West Ham’s stingy negotiating and handling of the Dimitri Payet affair has been the highlight of the January transfer window to date.

Continuing to make derisory bids for players that are held so dearly by rival Premier League clubs, the Hammers have been the butt of many a joke. Meanwhile, their talismanic superstar has gone on strike and demanded to leave the club. Its never dull for West Ham, that’s for sure.

The thing is, spending in January is for clubs with significant short-term aims, as I wrote last week.

Teams at the bottom of the table or near the top who need depth or reinforcements ahead of the key stretch to end the campaign. Mid-table teams who are safe from relegation and with no chance of European qualification have no justification for paying inflated January prices.  Yes, finishing a place or two higher in the table brings in a bit more revenue, but it’s not worth the hassle.

[ffc_insert title=”Payet Replacements” name=”Stats show West Ham will miss Payet” image_ link=”https://www.footballfancast.com/premier-league/west-ham/stats-show-just-how-much-west-ham-will-miss-payet” link_text=”Click to read more” ]

Bringing players in during a campaign can unsettle a dressing room and rumours – which West Ham seem to feature regularly in – have an impact on players. Current squad members may not be too pleased to hear the board are after a player in their position. There is often a feeling that January transfers are under-scouted, rushed deals, too.

Though not always the case, it’s hard to believe that a club has taken the time to evaluate a player properly when their interest has seemingly only piqued during this season. West Ham are not to only culprits of this, but they are the most obvious this time around.

The question the West Ham board should be asking themselves is this: what do we stand to gain from signing players this window?

Maybe finishing 9th rather than 11th, but that’s about it for this season. The squad Slaven Bilic is having to work with is far from perfect, it has some glaring issues, but they can be addressed in the summer when months of scouting can be done and bargains are more likely to be found. West Ham are nine points ahead of the relegation zone and 15 behind sixth-placed Manchester United, this season is as good as guaranteed to end in a mid-table finish whether they make signings or not.

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One of the glaring issues in the squad, though – which has seen the Hammers linked to Jermain Defoe and Moussa Dembele – is the striker situation. The departures of Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri – two disastrous summer signings – have left the injury-plagued Andy Carroll under a lot of pressure. West Ham’s inability to sign a reliable striker has been a long-running problem, as Jacob Steinberg wrote about in The Guardian this week.

Rushing through a deal in January is surely not the best way to solve this problem. It could work, and they may end up signing a player they have scouted for months, but they should balance the reward with forcing a January signing with the risk.

West Ham have no time pressures in 2017. Bilic’s side, along with Everton, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and several other teams, will finish in mid-table. The order will be juggled around throughout the remaining Premier League matches, but that’s about all the change there will be.

Thus, the reward for signing a player this month rather than in the summer is negligible. The risk, though, is that they could be left with a player unsuited to the team on a long, costly contract. The January window has a purpose for many Premier League clubs, but West Ham are not one of them.

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West Ham United bounced back from a heavy defeat at the hands of Manchester City mid-week with an impressive away win against Southampton. The Irons ran out 3-1 winners at St. Mary’s to move up into 9th position in the Premier League table.It was an afternoon that promised to be a tough one after Southampton debut boy Manolo Gabbiadini lashed home the opener for Saints after just twelve minutes.However, the Hammers and their travelling fans would enjoy a comeback sparked by none other than Andy Carroll. The big striker scored their equaliser before Obiang and Noble completed the victory.Carroll was superb throughout before being substituted and is enjoying a magnificent spell of form, as this stay from OptaÂshows.

He’s reaching peak form and key to that is his fitness, finally enjoying a run of starts after struggling with injuries for the majority of the season so far.

It’s something that’s been recognised by his manager Slaven Bilic, who praised his striker after the match.

As quoted by the BBC, Bilic said of the striker:

He is a matured man. He is happy, stable, has got three kids. The key is that and the number of training sessions. The best prevention of injuries is training.

It’s something Irons fans will of course hope to see more of and Carroll has the chance to make it five in five when West Ham host West Brom at the London stadium next week.

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Chelsea are preparing for their FA Cup clash with Wolves tomorrow, but they’ll likely have to take on the Championship outfit without star defender David Luiz.

It’s been a huge season for the Brazil international, who has transformed from liability to indispensable since his first haphazard bout in England, becoming an integral figure in the 3-4-3 formation that has rocketed the Blues to the top of the Premier League table.

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But Luiz was seen limping during a 1-1 draw with Burnley last weekend and after picturing himself in hospital, he’s expected to sit out Chelsea’s Fifth Round tie on Saturday.

With his importance to the Chelsea gameplan in mind, we asked Blues fans earlier this week to vote for which defender should replace Luiz in the starting XI to face Wolves.

Well, the results of our exclusive poll are now in and as you can see, Kurt Zouma came out on top by quite some distance with 57% of the vote. Captain John Terry, meanwhile, even ranked behind youngster Nathan Ake.

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Even Manchester United cannot keep up their lavish spending without selling stars, hence reports of outgoings surfacing in a bid to make a near-£90m offer for Antoine Griezmann viable.

Indeed, the Independent have revealed that to fund a mega offer for the Frenchman, the Red Devils are willing to sell some of their current players, with Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini and Anthony Martial mentioned.

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There will be few arguing that the former two should be kept long-term, but the latter is considered to be among the best young talents in European football and enjoyed a decent debut campaign at Old Trafford in 2015/16, netting a memorable first goal for the club at home to arch-rivals Liverpool.

Alas, the change from Louis van Gaal to Jose Mourinho has hit the forward hard, with the Portuguese boss routinely overlooking him when selecting his starting XI, which has irked large sections of the Manchester giants’ support.

We all know that ‘Mou’ often gets his own way, so if he wants rid of Martial this summer, that’s what will happen. But 85% of fans who responded to our ‘should Man United sell Martial?’ question earlier this week think doing so would be a mistake…

The 21-year-old can blow hot and cold, but he has raw talent, pace and a clinical edge so few young players possess – so offloading him early could well come back to bite Jose on the bottom.

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Tottenham Hotspur have suffered Champions League and Europa League elimination this season, calling into question the team’s ability to compete on the elite stage.Mauricio Pochettino’s men failed to get out of the group in the Champions League, and they were undone by Gent in the last-32 stage of the second-tiered European competition.Things looked promising for Spurs in Thursday night’s tie at Wembley when Christian Eriksen put them ahead in the 10th minute, but an own goal from Harry Kane meant more work needed to be done.[ad_pod id=’now-tv’ align=’centre’]When Victor Wanyama scored in the second half, Tottenham had their tails up again, but Jeremy Perbet’s 82nd-minute goal knocked Spurs out of the competition.Not only that, Dele Alli was sent off in the first half for a horror tackle that could have brokenÂBrecht Dejaegere’s leg.Spurs’ European record this season is miserable reading, with Opta proving that Wembley has not been kind to the team.

As pointed out by Squawka in the tweet below, Tottenham have failed to master Europe having won just two of their last 10 fixtures.

It is difficult to put a finger on why they have under-performed in the competitions.

It could be down to priority, with the Premier League on top of the list, but it could also be due to a lack of experience.

Tottenham have a relatively young team and they could be struggling to find the balance between European and domestic commitments.

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We’re back in FA Cup action this weekend as the world’s oldest association football competition gets into the quarter-final stages with ties that are certain to get punters flocking to their nearest bookie to have a flutter.

The FA Cup is renowned for it’s upsets and can often be the ideal place to make some big money when it comes to your betslip.

The quarter-final draw has thrown up some fantastic ties, with non-league Lincoln City’s visit to Arsenal and another Chelsea return for Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho the standout clashes.

Meanwhile Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City, who were forced to a replay by Championship promotion chasers Huddersfield in the last round take on Premier League strugglers Middlesbrough for a place in the Wembley semi-final, whilst free scoring Harry Kane and his Tottenham side take on London rivals Millwall.

There will be thousands of punters looking to go bold and win some big money by backing the likes of Millwall and Lincoln to upset the odds, however, now we’re in the latter stages the Premier League big boys will not be holding back. With that in mind, you’ll need to be taking a look at the various combinations to maximise your winnings, a simple treble of the favourites will get you nowhere this weekend.

Having been humiliated by German giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Arsenal will be in no mood for a cup upset, although they always have a goal (or five) for their opponents, the Gunners to win and both teams to score is a canny pick this weekend.

Add to the Mourinho’s return to Stamford Bridge. The Portuguese will take a very different side to that which lost 4-0 in London earlier in the season and will be seeking vengeance. Again, there will be goals in this one but we fancy the visitors to take it, United to win and keep their hopes of a cup treble alive, with both teams to score could get you a nice profit.

Finally, Pep Guardiola’s side will be in the mood for goals this weekend. Having rested Raheem Sterling for their mid-week draw with Stoke City, the Sky Blues will have a bit between their teeth against Boro, the Citizens to win with over 2.5 goals in the game completes our FA Cup treble, which could give earn you some decent spending money this weekend at 50/1, good luck!

On the weekend that Celtic can finally get themselves over the line to win the Scottish Premiership, Rangers have their own key challenge. The Gers started a new project at Ibrox and will pay no mind to the celebrations on the other half of the city shoukd they, as is expected, come.

For Pedro Caixinha and his men, it’s all about showing gradual improvement and preparing themselves for a massive Scottish Cup clash at Hampden in late April.

The first victory under Caixinha against Hamilton was a fine showing and with two weeks work done on the training ground since then, supporters are hoping to see an even better performance against Motherwell on Saturday.

It may not go all their own way, though, as the Steelmen themselves have a new boss in Stephen Robinson and will be looking for a big result to kickstart his new reign.

Here are THREE reasons why Motherwell could burst Caixinha’s bubble…

They’ve run them close at Ibrox twice this season

Rangers haven’t had an easy time of it against Motherwell at Ibrox this season. The Steelmen have taken the lead in both matches between the two at the home of the Light Blues. On both occasions Rangers need very late winners and it was Kenny Miller who bagged them.

That’s a big warning sign ahead of their visit this Saturday. Although struggling, Motherwell are going to push them all the way to the very death of the game in order to try and win a point or more.

As we know, Rangers probably need to win every match between now and the end of the season if they are going to haul in Aberdeen’s 2nd place lead, so a point isn’t good enough this weekend.

Can Pedro Caixinha have his team come out of the blocks and prevent going behind, or will this one follow the pattern of the previous two matches at Ibrox and see Motherwell take a shock lead?

Louis Moult is due a goal

With 14 goals to his name this season, Motherwell striker Louis Moult is having another fine campaign leading the Steelmen’s attack.

In the Scottish Premiership he’s averaging a goal ever 182 minutes, so you’ll be interested to know he hasn’t scored in his last two matches. That means that, going by his average, he’s due to bang one in against the Gers this weekend.

You’d be silly to bet against it considering he’s already netted against the Light Blues at Ibrox this season. With exceptional goals against the likes of Celtic also to his name this term, he cannot be taken for granted by Pedro Caixinha’s defence.

If Motherwell can string possession together in the final third and create a chance for Moult, he’s more likely to stick it away than not.

Motherwell have more on the line

Rangers may consider Saturday’s match vital but for Motherwell, it’s a match with many potential consequences. Lose and they could find themselves at the very bottom of the Scottish Premiership, if results elsewhere go against them.

They’re very much locked in a relegation scrap and know from past experience how easy it is to slip into the relegation play-off position.

Hamilton and Inverness CT are just three points behind and know with ‘Well travelling to Ibrox that they have a great chance of gaining ground.

Motherwell will be fighting for their Premiership lives and that could be enough to give them an edge in the match and secure a massive result.

When Wilfried Zaha returned to boyhood club Crystal Palace in summer 2013, most assumed the one-time Manchester United signing would never get another chance at the elite end of the Premier League table.

His Old Trafford tenure certainly didn’t give much evidence otherwise; just two league appearances in six months, before an underwhelming loan spell at relegation-bound Cardiff City and his subsequent return to Selhurst Park. Whatever David Moyes saw in the explosive wideman, he clearly didn’t like, despite his predecessor – the great Sir Alex Ferguson – being convinced enough to spend an eight-figure sum on a then-Championship player just a matter of months prior.

But Zaha returned to Palace with a bang, netting four times and playing a pivotal role in the Eagles recording a tenth-place Premier League finish during the first season of his second spell. His output has remained a continuous subject of debate, but Zaha’s overall form and contributions have been on an upward trajectory since his switch back to south London. Now aged 24 and verging upon traditionally peak years for a winger, the Ivory Coast international appears to be edging back towards the big time – with Spurs repeatedly mooted as potential suitors since last summer. The latest murmurings come courtesy of Bleacher Report’s Dean Jones.

“Wilfried Zaha should have been on the verge of greatness when he joined Manchester United in 2013, but the move did not go to plan, and within two years, he was back at boyhood club Crystal Palace.

“That could have proved a career setback, but he responded with consistent good form for the Eagles, which has put him back in the shop window. Palace know it is only a matter of time before a big offer comes along, and Tottenham Hotspur are set to test his loyalty this summer.”

Dean Jones, Bleacher Report 2017

On the surface, Zaha seems more like a squad addition than a signing who can take Tottenham to the next level. Six goals and seven assists in 26 Premier League outings is a decent return for an attacker plying his trade with a side who’ve been battling relegation all season, but not the kind of return that suggests Zaha would revolutionise Spurs’ starting XI or make them ore clinical in the final third. For starters, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen – Mauricio Pochettino’s four main attacking options – have all scored equal or more goals than him this season, albeit in a considerably more successful team.

Wingers are inevitably judged upon how much they produce, but Zaha’s about much more than that. He’s prepared to roll his sleeves up and commit to the more thankless side of what Premier League wingers are all about; driving their team up the pitch on the counter-attack, drawing fouls to win free kicks in crucial areas of the pitch and closing down opposition full-backs off the ball. Rather tellingly, he’s averaged the most tackles per match – a staggering 2.6 – of any wideman in the division this season.

That suits Mauricio Pochettino’s philosophy of industrious yet creative football perfectly, and the other obvious asset Zaha offers Spurs is his scintillating pace – one of the only weapons the White Hart Lane gaffer lacks in his current arsenal. Eriksen can unlock defences with the ball, Alli can provide goals from midfield and Heung-min Son can glide through tight areas, but no player truly trusted by Pochettino can stretch defences, create width and expose teams so quickly on the break in the same way.

But Zaha’s true value to Tottenham Hotspur may well lay in his performances against elite opposition, something that has become particularly prevalent during the 2016/17 campaign and most recently during a stunning performance to silence table-toppers Chelsea last weekend.

To say Spurs aren’t in second place on merit would be unfair, but it’s certainly not a consequence of their results against top six rivals, winning two and losing three of eight. Chelsea’s record is similar; this title race has been mostly decided by consistency against the rest of the top flight. But with both Manchester clubs growing stronger, Liverpool progressing under Jurgen Klopp and Arsenal expected to make wholesale changes in the summer, next term could well come down to who dominates the mini-league at the top of the table.

That could squeeze Spurs out of the picture, but also highlights why Zaha could prove so vital. 43% of his assists this season have come against top six teams, but it’s the consistency he’s shown against such opposition that truly stands out, both with and without the ball. Five successful dribbles per match is a phenomenal return, whilst those 3.3 fouls won double or even triple in importance when put in the context of a top-of-the-table six-pointer – where one set piece expertly delivered into the box can make all the difference.

Likewise, three tackles per match highlights Zaha’s commitment to the cause. In fact, from the seven games in question this season, he’s failed to provide less than two tackles in ninety minutes just once. To give some context, no Spurs player has averaged more than 2.8 tackles this season, whilst the highest return from an attacking player is Dele Alli with 1.4.

Of course, the counter-argument is that the setups of these matches flatter Zaha statistically. Palace average just 48% possession per match and from those seven games against the top six in which Zaha has largely excelled, they’ve averaged 6% less. That gives him more room to operate on the counter and obliges him to make more tackles.

But to say Tottenham won’t find themselves in similar positions next season would be naive – they saw just 45% of the ball during a 2-2 draw against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium in January – and it’s Zaha’s industry that could make him such a success at White Hart Lane. We’ve seen Pochettino mercilessly cull countless players who couldn’t meet what he demands in workload; Zaha, on the other hand, has the potential to raise the bar for his accomplices in attack.

“We would love to keep Wilfried. We will sit down and talk to him as soon as we’re safe and I’m very hopeful of doing so”

Palace chairman Steve Parish

Of course, it’s not as simple as Spurs putting some money on the table and Zaha moving from south to north London. Palace have plans to offer him a new contract that would underline his importance to the club. But it feels like Zaha is on the verge of proving Sir Alex Ferguson right and David Moyes wrong by moving back to the top end of the table one way or another. Tottenham would be wise to act on his efficiency against top six opposition before one of their divisional rivals beats them to it.

“He was in front of me and I was making every decision for him. He has to change his football brain.

“We need his fantastic physical and technical qualities but he cannot play with my brain,

“He must accelerate the process. 21 is old enough to have a better understanding. He has a future here but Manchester United cannot wait.”

Another day, another twist in the Jose Mourinho-Luke Shaw saga. Far be it from us to question ‘The Special One’ when it comes to managing his team and his players, but how does calling out a young footballer after a rare outing in which he contributed to a vital equalising goal help matters at Old Trafford?

Had it not been for Shaw, who came on as a second-half substitute, shooting towards goal, Ashley Williams’ handball would not have occurred and Zlatan Ibrahimovic would have been unable to convert from the penalty spot to spare blushes at the Theatre of Dreams. Granted, the former Southampton man didn’t do much in his 25-minute cameo to suggest that he’s ready to be the left-back Mourinho needs at this most vital stage of the season, but digging him out publically has effectively guaranteed that this will not change between now and mid-May.

With just 16 matches under his belt and only 622 minutes of league football played, Shaw’s 2016/17 has not been a walk in the park. It was never going to be, though, with the long road to recovery from a horror leg-break suffered in September 2015 during a Champions League clash with PSV Eindhoven still one he is journeying down. It has been around 18 months since this incident, but building up fitness and, most importantly, overcoming the mental side of the set-back was always going to be tough. To make it tougher still by magnifying his flaws and in turn increasing the pressure on him is as short-sighted as it is nasty from Mourinho.

It’s clear to see what he’s doing. The Portuguese boss wants to eek the potential out of Shaw that saw him signed at such a tender age from Southampton in 2014. An England international in his teenage years, the defender was tipped to be the answer to his country’s issues in the position long-term very early in his career, but the move to Man United perhaps came too early at 18, especially with a £30m transfer fee thrown into the mix. The drop off in his development was alarming under Louis van Gaal initially, which made the leg-break all the more infuriating for all involved as he was showing signs of maturing and adapting in his second season with the club.

The ‘tough love’ approach is one Mourinho has often used. His managerial career is one in which he’s demanded plenty from his players, asking them to run through brick walls for him. While it may seem counter-intuitive to act in a ‘strict father’ manner, some footballers respond to this, seeking to prove their manager wrong, which in turn is a win for the tactician, even though it’s come via the man in question actually working hard to spite him. Rafa Benitez was known for this approach at Liverpool with Steven Gerrard, and Mourinho has already acted this way at United, excluding Henrikh Mkhitaryan during the early phase of the season – which was ballsy given that the Armenian was one of the club’s big summer signings.

Why not use the same approach with Shaw, then, you might ask. Well, Shaw is 21 and has little senior club experience to call upon, while Mkhitaryan is the captain of his country and in the prime of his career – he’s surely more mentally hardened than a rookie defender coming back from an injury that could feasibly have ended a footballer’s career 20 or 30 years ago. There is also the example of Louis van Gaal using the same tactic to attempt to right the youngster’s career in his first season at the club. The Dutchman, another manager known for his hardline approach, was strict with the player, criticising him (albeit not so vociferously) in the media, which produced a negative effect on his performance. It’s believed that senior players at the club went to LVG after seeing Shaw retreat into his shell and an altered approach from Van Gaal contributed to his bright start to 2015/16.

Maybe following suit might be the way forward for Mourinho. He’s already hailed Shaw as “the one that should be in a couple of years the best of all” when discussing his left-back options this season, so why let stubbornness rob him of having such a player at his disposal? Mourinho has a responsibility as the player’s manager to give him the best possible platform to develop and improve, and while pandering to him is not the right approach, highlighting his flaws in the full glow of the media spotlight is equally as incorrect.

Luke Shaw has a long way to go as a footballer and many more hurdles to leap over if he is to fulfil his promise, which he might ultimately fail to do. However, it would at least be nice to see him given the right environment to at least have a fair shot at doing so.

The countdown continues to Rangers’ massive clash with Celtic on Sunday and as reported by STV, manager Pedro Caixinha is not interested in all the chatter surrounding the Hoops going into the game.

What’s the story?

Much of the focus in the build-up to this weekend’s fixture has been on Celtic’s unbeaten run and their ambitions of winning a treble for the first time in 16 years.

However, Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha hasn’t given much thought to all that and when asked about it gave a brilliant, simple response.

As quoted by STV, he said:

I’m not worried about [Celtic being unbeaten], and I don’t think that they are so obsessed with that.Everyone is talking about stopping a treble and I don’t care about it. I’m just focused on my team.

With all the hype and focus on the Gers’ rivals across the city, Sunday’s game is a massive opportunity for Caixinha to truly arrive on the Scottish scene and lay down a marker that next season may not be the cakewalk that some think for the Hoops.

Rangers showed a fantastic fighting spirit in the last match between the two clubs at Celtic Park and if they can tap into that again and find a determination to stop the treble at all costs, then it could be a fine afternoon for Gers fans despite their team being massive underdogs.

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