Sir Geoff Hurst to score a World Cup final hat-trick, netting twice in the space of a minute in the second half to draw France level at 2-2, then again late in extra-time to take the game to penalties. Lionel Messi scored twice for the South Americans – once in the first half and again in the second half of extra-time – and both forwards then netted again in the shootout, but it was Argentina who came out on top 4-2 from the spot. While Areola, an unused substitute, was denied a second straight World Cup winner’s medal, Argentina’s victory was masterminded by manager and former West Ham full-back Lionel Scaloni. The 44-year-old, who started the Hammers’ 2006 FA Cup final defeat by Liverpool – incidentally, also on penalties – guided Argentina to their third World Cup triumph and first since the late Diego Maradona led his country to glory in 1986.
On Saturday, current Irons centre-back Nayef Aguerd’s Morocco were edged into fourth place 2-1 by a Croatia side who introduced attacking midfielder Nikola Vlašić, who is on loan at Italian Serie A side Torino. Aguerd was not involved in the game, but played four times for the Atlas Lions as they became the first African nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup. Five Hammers took part in the tournament in all, with Declan Rice’s England reaching the quarter-finals before being beaten 2-1 by France, Lucas Paquetá’s Brazil being eliminated by Croatia in the last-eight, and Thilo Kehrer’s Germany being eliminated at the group stage. West Ham United would like to congratulate Lionel Scaloni and current West Ham midfielder Manuel Lanzini on their success in Qatar.
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Fornals: These games have got us ready for Arsenal
Pablo Fornals is feeling ready for the Premier League campaign to get going again after a productive preparation period during the mid-season break for the FIFA World Cup. The domestic season has been on hiatus since the Hammers took on Leicester City on 12 November, but with a trip to Arsenal looming on Boxing Day, David Moyes’ men have been putting the graft in – both on the training and match pitches. A series of three warm-up matches, which brought wins over EFL League One side Cambridge United and Italian Serie A outfit Udinese, ended on Saturday with a trip to fellow Premier League team Fulham, and Fornals was pleased with the workout. Jarrod Bowen’s second half strike meant the east Londoners returned home with a 1-1 draw and the feeling they are prepared for the challenges which lie ahead.
“These games have been important for us to build up to Arsenal,” the No8 said. “We know it’s not the Premier League [in these warm-up games] but we’ve played against great teams and we’ve had good results. “I think it brings us a positive mentality because we need and deserve [the results] after very good weeks of working hard. “It felt good out there on the pitch. I think we did a good preparate ion against great teams. It was a big test on Saturday to play against another Premier League team and I think we did quite well. “We had some really nice work, we tried to do what we’ve been doing in training and that’s the most important thing.”
The Hammers will receive a further boost this week when their quintet of players involved in Qatar – Declan Rice, Lucas Paquetá, Nayef Aguerd, Alphonse Areola and Thilo Kehrer – return to Rush Green and Fornals was delighted for all of them to represent their countries on the global stage. “We are waiting for our teammates who had the chance to play in the World Cup and the players who have been here have been working really hard to have chances in the future,” he continued. “We were really pleased to have a lot of players in the World Cup because it means we are a nice team. “Now they have finished, hopefully all of them are ready to put their boots on again and help West Ham achieve our goals.”
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Loan Watch: Okoflex helps Swansea City to impressive Coventry fightback
The freezing conditions and snow saw a significant number of EFL fixtures postponed at the weekend, but two West Ham United loanees were still in action in the Championship.
Armstrong Okoflex’s introduction from the bench proved crucial for Swansea City in Saturday’s league outing as the Swans came back from three goals down to claim a valuable point away to Coventry City. Coventry took total control of the contest at the CBS Arena, storming into a three-goal lead. Jonathan Panzo headed in a first senior goal for the home side before Jamie Allen and Viktor Gyokeres added finishes just after the half-time interval. Hammers loanee Okoflex was introduced on 51 minutes, just before Coventry’s third finish, but the away side looked to find a way back into the game when Joel Piroe swept in Ryan Manning’s cross. Okoflex then played a crucial role in Swansea’s second, as his powerful effort was tipped into the path of Jay Fulton, who lashed home. With just six minutes left on the clock, Swansea claimed an unlikely comeback as Liam Cullen steered in from close-range. Claiming the point moves the south Wales side up to tenth in the EFL Championship table, just two points outside the play-off places.
Elsewhere, Emmanuel Longelo was in the starting XI for Birmingham City as they stormed to a 3-2 victory over Reading. The Blues were dominant in the opening exchanges, taking the lead through Troy Deeney’s hooked effort finding the net after just 63 seconds. The striker was then fouled in the penalty area, and subsequently stepped up to fire in Birmignham’s second from 12 yards. It was 3-0 on 36 minutes when a long ball forward allowed Tahith Chong to run in and finish with his left foot, putting the home side seemingly out of sight for the Royals. Reading pulled two goals back late on. Lucas Joao got one on 83 minutes while Tom Ince added another four minutes into stoppage time, but the Blues held on for a valuable three points. Longelo was subbed off late on, making way for Jordan Graham on 90+1 minutes, as the Blues moved up to eighth in the Championship table.
Other loanees saw matches postponed due to the extreme weather conditions with Thierry Nevers’ Newport County, Dan Chesters’ Colchester United and Mipo Odubeko and Port Vale seeing matches called off.
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Hammers trio meet patients and staff at Newham Hospital
West Ham United players Manuel Lanzini, Conor Coventry and Jamal Baptiste visited Newham Hospital to spread Christmas cheer among patients and staff. The Club has had a long relationship with Newham Hospital in Plaistow, with many players being born there or using its services, and has formed a partnership with Barts Charity, which provides support and raises funds for Barts Health NHS Trust five hospitals – Newham, Mile End, The Royal Lond on, St Bartholomew’s and Whipps Cross. During their Christmas visit, the Hammers trio first dropped into the Hospital’s Wellbeing Hub, which opened in February this year and was funded by Barts Charity to provide a space for staff to relax. There, the players met staff from the hospital’s emergency department, Rainbow Centre for children and young people, wellbeing team, and other departments, chatting, posing for photographs and signing shirts and scarves.
The players were also told about how the Wellbeing Hub offers staff a range of activities to help them unwind, including a reading library, movie nights, massage chairs, pilates classes and refreshments.
[Newham Hospital visit]
Among those present was security officer/supervisor Haseeb, who lives in East Ham is a West Ham fan and plays as a goalkeeper during the staff’s monthly football sessions.
“Newham Hospital is somewhere everyone in the area has been to or has a family link to, so it’s a central part of the community,” said Haseeb, who joined fire safety officer and lifelong Hammer Stevie in welcoming the players. “It’s a busy place to work, and I love it!
“I’m either organising shifts or I’m out on patrol, keeping people safe and making sure the hospital is looked after. I’ve got to look after the buildings and also the people who work here – the patients, the staff and all the people who come to visit – to make sure they’re safe and secure.
“I’ve always been a West Ham fan since I was a kid and we’ve had some ups and downs, but it’s great. I’ve been to lots of memorable games – the last game at the Boleyn Ground was special, as it was Mark Noble’s Testimonial. The European adventures have been strong. We’re doing a lot better than we used to!
“We’ve got a West Ham group chat among staff and we have started a monthly football session at Newham Leisure Centre, where we have a little kickaround – it’s so good.”
[Newham Hospital visit]
The players were then welcomed to Rainbow Centre, which provides 24-hour inpatient and day care for children and young people.
There, they handed out goodie bags to patients and their family members and met staff. Among them was ten-year-old West Ham fan Buster, who is undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and his parents.
Buster told the players about his favourite players and the matches he had been to, and told Lanzini he hoped Argentina would win the FIFA World Cup, winning the approval of our No10, who presented him with a personally signed shirt and invited him to a future game at London Stadium as his guest.
“It was very good to go to Newham Hospital to meet everybody,” said the long-serving midfielder. “The staff there work very hard to look after patients, and we know how difficult their jobs can be, so it is important for them to have a place to relax, like the wellbeing hub.
“It was lovely to meet Buster, too, even if he did not say I was his favourite player! He is a brave boy and I am looking forward to meeting him and his family at a match soon.”
[Newham Hospital visit]
The players’ final stop was to meet staff from the critical care unit. Staff on this ward, as well all across the hospital, worked relentlessly throughout the Covid-19 pandemic to provide round-the-clock, high-quality care to those in the community who needed it most. Player posed for more photographs with excited staff, signed autographs and made video calls to staff family members.
Everyone at West Ham United would like to wish the staff and patients at Barts Health NHS Trust hospitals and Barts Charity a merry Christmas.
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Women’s Conti Cup clash with Brighton given new date
West Ham United Women’s final Continental Tyres League Cup Group Stage match against Brighton & Hove Albion has been rescheduled for Wednesday 18 January 2023, 7:30pm (GMT). The two sides were due to play each other on Saturday (17 December), but the game was postponed due to a frozen pitch at Broadfield Stadium. The Hammers face Manchester City in their first game back after the Christmas break, on Sunday 15 January, and will then face the Seagulls three days later. Paul Konchesky’s team need a point from the game to qualify for the knockout stages of the competition – with the Irons learning of who they may face in the next phase before their fixture against Brighton. The draw for the quarter-finals of the Conti Cup will take place on TalkSport 2 on Tuesday 20 December at 5pm (GMT). Ticket information for the match against Brighton will be given in due course.
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‘It couldn’t have gone any better’ – Alan Dickens recalls his West Ham debut, 40 years on
One of the Academy of Football’s most talented graduates made his West Ham United debut on this day 40 years ago. Local lad Alan Dickens was born in Plaistow, captained the Newham district side and joined the Hammers as a ten-year-old schoolboy in 1975. While he trained with West Ham during the evenings in term time, he was later invited to spend his school holidays with Manchester United, who were themselves managed by West Ham Academy graduate Dave Sexton at the time. Ultimately, though, the young midfielder opted to remain in east London and sign for West Ham at the age of 15. A year or so later, still just 16, he starred alongside Paul Allen and Bobby Barnes, among others, as Tony Carr’s Irons beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the 1981 FA Youth Cup.
As it happened, my Hammers debut couldn’t have gone any better
Alan Dickens
“With its Academy, the Hammers had a reputation for giving youngsters their chance and, indeed, with teenage 1980 FA Cup winner Paul having broken into West Ham’s first-team, I was combining my days in the classroom at Woodside School with nights playing under floodlights in the 1980/81 FA Youth Cup!” Dickens recalled.
“I’d scored twice in the second round against Barking ahead of netting again as we beat a very good Manchester City side by the same scoreline in the semi-final first leg at the Boleyn Ground before then winning 2-1 at Maine Road.
“With Paul returning for the final against Tottenham Hotspur, I was on the bench for our 2-0 first-leg victory at the Boleyn Ground before starting the White Hart Lane return in front of 13,765 spectators – the biggest crowd of my career to date.
“Although I was the youngest, I looked around our dressing room and saw decent players – Bobby Barnes, Everald La Ronde and Keith McPherson would play for the first team, while others carved out league careers elsewhere. Beating Spurs 2-1 on aggregate now meant we were one of the best teams in the country and we certainly deserved to lift that trophy. Magical times.”
[The 1981 FA Youth Cup winning squad]
Dickens signed his first apprentice contract in July 1981, before turning professional a month shy of his 18th birthday in August 1982. Four months later, the teenager made a memorable first-team debut on 18 December in a First Division fixture at Notts County.
Wearing the Club’s famous No6 shirt, Dickens lined up alongside Allen, Geoff Pike and François Van der Elst in John Lyall’s side and scored in front of an 8,441-strong crowd as West Ham won 2-0 at Meadow Lane to go sixth in the table.
“Leaving school and signing apprentice forms just a few months after that FA Youth Cup win, I just kept doing what I’d been doing in both the South-East Counties League and the Football Combination during 1981/82,” the man himself recalled.
“Midway through following season, I began travelling with the first-team squad to a few away matches and, on 18 December 1982, made my debut at Notts County.
“John Lyall told me on Friday lunchtime that I’d be playing at Meadow Lane the following day and although I was excited, I didn’t have one of those sleepless nights that you so often hear young lads talk about.
“West Ham had made a good start to the season but injuries began to hit their small squad and they’d started to slip out of the top six. I think John looked at the league table and – with no disrespect to 13th-placed Notts County – thought it was probably the ideal match to chuck me into.
“There was no real pressure – we’d lost our last two league games, were playing away from Upton Park, the crowd was just 8,441 and he knew that his senior players would make me feel comfortable.
“Professionals like Frank Lampard, Phil Parkes, Geoff Pike and François van der Elst wouldn’t have made it bad day for me even if it had turned out like that.
“As it happened, my Hammers debut couldn’t have gone any better. For, within seven minutes Raddy Avramović parried Paul Allen’s shot into my path and I tapped home before also being involved in the move that led to David Hunt’s own-goal that gave us a 2-1 win. Yes, my first-team debut was certainly kind to me.”
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Fab five return to Rush Green
By Staff Writer
KUMB.com
Monday, 19th December 2022
Five of West Ham’s six players involved in Qatar over the course of the last month are set to return to Rush Green this week ahead of the Boxing Day clash with Arsenal. Thilo Kehrer – whose German team were knocked out at the group stage, Declan Rice (England), Lucas Paqueta (Brazil, quarter finals), Nayef Aguerd (Morocco, semi finals) and Alphonse Areola (France, final) are all expected to join training with the rest of the squad following their World Cup exploits. And they will be warmly welcomed back in Essex by Pablo Fornals, who was left out of the Spain squad knocked out at the last 16 stage by Aguerd’s Morocco.
“We are waiting for our teammates who had the chance to play in the World Cup,” Fornals told West Ham’s website. “The players who have been here have been working really hard to have chances in the future. “We were really pleased to have a lot of players in the World Cup because it means we are a nice team. Now they have finished, hopefully all of them are ready to put their boots on again and help West Ham achieve our goals.”
During the enforced domestic break for the World Cup, West Ham participated in friendlies aginast Cambridge United, Udinese and Fulham, winning two and drawing one. And Fornals believes those results will set the Hammers in good stead for the second half of the 2022/23 season, which recommences on Boxing Day at Arsenal. “These games have been important for us to build up to Arsenal,” he added. “We know it’s not the Premier League, but we’ve played against great teams and we’ve had good results. “I think it brings us a positive mentality we need and deserve after very good weeks of working hard. It felt good out there on the pitch. “It was a big test on Saturday [at Fulham] to play against another Premier League team and I think we did quite well. We tried to do what we’ve been doing in training – and that’s the most important thing.”
Fornals’ thoughts were echoed by Jarrod Bowen, who scored West Ham’s goal in the 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon. “[Fulham] was a really good test, Udinese was a good test as was Cambridge in the freezing cold,” he maintained. “We have come out of all the games really well. “We have looked dangerous as well and Fulham was a really important one in terms of what we are going to face. “We know what position we are in – we can’t hide away from that,” he added, in reference to West Ham’s lowly position in the Premier League. “It is about us as players now stepping up and showing what we are about. “We have the preparation in the bank. It is down to us now to go to Arsenal on Boxing Day and put in a really good performance.”
The sixth World Cup player on West Ham’s books, Croatian midfielder Niko Vlasic, has returned to Torino where he is spending the season on loan.
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ExWHUemployee: West Ham United defender Harrison Ashby set to join Newcastle with first-team wages on offer to him
WestHamZone
West Ham is reportedly unwilling to offer Harrison Ashby the wages he wants as he is now set to move to Newcastle on a permanent basis. According to ExWHUemployee, the 21-year-old wanted a salary equivalent to that of a first-team player and the Hammers aren’t prepared to match his demands. Newcastle, on the other hand, are, and the centre-back appears to be heading north and joining Eddie Howe’s side.
Ex said on the West Ham Way podcast at 5:25, “Ashby looks set to join Newcastle. He’s turned down multiple contract offers. They [other players who turned down extensions] believe they should be earning a first-team equivalent wage rather than an academy wage and clubs like Newcastle are prepared to offer this. “It does look like Ashby is set to go unless he makes a last-minute change of mind although I believe that’s very unlikely.”
There was a contract on the table for the 21-year-old and despite spending 12 years at the club, he did not feel that it was enough to extend it. He’s constantly been flirting with an exit and after he didn’t get his move over the summer, he’s appeared to have downed tools. David Moyes certainly will not want someone at the club who’s done nothing to prove he deserves a push up the pecking order and wages to match that artificially created position. Ashby still is a reserves player who’s fighting his way to the West Ham first team. Moyes isn’t foolish to not give him more game time if he’s better than the other players he’s got at his disposal and he’s unlikely to be a regular at Newcastle either. The Magpies have far too much money to waste time on Ashby to progress and if they do not see instant progress they could go and spend big money on another centre-back. We’ll really be surprised if he features for the first team again or is even named on the bench of a matchday squad.
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Who is Luizao? Brazilian defender profiled after completing West Ham free transfer switch
West Ham United completed their first signing of the January window on Sunday after announcing a move for Brazillian centre-back Luizao on a free transfer from Sao Paulo, subject to international clearance
footballlondon
[West Ham United defender Luizao in action for Sao Paulo]
West Ham United defender Luizao in action for Sao Paulo (Image: Ricardo Moreira/Getty Images)
West Ham United have completed the signing of Brazillian centre-back Luizao on a free transfer from Sao Paulo, subject to international clearance. Announced officially on Sunday afternoon, Luizao is set to officially become a West Ham player on January 1 following his exit from his native Brazil and will initially link up with Mark Robson’s under-21s squad. With Luizao’s move ending long speculation over a potential move to the London Stadium, here is a profile on the defender, what he would add, and why his move makes sense.
The basic info
Luizao is a 20-year-old, 6ft 1″ centre-back who was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, who can also play as a left-back. The defender joined Sao Paulo back in 2017 and was at the club for five years, making his first-team debut for Sao Paulo earlier this year. He made his professional debut for the Faith Team in May 2022 during a Copa Sudamericana clash against Chilean side Everton.
His career to date
Luizao made 19 first-team appearances for Sao Paulo’s first-team during his debut first season, scoring once during his debut 2022 campaign across all competitions. The defender’s debut came in a goalless draw with Chilean side Everton in the Copa Sudamericana, one of six appearances in the competition this year, which is the South American equivalent of the Europa League.
After the draw on debut, Sao Paulo won all four of the other games Luizao played in, starting and keeping clean sheets against Wilstermann (Bolivia) and Ayacucho (Peru), as well as coming off the bench during both legs in the round of 16 win over Chilean side Universidad Catolica. Sao Paulo went on to reach the final of the competition before losing to Argentinian side Independiante.
In July 2022, Luizao made his league debut in Brazil’s top-flight against and featured in 14 of their final 23 league games, making 11 starts and scoring his first senior goal during a 1-1 draw with Cuiaba-MT. Luizao helped his club side keep two clean sheets when playing and did play as a left-back during a 1-1 draw with Corinthians.
Luizao also played once in Copa do Brasil last season, featuring as a late substitute during a last 16 second leg clash against Palmeiras, which Sao Paulo won on penalties. In that competition, Sao Paulo reached the semi-finals, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Flamengo at that stage.
In the league, Sao Paulo finished in ninth position which qualifies them for next season’s Copa Sudamericana, missing out on the top eight and qualification for the Copa Libatedores (South American Champions League) by a single point.
Why his move to West Ham makes sense?
On paper, there are reasons why this move would make sense. At only 20 years of age, Luizao is still very early into his career and arrives as a free transfer, costing the club not a large financial outlay. However, with just 19 first-team appearances to his name, he is still pretty inexperienced, although he does have a taste of playing in cross-continental competitions, such as West Ham’s recent involvement in the Europa League and the recent Europa Conference League. He is likely need quite a lot of time to get used to both English football and be up to the standard of the Premier League, hence his initial arrival in the under-21s team.
Once signing Brazil star Lucas Paqueta in the summer, David Moyes did say he hoped that it would lead to more Brazilian players being attracted to joining West Ham, so it could go someway to filling that ambition and hopefully inspiring further samba stars to move to east London. The deal is likely to be for the long-term and not short-term, but with Angelo Ogbonna being linked with a return to Italy and Craig Dawson potentially on the move after almost exiting in the summer, a new centre-back makes sense this January.
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