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The following article is a special report; all information presented, unless otherwise stated, has been gleaned from Football FanCast sources.

West Ham United’s move for Jarrod Bowen has dragged in recent hours due to a key contract clause that will see his wages cut by 50% if the club are relegated from the Premier League, sources have told Football FanCast.

The Hammers remain confident that a deal will be reached with the winger after they agreed a fee with Hull for his services, which stands at £14m up front plus £8m in add-ons.

A source familiar with the negotiations has told FFC that West Ham have offered Bowen, who has scored 17 goals in all competitions this season, a weekly wage of £60,000.

However, for the deal to get over the line, Bowen will have to agree to the prospect of that being cut in half if the Irons drop into the Championship.

He currently earns £9,000-per-week at Hull. If West Ham are relegated, his wages will still swell by £21,000-per-week.

David Moyes’ side are currently 17th in the Premier League, only ahead of AFC Bournemouth on goal difference.

What could’ve been… Can you name the clubs these football legends almost joined?

Nevertheless, the feeling at West Ham is that the deal will be completed, despite the hiccup in negotiations.

There have been reports, via The Athletic, that Newcastle United is Bowen’s preferred destination.

However, sources at the Hammers say that he is travelling down to London to sort the finer details of the deal and that he has already passed a medical, which took place in Hull.

Of course, there remains the possibility that things could change – Crystal Palace thought they had agreed a deal for Bowen before West Ham swooped in on Thursday evening – as the clock ticks down to the transfer deadline.

Sources at the east London club previously told FFC, though, that they are willing to go the extra mile to secure his signature. The largely weekly wage is certainly evidence of that, although it appears there is still an obstacle for the Hammers to overcome.

Meanwhile, a former West Ham ace wanted to return to the club!

Brendan Rodgers has already taken one risk in the transfer market this season with the signing of Daniel Arzani and a recent report suggests he is hoping to take another gamble by moving for a Championship outcast, namely Oliver Burke. 

The decision to sign Arzani on a two-year loan was largely greeted with enthusiasm by Celtic supporters, but a distinct lack of opportunities left him lurking on the periphery before a cruciate ligament injury cruelly sidelined him on his first SPFL appearance.

His absence has opened up the door for the signing of another attacking midfielder this month, and a recent report from The Sun suggests Celtic have submitted an enquiry to West Bromwich Albion over a potential loan move for Oliver Burke, a player who joined the Baggies for a whopping £15 million in August 2017.

The 21-year-old Scotland international has effectively been exiled from Darren Moore’s squad this season and Celtic, Millwall and Wigan are all eager to take him off their hands.

There was a time when Burke was regarded as one of the hottest prospects to emerge from Scotland in recent years. Fast forward just over two years on from RB Leipzig’s decision to sign him for £13 million, though, and the situation looks very different.

Burke has fallen from grace and developed into a player who has miserably failed to realise the full extent of his potential, and his struggle in both the Bundesliga and the Championship will naturally force plenty of supporters to write him off as another flop.

But at just 21-years-old it’s too early to label Burke as a player who could have been, and Rogers could yet be the manager who enables him to discover the form which made him such a highly regarded talent during his teenage years.

After watching Burke fade into insignificance supporters of Celtic have every reason to doubt the credentials of a January loan deal, but Rodgers could surprise those sceptics by finding a way to rebuild his confidence in Scottish football.

Celtic fans – thoughts? Let us know below!

Well, it’s true, once one of your own fans throws a cabbage at you before a game, your time as manager of a football club is up.

Aston Villa announced this afternoon that they had terminated the contract of their manager Steve Bruce, after a run of poor performances and results, culminating in a home draw with bottom of the league Preston.

In a club statement on the official website, the board said:

“We would like to place on record our gratitude to Steve and his team for their hard work and commitment. We wish them well for the future.

The club also announced that U-23 manager Kevin MacDonald would be in charge for the team’s trip to Millwall on Saturday.

MacDonald has done the job as caretaker boss before, so it is unlikely the board will be looking to make him permanent.

We take a look at the bookies’ favourites for the job.

Michael Appleton

Appleton has been without a job since he was Claude Puel’s assistant in 2017.

There’s a reason why he is being tipped at 28/1.

Mikel Arteta

Arteta has been Pep Guardiola’s assistant since 2016 and is surely wanting to take the full reins of a team at some point.

However, he seems to have a good relationship at Guardiola and the timing of this appointment may put him off.

Claudio Ranieri

Ranieri recently ended his short spell at Nantes in Ligue 1.

The former Leicester City boss has been linked with other managerial positions in recent weeks, including the Roma job.

Mick McCarthy

If the Aston Villa owners are looking to appoint a manager with Championship experience, they should look no further than Mick McCarthy.

The former Wolves boss ended his term at Ipswich in April this year after deciding not to renew his contract.

Slaven Bilic

Currently the manager of Saudi-Arabian club Al-Ittihad, Bilic managed West Ham for a brief spell between 2015-17.

The Croatian has always expressed his desire to manage again in the Premier League, however, considering he was only named Al-Ittihad boss on 28th September 2018, it is unlikely he will be making the trip to Birmingham.

Unai Emery has had a great stary to Arsenal career as the club have made some great signings this summer. 

Italian news outlet, TuttoMercatoWeb, via TeamTalk, are reporting that Arsenal have made an approach to sign Torino forward and Senegal’s World Cup star, M’Baye Niang.

Not satisfied with his current batch of new players, Emery wants to add Niang to his squad to provide some depth up front.

Emery has been undertaking a huge overhaul of the squad but according to the squad, the Gunners will face competition from Everton, Nice, Marseille and Monaco. Arsenal have been linked with Niang in the past and speculation is that Torino are willing to cash in on the Senegal man following his impressive World Cup.

The Breakdown

The forward joined Torino in 2017 on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy at £17.5 million.

The Senegalese striker made his debut for French side SM Caen at the age of 16 but has since struggled to live up to the hype that had linked with many top clubs in his teenage years.

From Arsenal’s point of view, with Aubameyang and Lacazette, the need for a striker is relatively low. On the wing, Arsenal could do with some depth as Joel Campbell is likely to leave and it’s uncertain how much of a role, Alex Iwobi will have. Although Niang has played on the wing in the past, his natural position is through the middle. He’s not a natural winger, and therefore any deal for him doesn’t seem worthwhile.

Arsenal fans – thoughts? 

West Ham United completed the £16m signing of Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez on Monday, and Manchester United fans were disappointed that they didn’t try and bring the attacker back to Old Trafford.

The Mexico international has signed a three-year deal with the Irons following a two-year spell in the Bundesliga where he scored 39 goals in 76 appearances in all competitions for the German outfit.

The 29-year-old joined Leverkusen following a spell with the Red Devils in which he netted 59 times in 157 outings in total, and fans obviously believe that he could still have brought something to the current side following the departures of Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic this summer, despite the arrival of Romelu Lukaku.

Man United supporters were quick to have their say on the deal via social media, with some saying they were “gutted” that he had joined the Hammers, while others said they would have had him back “in a heartbeat”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Credit where it’s due, West Ham have enjoyed a pretty decent January transfer window. The Hammers, although they lost playmaker Dimitri Payet, have acted on their poor start to the season to snap up Jose Fonte and Robert Snodgrass to address two glaring issues in their squad while staying in a positive net spend.[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]The true result of this business is not yet known and won’t be clear until the final whistle of game 38 of the Premier League season, and it seems that Hammers fans are eager for the club to get a bit more business done before the 11:00pm deadline, with 64% of those who voted in our exclusive poll identifying up front as the area they are desperate to address.The two major areas of concern at the London Stadium are the striking department and at right-back, withÂIrons followers wanting more support for Andy Carroll. Daniel Sturridge hasÂbeen mooted as a late target, but it seems that any deal is unlikely.

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Leicester fans in the Transfer Tavern were over the moon yesterday with their latest victory, taking the scalp of defending Premier League champions Chelsea, and many pints were spilled as celebrations continued long into the night.

Nursing a delicate hangover today, the Leicester fans are thrilled with Claudio Ranieri’s latest comments, as he insists that no team can afford to buy either of his star players in January.

Vardy and Mahrez both scored to claim victory over Chelsea, with Mahrez even assisting Vardy’s goal, in a result that lifted their side back to the top of the Premier League table – two points above Arsenal.

The pair have 26 goals Premier League between them so far this season, making them statistically one of Europe’s deadliest strike forces at present.

So it is not a surprise that both attacking players have attracted attentions of several of the elite English clubs, with scouts from both Manchester clubs, as well as Chelsea and Liverpool, understood to have been sent to the King Power Stadium this season.

However, Leicester boss Ranieri is quoted by ESPN to have promised that all bids for either player will be rejected.

“Nobody can buy them. They don’t have the money to buy them. I don’t want to put a price on them. For me they don’t have a price,”

Despite the goalscoring heroics of the pair, Ranieri also praised the overall attitude and performance of his whole squad.

“The performance of Riyad and Jamie is fantastic, but they are only the pinnacle of the iceberg because behind them there is a big spirit and a big team. They work and help each other to do their best, then we know Riyad and Jamie are our credit card.”

Looking to the future and predicting where Leicester could end up come May, Ranieri admitted that it will be a difficult second half of the season if his side wish to maintain their incredible form.

“For our fans we are top of the league but for my players we need another five points. Don’t laugh. I don’t know when we can achieve these five points.”

“Now we have Everton and Liverpool away and Manchester City and Bournemouth, who are a fantastic team, at home. These are very tough matches. Let me achieve 40 points and then I will think about the next goal.”

The fans at the bar are enjoying the season so far and are making sure they don’t get too carried away, as they know it’s unlikely they will be able to challenge this competitively in the long-term.

Will Vardy and Mahrez stay at Leicester for the remainder of the campaign? Let us know in the comments below!

Marcus Rashford has been likened to Anthony Martial – a misfiring Manchester United forward that Roy Keane says scores “one goal in 14 years”.

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Home-grown star hit 30 goals last seasonJust two to his name in the current campaignRed Devils lacking spark as a collectiveWHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Devils have plenty of international firepower at their disposal, with the likes of Rasmus Hojlund and Antony also forming part of their attacking arsenal. Erik ten Hag’s side are, however, short on goals and drew a blank again in a disappointing 1-0 defeat away at Newcastle.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Rashford – who has two efforts to his name through 18 appearances this season – was replaced just after the hour mark at St James’ Park and was caught on camera appearing to question why he is still with the Red Devils. pundit Jamie Carragher has said of the struggling home-grown star: “Watching Marcus Rashford, it was an unacceptable performance, for a few reasons. None of the players came out with any credit, but that lad didn’t play midweek [in the Champions League], so there isn’t any mitigating reason why he hasn’t been 100 per cent. I’ve been a local player and it isn’t easy, especially when your team is not doing well. When it’s not going well, it’s your job to fix it and you’ve got to drag those around you. I’m watching Marcus Rashford and he reminds me of Martial. And that’s the worst possible thing you can probably say about him. A foreign player who comes in, hasn’t done the business, doesn’t care – and that’s a fact with Martial. Marcus Rashford is now looking like Anthony Martial. As a local player, it’s your job to drag those other players up. If your confidence is down, you’re not scoring goals, or you’re not getting assists, no problem. But you do not stop running for that badge, that shirt and those supporters.”

WHAT KEANE SAID ABOUT RASHFORD

United legend Keane backed up that point by saying of a man that netted 30 times last season, but now finds himself struggling alongside team-mate Martial – who has scored just 12 Premier League goals since the 2020-21 campaign got underway: “He’s a local lad, he’s got the mega deal and that is all well and good. I need a bit more – you run forward but you have to run back. Cover yards. He’s 26 now, he’s not a child anymore. He’s got to set the example. Is he on his own? Absolutely not. He’s one of the experienced players in that dressing room and if he’s not setting the example. We mentioned Martial and I know he’s an easy target. We forgive Martial when he scores a goal every 14 years. But if we’re 1-0 down to Newcastle and we put the ball into the box for you, you better get hold of that ball and get us up the pitch. But he’s just touching it and giving it away cheaply. I’m thinking, ‘You might as well go down the leagues’. Man United were trying to get rid of him a few years ago.”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

United have slipped down to seventh in the Premier League table, while also sweating on European progress in 2023-24, and will be hoping to find a spark back on home soil when they play host to Chelsea on Wednesday.

How to watch Crystal Palace vs Leicester in the Premier League on TV and online in the United States.

Crystal Palace take on Leicester City in a Premier Leaguegame at Amex Stadium on Saturday.

After failing to win in their last 13 matches in all competitions, Patrick Vieira parted ways with Palace and Roy Hodgson replaced him at the helm. They are currently 12th in the Premier League.

Leicester City too have failed to register a win in their last six matches and are currently one point above the relegation zone.

GOAL brings you everything you need to know about how to watch the Premier League fixture between Crystal Palace vs Leicester City, plus team news, recent form and more.

• Getty Images
  

  Kick-off time

  Date:	April 1, 2023
  Kick-off time:	10am ET
  Venue:	Selhurst Park

  The game is scheduled for April 1, 2023, at Selhurst Park. It will kick off at 10am ET in the US.

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  How to watch Crystal Palace vs Leicester online – TV channels & live streams

  TV channels & streaming options

  Country	TV channel	Live stream
  U.S	N/A	Peacock Premium

  In the U.S., the match can be streamed on Peacock Premium.

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  Team news & squads

  Crystal Palace team news

  Crystal Palace will be without Chris Richards and Nathan Ferguson while Joachim Andersen remains uncertain due to a calf injury that he picked up against Arsenal.

  Position	Players
  Goalkeepers:	Whitworth, Guaita, Johnstone
  Defenders:	Guehi, Tomkins, Mitchell, Clyne, Ward.
  Midfielders:	Doucoure, Riedewald, Milivojevic, Hughes, McArthur, Schlupp, Eze.
  Forwards:	Zaha, Olise, Edouard, Mateta, Ayew.

  Leicester City team news

  James Justin and Youri Tielemans are out of this clash due to injuries but the good news for Leicester is that Victor Kristiansen, Jonny Evans, Dennis Praet and Harry Souttar are back in the squad.

  Position	Players
  Goalkeepers:	Ward, Iversen, Smithies
  Defenders:	Soyuncu, Faes, Amartey, Vestergaard, Souttar, Evans, Thomas, Kristiansen, Castagne, Pereira
  Midfielders:	Ndidi, Soumare, Mendy, Dewsbury-Hall, Praet, Maddison, Barnes, Tete
  Forwards:	Daka, Iheanacho, Vardy

  Head-to-head record

  Date	Result	Competition
  15 October, 2022	Leicester 0-0 Crystal Palace	Premier League
  26 April, 2022	Leicester 2-1 Crystal Palace	Club Friendly
  3 October, 2021	Crystal Palace 2-2 Leicester	Premier League
  27 April, 2021	Leicester 2-1 Crystal Palace	Premier League
  28 December, 2020	Crystal Palace 1-1 Leicester	Championship

  Crystal Palace have failed to beat Leicester City in their last five meetings with the Foxes winning twice and three games ended in a draw.

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  Useful links

  • Crystal Palace team page

  • Leicester team page

  • Live soccer on TV in the U.S.

The Premier League table looks a lot healthier for Ten Hag after second-successive win

Manchester United ended a run of seven straight defeats on the road with a 1-0 win against Southampton on Saturday, as Bruno Fernandes' second-half strike secured a first away victory since beating Leeds 4-2 in February.

Erik ten Hag's side have now won back-to-back games after seeing off Liverpool on Monday to put their miserable start to the campaign behind them. Manchester United had lost their opening two games to plunge the new manager's reign into crisis – but the table looks a lot healthier after successive wins, with £60 million signing Casemiro making his debut as a late substitute.

There will be fresh questions about the futures of Harry Maguire and Cristiano Ronaldo, who were both left out of the starting line-up again, but that will be a question for another day as the Red Devils will be pleased with their performance at St. Mary's.

GettyThe Winners

Bruno Fernandes:

For a long time it looked like a deeply frustrating day for Fernandes, given his poor use of the ball and failure to take one of two chances during a first half goalmouth scramble.

But he did what he does so well by providing the crucial goal that secured three points for United.

Ten Hag needs to find the best way to incorporate him in his midfield – but he is a match-winner and that is what makes him so important to Manchester United.

David de Gea:

His second half save proved vital when Joe Aribo got the wrong side of Raphael Varane and powerfully headed towards the target.

De Gea's used quick reflexes to push the shot away from close range to maintain Manchester United's lead.

He was at fault for at least two goals in the 4-0 defeat to Brentford – but here he was ensuring Manchester United held on for the win at St Mary's.

Tyrell Malacia:

There is a lot to like about the left-back – and it hasn't taken long for him to force his way into the starting line-up ahead of Luke Shaw.

Tenacious defensively and ambitious going forward, right now it is his position to lose.

United might have unearthed a gem in the Netherlands international, who cost just £13 million.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe Losers

Harry Maguire:

Left out for the second game in succession after Ten Hag warned him the captaincy wouldn't guarantee a starting place.

These are early days in the season, but the signs aren't good for the England international – especially ahead of the World Cup.

Ten Hag wants to establish a consistent centre-back pairing and Varane and Martinez are the ones being given the chance to stake their claim.

Marcus Rashford:

Given another shot at the point of attack – but was nowhere near as effective as he was against Liverpool.

Looked lost at times in the first half and was barely a threat on goal.

Should have gambled to get in the box to meet a wicked cross from Eriksen, but was nowhere to be seen.

Cristiano Ronaldo:

That's three games out of the first four this season that Ronaldo has been left out of the starting line-up.

His lack of pre-season was the reason for his absence on the opening day of United's campaign against Brighton – but he has had three weeks since then to work on his conditioning.

He is now out of the team for tactical reasons, which will not sit well with the Portuguese legend.

Will he still be here when United are next in action – against Leicester on transfer deadline day?

Getty ImagesManchester United Ratings: Defence

David De Gea (7/10):

Stunning save denied Aribo from close range. Needed that after his nightmare at Brentford. Still a great shot-stopper.

Diogo Dalot (8/10):

Growing into his role as first choice right-back. Pushed high up to keep United on the front foot. Picked out a clever cross for Fernandes to score and late clearance also denied Southampton.

Raphael Varane (7/10):

Good anticipation in the air when Southampton were more direct – but had to rely on De Gea when allowing Aribo to get goal-side of him.

Lisandro Martinez (9/10):

Good aerially and utterly dominant on the ground. That Brentford game is well behind him now. Looks a fixture in the heart of defence.

Tyrell Malacia (7/10):

Loves to engage and threw himself into everything, either in the air or on the ground. Got forward well in support.

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@ManUtdMidfield

Scott McTominay (6/10):

Won some important headers in the air and tried to run beyond Southampton's midfield. Good energy and put in a defensive shift as United were pushed back late on.

Christian Eriksen (8/10):

Precise passes helped in congested areas – and his first half cross deserved to be finished by someone. Unfortunate to see effort blocked during goalmouth scramble.

Bruno Fernandes (7/10):

He is a game-changer and his goal did precisely that. Still questions over his use of the ball and ability to retain possession – but the quality of his finish was beyond doubt.