Coral Rumour Reel: Premier League wide trio on West Ham wishlist
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West Ham United, 11/4 with Coral for a top 10 finish, feature heavily in today’s tabloids as boss Slaven Bilic seeks attacking reinforcements.
Reports claim the Hammers are tracking three Premier League wingers in out-of-favour pair Victor Moses (Chelsea) and Aaron Lennon (Tottenham), plus Manchester United’s Adnan Januzaj.
Jose Mourinho’s swoop to sign Pedro Rodriguez has pushed Nigeria wideman Moses even further down the Stamford Bridge pecking order, despite Mohamed Salah returning to Serie A on loan at Roma.
Long-serving Spurs player Lennon, meanwhile, has not been given a squad number this term, so appears to have no future at White Hart Lane after Mauricio Pochettino sent him to Everton for the second half of last season.
Belgium international Januzaj recently scored United’s winner against Aston Villa, but has struggled to nail down a first-team place at Old Trafford under Louis van Gaal.
In other West Ham news, Bilic and the Hammers hierarchy may be prepared to revive a prospective deal to take Emmanuel Adebayor on loan from Tottenham, but only if Spurs subsidise the Togo striker’s wages. An alternative forward target is Galatasaray frontman Burak Yilmaz, who is reportedly rated at £10m by the Turkish giants.
Away from Upton Park, another claret and blue club, Aston Villa (15/8 relegation chances), are in talks with Celtic about offloading Czech striker Libor Kozak.
A broken leg has scuppered the former Europa League Golden Boot winner’s chances of making an impact in the West Midlands, but the Bhoys hope to profit from their good business relationship with Tim Sherwood’s side established when Martin O’Neill was in charge at Villa Park.
In the East Midlands, Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri and the King Power club’s Asian investors are mulling over a raid on Birmingham City for prized asset Demarai Gray, despite the sensational form of Algeria wideman Riyad Mahrez. The Foxes’ sudden interest in the teenage talent could be a contingency plan in case Mahrez is poached.
