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Italian side Atalanta are eyeing a January move for West Ham midfielder Pedro Obiang, according to CalcioMercato.

What’s the word?

After fighting back from a slow start to the season, Manuel Pellegrini has started to reap the rewards from his £100m spending spree but further changes are anticipated in future windows, although not all the deals will be incoming pieces of business.

CalcioMercato states that Serie A side Atalanta are eyeing a January swoop for West Ham midfielder Pedro Obiang, whose first-team chances may be limited this season following the signings of Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez.

However, the 6ft 1in Obiang has featured four times in the Premier League and has been a useful asset for Pellegrini but Atalanta will hope to lure him back to Italian football, where he previously played for Sampdoria, with the offer of more regular opportunities.

Should they sell?

Obiang may not always be one of the first names on the teamsheet, or even in the matchday squad, but midfield is a position where Manuel Pellegrini cannot afford any further setbacks as his depth is already stretched.

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Injuries to summer signings Jack Wilshere and Carlos Sanchez have left the Hammers’ ranks in the middle of the pitch looking significantly depleted heading into a busy stage of the season, and Obiang will be more valuable than ever.

It is also worth noting that the Hammers have not lost any of the three Premier League matches where Obiang has started, with the Spaniard featuring in the victories over Everton and Manchester United either side of the goalless draw with Chelsea.

Tottenham continued their win streak in the Premier League thanks to two first-half goals from Harry Kane.

Mauricio Pochettino was starting to feel the pressure following a mini-slump after the Lilywhites defeated Manchester United 3-0. However, victory against Brighton and Watford got their season back on track. Kane was in fine form at the John Smith’s Stadium to ensure their winning streak continued.

The result leaves Spurs in the Premier League top four, just four points behind leaders Manchester City and Liverpool. If Pochettino’s men are to stay in the title race, they must strengthen their ranks in the January transfer window. With Manchester United currently in disarray, Tottenham should be looking to take advantage.

One man they could look to sign is French forward – Anthony Martial. Valued at £58.5m by Transfermarkt, the 22-year-old was tipped for greatness after leaving Monaco for Old Trafford with a reputation as one of the world’s hottest prospects. His time at the club has not gone to plan, and Martial has constantly found himself out of Jose Mourinho’s plans. With the Portuguese under immense pressure following a dismal start to the season, now could be the time for Tottenham to make their move.

Martial would add another dimension to the Spurs attack and lessen the goalscoring burden on the shoulders of Kane. Not only would it strengthen their squad, but it would also weaken a Premier League rival. With less than one year remaining on his contract with the club, Martial could be available for a great price or on a free transfer next summer.

The sky is the limit for the youngster who could thrive under Pochettino’s leadership at Tottenham’s new stadium.

Tottenham fans, thoughts?

Most Liverpool fans were excited by the arrival of Naby Keita this summer after waiting a year for the midfielder to finalise his move to Anfield.

The foremer Red Bull Leipzig man had a strong start to his career under manager Jurgen Klopp as he added an extra creative outlet to the team.

However, in recent outings, the Guinea international has struggled to make an impact, and even lost his starting place to Jordan Henderson.

In Liverpool’s 1-0 defeat to Napoli in the Champions League, Keita was stretchered off the pitch with a back spasm, but he recovered in time to come off the bench and play against Manchester City last Sunday.

The midfielder is now on international duty, but it has been suggested by football journalist Chris Williams on Twitter that the 23-year-old is not entirely fit as he trained alone on Wednesday.

Liverpool fans have given their thoughts on the situation via Reddit.

Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..Comment from discussion “Naby Keita trained on his own while on international duty with Guinea today [@FOOT_224]”… Hasn’t looked 100% for a few weeks and this will only add to further concerns about the player carrying an injury..

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FootballFanCast.com’s Fixture In Focus coverage is brought to you by 5p0rtz. Play our free West ham v Tottenham predictor to win the £50 jackpot with 5p0rtz. Click here to play.

West Ham will host Tottenham Hotspur at the London Stadium on Saturday with both sides heading into the game seeking an improvement upon their last performance. 

Last time out, the Hammers fell to defeat against Brighton, whilst Spurs scraped a 1-0 win against Cardiff City but did not put in a particularly inspiring display.

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After a horrific start to the new campaign, Manuel Pellegrini has settled upon a regular starting XI – who have started the last four league matches in succession – which brought about a dramatic upturn in form. Despite the recent defeat against the Seagulls, the Irons ought to be heading into this London derby full of confidence. However, Pellegrini will be acutely aware of the threat thier opponents pose.

One of the few selection headaches the Chilean has to face is at right-back, with the pace and attacking intent of Ryan Fredericks and the experience of Pablo Zabaleta to choose between.

Summer signing Fredericks recently spoke of how much he has learned since his switch to East London, as reported by the club’s official website. However, he is yet to usurp Zabaleta in the first team in recent matches and given the abundance of attacking talent that Saturday’s visitors possess, Pellegrini would be wise to stick by the veteran Argentine for a while yet.

What do you think, West Ham fans – should Fredericks or Zabaleta start against Spurs?

After a fairly poor start to the season, Everton now sit eighth in the table and look as though Marco Silva is close to establishing his best side. 

Backed by the money of Farhad Moshiri, Everton spent heavily in the summer as they signed Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Andres Gomes and Lucas Digne. With Marco Silva now at the club, it all culminates into what is the beginning of a new era at the club.

Indeed, with the new manager taking over at the club, it remains to be seen whether some of the players that were at the club last season will survive.

Despite being handed the captaincy, Everton academy product, Tom Davies saw himself dropped to the subs bench in favour for the midfield partnership of Idriss Gueye and Andre Gomes at the weekend.

The young midfielder apparently sought clarity over his role but in truth, it’s time for the club to sell him as he’s no longer an essential player at the club.

The Breakdown

Despite playing 33 games for the club last year and having so far played six this season, Davies is going to have to do a lot to break into the Everton first-team again.

Although he’s only been brought in on loan for the season, Gomes showed flashes of quality in the middle of the park against Crystal Palace and in tandem with Gueye, formed a partnership that could blossom in the future.

Davies is a fairly solid player but if Everton are to go into a new era, they need someone of better quality.

What do you think Everton fans? 

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Reports in The Sun on Sunday at the weekend said West Ham United are interested in signing young Nice winger Allan Saint-Maximin ahead of the January transfer window, and Irons wide man Grady Diangana should take it as a warning from Manuel Pellegrini.

What’s the word?

The Hammers were busy in the summer window as new manager Manuel Pellegrini recruited nine new faces.

The results on the pitch have been mixed, but the team have shown signs of progression thanks to some individual performances.

One summer signing who was finding his feet was Andriy Yarmolenko, but the winger suffered a devastating blow when he picked up an Achilles injury.

The Ukrainian is expected to be on the sidelines for around six months, which may lead Pellegrini to dip into the January market.

According to a recent report in The Sun on Sunday (October 28, page 59), the East London outfit have joined Cardiff City in pursuing Nice winger Saint-Maximin.

Is it a message to Diangana?

Pellegrini placed his faith in the 20-year-old by handing him his first Premier League start in Yarmolenko’s absence in the 1-1 draw with Leicester City last weekend, and it seems as though he may get the opportunity to cement his spot in the starting XI in the coming weeks and months.

While he perhaps didn’t make the biggest impact at the King Power Stadium, Diangana still has until January to make an impact and the latest report surrounding Saint-Maximin suggests that the Chilean manager is already looking at potential options to bring to the club in the New Year.

The link may well be a warning to Diangana to ensure that he takes the opportunity that he has been given, otherwise he could find himself out of the side and perhaps even the squad after the January window closes.

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Arsenal extended their unbeaten run to 13 games in all competitions after narrowly defeating Blackpool in the League Cup, but not all faces in the Gunners camp will have been happy ones.

Young midfielder Matteo Guendouzi was shown a second yellow card for a shirt pull and was dismissed, but fans of the north London outfit fans seeing an up-side to his one-match ban.

Unai Emery made Guendouzi one of his first signings as the Spaniard’s tenure at the Emirates began in the summer, bringing the 19-year-old across the channel from Lorient and quickly getting him into the first team.

The £7.2m man’s exploits in August were so impressive that the Arsenal faithful voted him player of the month for only his first few games in England and he has since become a regular starter, featuring in eight of his side’s ten Premier League games so far.

Starting again for Arsenal on Halloween against Blackpool, the former PSG academy player was sent off for two yellow card offences and as he will miss the visit from Liverpool on Saturday, it most likely means that Granit Xhaka – who has been deputising at left-back recently – will be brought back into midfield where he is considerably more comfortable.

The Swiss ace was faced with Wilfried Zaha for a mere few minutes last weekend at Crystal Palace before bringing him down in the box and giving away a penalty, and some Arsenal fans are seeing Guendouzi’s match ban as a blessing in disguise as the former Monchengladbach man will not be tasked with marking Mo Salah.

Here’s the reaction on Twitter to the number 29’s sending off.

Everton supporters have been reasonably upbeat in recent times after seeing their side pick up a very credible draw in the Premier League on Sunday.

Marco Silva’s men made the trip to the capital to face unbeaten Chelsea off the back of beating Brighton in their preceding league encounter, and thus full of confidence ahead of the visit to Stamford Bridge. Yet the Toffees dug in admirably to earn a 0-0 draw from their clash with Maurizio Sarri’s Blues, a result which keeps Silva’s side ninth in the Premier League table.

Thus, there have been many satisfied Evertonians up and down the country in recent times, several of which have been gushing over the performance of goalkeeper Jordan Pickford on Sunday, what with the England international making several fine saves to help his side to a vital clean sheet.

As such, the 24-year-old has earned many rave reviews for his exploits in West London on Sunday, yet one mustn’t downplay the influence left back Lucas Digne had on proceedings, both offensively and indeed defensively.

The 25-year-old made the move to Goodison Park during the summer as Silva sought the long-term replacement for Toffees stalwart Leighton Baines, and France international Digne has proven in the early stages of his Everton career that he is the man for the job.

And the left back produced another impressive display at Stamford Bridge on Sunday to further underline his credentials, what with the ex-Barcelona man touching the ball more often than any of his Everton teammates (57), at the same time making two key passes over the course of the 90 minutes to suggest that he carried an attacking threat during the clash.

And his instincts and willingness to get forward has perhaps been the most impressive aspect of his early Everton career, but that offensive nature has somewhat compromised his defensive contributions, with some question marks still had surrounding his capabilities at the back ahead of the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Yet Digne has gone some way to quietening those doubters with an assured defensive performance in West London, what with the 25-year-old winning both of his aerial duels during the encounter, and indeed all three of the tackles he attempted.

Add in three clearances and three very timely interceptions, and the left back did a fine job in thwarting Chelsea’s advances in the final third of the pitch, thus contributing heavily to the clean sheet the Toffees deserved from the encounter.

As such, while Pickford will earn much praise for his efforts on Sunday, left back Digne produced arguably his best defensive performance for the club to thus be their unsung hero in their very impressive draw at Stamford Bridge.

Everton fans… what do you think? Let us know!

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Jay-Roy Grot has earned his first call-up to the Netherlands Under-21 side, so does he deserve another chance at Elland Road?

Grot was one of a number of players who struggled massively under Paul Heckingbottom last season, but the youngster has not had a chance to shine under Marcelo Bielsa.

The new gaffer has worked wonders with the current squad, transforming Matuesz Klich’s career, discovering Kemar Roofe’s scoring touch and turning Kalvin Phillips into Andrea Pirlo.

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Grot has now earned a call-up to the Netherlands Under-21 side, the final stop before the senior side.

The giant youngster has scored twice in 11 appearances for loan side VVV-Venlo, and his strength and athleticism could certainly be a useful asset for Bielsa.

The boss is currently running short of options as the injuries stack up, so should Grot get another chance? Or are new signings needed to reinforce the attack?

Leeds fans, let us know your thoughts by voting in the poll below…

Chelsea have achieved some fantastic things over the last few years, and their spell under Maurizio Sarri so far certainly suggests that more is to come. The Blues are looking so good at present, with everyone that Sarri has picked so far stepping up to the plate.

With January on the horizon, that offers the prospect of Chelsea improving even more with the prospect of signing some new players, but for the Blues, that must not be a priority.

Instead, Chelsea must first work on getting a new deal secured for Callum Hudson-Odoi. According to the Sun, the Blues are still locked in talks with the Englishman regarding a new contract, and it’s imperative that the Blues get it done.

After all, Hudson-Odoi proved just how good he was over the summer. He was taken on Chelsea’s pre-season tour, and he exceeded all expectations. A regular starter, he impressed against a handful of big teams, and he also looked good during Chelsea’s Community Shield loss to Man City.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that he was Chelsea’s best player during pre-season, and so the fact that he’s been dropped makes little sense.

Still, nothing can take away from his talent, and so whilst Maurizio Sarri may not see him as a crucial player right now, the fact of the matter is that he’s good enough already – and in a few years, he’ll undoubtedly be even better.

Chelsea have already tasted what it’s like to lose a top young talent, with individuals like Kevin De Bruyne and Dominic Solanke swapping London for new clubs in recent years. Hudson-Odoi’s situation is very similar to that of Solanke, and the Liverpool man’s potential is clear for all to see.

Chelsea just cannot afford to let this happen again. Hudson-Odoi is too valuable, and more importantly, he’s just too good. He deserves a new contract, and he deserves more chances.

Thoughts?