Toifilou Maoulida seems to be the buzz word on an otherwise deathly quiet Monday morning. At least two of the dailies say the French striker- whose name sounds like an early Santana album filler- could be about to join the 'Upton Park revolution' after hinting he was teetering on the verge of leaving Lens for the Barclays Premier League. West Ham, Wigan and Stoke are all credited with an interest in the player who has found himself consigned to the substitutes' bench for much of the current season.
The 30-year-old scored the only goal of the match against Compiegne in the Coupe de France yesterday and is quoted in the Mail as admitting it could have been his last for his current side. "I'm waiting to see," he reportedly told L'Equipe. "I've had a discussion with my managers recently. They have set a deadline of Wednesday. I am in favour of the Lens project but the situation is complicated. If an English club give me this opportunity then why not? The English league has always interested me. It's 50/50 at the moment."
Maoulida, who also lists Montpellier and Marseille among his former teams, joined from Auxerre in January 2008 and immediately made his mark with a 40-yard goal on his debut. He opted to remain at Lens despite their relegation and was the club's top scorer last season as he helped fire them to promotion with one of the best goal-hauls in Ligue 2.
The Sun stays a little closer to home with the suggestion West Ham are set to end James Beattie's 'Stoke hell' by jumping in (presumably two-footed) with a £3million offer. Pat Sheehan insists the club are pulling out all the stops to land the 31-year-old after he had a furious bust-up with boss Tony Pulis following a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last month. West Ham are desperate to bring a player in with Carlton Cole struggling with a knee injury. The Sun runs with a David Gold quote pinched from his radio interview yesterday, when he said: "I'd be hugely disappointed if we did not bring in a striker before the window closes. But it would have to be someone of quality or there is no point."
Elsewhere, Charlton boss Phil Parkinson has issued a 'hands-off' warning to anyone considering a move for his teenage star Jonjo Shelvey. The 17-year-old has been linked with virtually every top club in London over the last couple of years and was rumoured to be the subject of a failed Hammers bid back in May. The youngster is understood to have a clause in his contract allowing him to leave upon meeting certain conditions and was reportedly the subject of a £3.5million bid from Chelsea last month according to the Sunday Times- a deal he is said to have rejected because of his desire to move to West Ham.
But the chances of that happening have been dismissed by Addicks boss Parkinson this morning, who told Sky Sports that he wanted at least £8million for the prodigiously gifted midfielder. "Chelsea were mentioned but I haven't had a call from Roman Abramovich," he said. "And West Ham couldn't afford him. We want him to help us get promotion, because he will do. [Fabian] Delph went [to Aston Villa] for £8million and Jonjo, in my eyes, is a better player."
Lastly, comes the news that Marlon Harewood has hobbled off the West Ham watchlist (if he was ever on it) after he broke his foot in training with Aston Villa’s reserves. Results over the weekend from scans have showed the forward must have an operation this week. He will now be sidelined for 10 weeks and expects to be out until April in what is described as a devastating blow for the £28,000-a-week marksman, who is out of contract in the summer.
The 30-year-old scored the only goal of the match against Compiegne in the Coupe de France yesterday and is quoted in the Mail as admitting it could have been his last for his current side. "I'm waiting to see," he reportedly told L'Equipe. "I've had a discussion with my managers recently. They have set a deadline of Wednesday. I am in favour of the Lens project but the situation is complicated. If an English club give me this opportunity then why not? The English league has always interested me. It's 50/50 at the moment."
Maoulida, who also lists Montpellier and Marseille among his former teams, joined from Auxerre in January 2008 and immediately made his mark with a 40-yard goal on his debut. He opted to remain at Lens despite their relegation and was the club's top scorer last season as he helped fire them to promotion with one of the best goal-hauls in Ligue 2.
The Sun stays a little closer to home with the suggestion West Ham are set to end James Beattie's 'Stoke hell' by jumping in (presumably two-footed) with a £3million offer. Pat Sheehan insists the club are pulling out all the stops to land the 31-year-old after he had a furious bust-up with boss Tony Pulis following a 2-0 defeat at Arsenal last month. West Ham are desperate to bring a player in with Carlton Cole struggling with a knee injury. The Sun runs with a David Gold quote pinched from his radio interview yesterday, when he said: "I'd be hugely disappointed if we did not bring in a striker before the window closes. But it would have to be someone of quality or there is no point."
Elsewhere, Charlton boss Phil Parkinson has issued a 'hands-off' warning to anyone considering a move for his teenage star Jonjo Shelvey. The 17-year-old has been linked with virtually every top club in London over the last couple of years and was rumoured to be the subject of a failed Hammers bid back in May. The youngster is understood to have a clause in his contract allowing him to leave upon meeting certain conditions and was reportedly the subject of a £3.5million bid from Chelsea last month according to the Sunday Times- a deal he is said to have rejected because of his desire to move to West Ham.
But the chances of that happening have been dismissed by Addicks boss Parkinson this morning, who told Sky Sports that he wanted at least £8million for the prodigiously gifted midfielder. "Chelsea were mentioned but I haven't had a call from Roman Abramovich," he said. "And West Ham couldn't afford him. We want him to help us get promotion, because he will do. [Fabian] Delph went [to Aston Villa] for £8million and Jonjo, in my eyes, is a better player."
Lastly, comes the news that Marlon Harewood has hobbled off the West Ham watchlist (if he was ever on it) after he broke his foot in training with Aston Villa’s reserves. Results over the weekend from scans have showed the forward must have an operation this week. He will now be sidelined for 10 weeks and expects to be out until April in what is described as a devastating blow for the £28,000-a-week marksman, who is out of contract in the summer.
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3 comments:
He querido publicar algo como esto en mi sitio web y esto me dio una idea. Saludos.
Jy voltooi 'n paar goeie punte daar. Ek het 'n soektog op die tema en gevind dat die meerderheid van die persone sal dieselfde mening met jou blog het.
Just killing some in between class time on Digg and I found your article . Not usually what I prefer to read about, however it was completely price my time. Thanks.
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