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Many football fans would have been scratching their heads when Neil Lennon took the manager’s job at Bolton Wanderers in October.

The Scot was very impressive at Celtic, guiding his team to a famous Champions League victory over Barcelona as well as performing consistently well in the Scottish Premier League. Many had tipped him to work in English football after he left Celtic, with his name being linked to vacancies at clubs like Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion.

Lennon eventually returned to the game with Bolton Wanderers, a surprise move to a club that was rooted in a relegation battle at the bottom of the Championship. Dougie Freedman, Bolton’s former manager, could only register one league win in the opening 11 games of the Championship season. In Lennon’s first game in charge, he guided Bolton to an important 0-1 away victory against fellow strugglers Birmingham. Since then, Bolton have hit good form and are slowly working their way up the Championship table after a dismal start.

Lennon’s managerial style is plain and simple, he doesn’t muck about. In his first week in charge, he banned Bolton’s players from wearing beanie hats in training. It seemed like Lennon was determined to let the players know who was in charge and this bullish attitude has paid off. Since Lennon took over at Bolton, he has led them to five victories out of a possible nine, only losing twice against Norwich and Charlton. They are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak and have moved up to 17th in the league, four points clear of the relegation zone. It looks as if Lennon has brought stability to a club that had started the season really poorly.

As well as stability, Lennon has encouraged more of an intricate style of football, developing Bolton into a team that pass the ball well, making it easier to keep hold of possession. Bolton had managed to score in every league game since Lennon’s arrival until the 0-0 draw with Reading. However, what is important is that that they pick up points and gradually move up the table. Lennon stated that Bolton could make the play off places if everything went to plan. Whether this is an accurate estimate remains to be seen but what is clear is that Lennon’s fresh impetus and approach to management has transformed things at Bolton.

The signing of Eidur Gudjohnsen will only help the squad by adding experience and quality. Although the former Icelandic international is coming to the end of his career, he will act as a good example for the younger players to follow and his previous associations with the club will mean that he can settle in very quickly. As well as Gudjohnsen, Bolton fans could be seeing former England international and ex-Liverpool striker Emile Heskey featuring for them in the Championship this season.

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The 36-year-old clearly has a wealth of experience to his name and offers excellent physicality up front. Lennon has taken Heskey on a two-week trial to see whether the big striker still has what it takes to perform at this sort of level. Whether he signs or not, Lennon is clearly determined to improve the team and do everything he can in order to give Bolton more of a boost in terms of aiming for the play-off spots.

Credit must also be given to Phil Gartside, the Bolton chairman, who acted quickly and effectively when the club were struggling no end at the lower depths of the Championship. The sacking culture in the Championship is monumental compared to the Premier League at the moment but Gartside’s actions have proved that he made the right decision for the club. The appointment has got the club out of trouble and looking forward, something that didn’t look particularly achievable just a couple of months ago.

The rise and fall of Andros Townsend is a tale any young English footballer, especially those who play on the wing, should always bear in mind.

Indeed, the Tottenham talent and the short-lived arc of his international career is preceded by many; Stewart Downing, Aaron Lennon, Adam Johnson and Shawn Wright-Phillips to name a few. Yet, recalling Three Lions internationals who have endured rises so sudden as the Lilywhites wideman, and falls so equally inevitable, proves a near impossible task.

On New Year’s day 2013, just eighteen months ago, Andros Townsend was a relatively anonymous name to the majority of England fans, standing out only for its unique Cypriot twist. Eight loan spells in the Football League, ranging from Yeovil Town in 2009 to Birmingham City in 2012, had brought the winger little closer to the first team at White Hart Lane, let alone the Three Lions seniors.

A loan stay with relegation-bound QPR in January that year, later labelled a transfer masterstroke by former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp, quickly changed all that. Compared to the immense number of Premier League mercenaries compounded at Loftus Road, the then-21 year-old’s fearless approach, committing defenders and taking upon himself the responsibility to score goals, quickly caught the attention of his parent club and Roy Hodgson.

England hadn’t possessed a dynamic winger like that – so comfortable in jinking his way past defenders, so confident in attempting to find the net from long range – for generations, since the marauding displays of Chris Waddle. Redknapp compared him to Bayern Munich star Arjen Robben, a likening that in the long-run, has proved impossible for Townsend to live up to.

The rise in stock at QPR, combined with the limited quality available to Hodgson out wide, amalgamated into Townsend playing an important role in the latter fixtures of England’s World Cup qualifying campaign. The defining moment; a Man of the Match display upon his competitive debut, typified by a low, swerving shot from outside the area that exploded into the back of the net, sealing  a 4-1 win against Montenegro.

It remains one of the most aesthetic England goals in recent memory – not a robust challenge, hit-n-hope cross or scuffed finish in sight. The open-armed, rosy-cheeked effigy of Townsend celebrating was strewn across  the back pages of every tabloid and broadsheet the following morning, the Tottenham youngster hailed his country’s newest hero, a shining example of the loan system working to full effect and England’s future not being so bleak as many were suggesting.

Yet, scoring his first international goal at just 22 years of age will most likely forge the highest point of Townsend’s playing career. Fast forward to the present day, a year on from that worldly strike against Montenegro, and the one-time prodigy is more commonly discussed as a bargaining chip in Tottenham’s transfer plans. A Townsend-plus-cash swap deal for Southampton’s Jay Rodriguez was mooted regularly by the press throughout the summer.

So where did it all go wrong for the Lilywhites winger? In the space of twelve months, he’s gone from England hero to Tottenham zero, a regular target of criticism from the Spurs fan base and overtaken in the Three Lions fold by the likes of Raheem Sterling, Ross Barkley and Adam Lallana.

Injuries have unquestionably played their part.  I’m sure we all remember Townsend lying unconscious in a photographer’s pit after crashing into an advertising board, also spraining his wrist, and in April this year, the Spurs hot-shot picked up an ankle injury that ruled him out of the World Cup. But for the winger, Hodgson, England and their fans, this was probably a blessing in disguise.

The prevailing issue being that within the time between Townsend’s goal against  Montenegro and his World-Cup ending injury, the level of improvement shown at club level was minimal, in fact, the Spurs youngster had arguably regressed.

We all knew about Townsend’s pace, we all knew about his ability to test ‘keepers from long-range. In his first season in the Tottenham starting XI however, these were the only two traits the England winger appeared interested in demonstrating, no matter how ineffective they proved to be.

He took 56 attempts at goal last term, 49 from outside the box, yet Townsend’s only contribution to Tottenham’s goal tally was a solitary mishit cross, which somehow looped it’s way over Aston Villa’s Brad Guzan. That gave him a conversion rate, fortuitously considering, of just 2%. It also made his 2.7 dribbles per match, the fourth most of any player in the Premier League last season, rather redundant.

Have we been too harsh on Townsend? Perhaps so. In other countries, young wingers are allowed, or even expected, to be greedy in the hope that it will eventually hone their skills to a more effective and consistent level. But the Premier League is a difficult training ground for developing players; often pressures are so intense and results so important that even youngsters are expected to be somewhere close to the finished article, regardless of the amount of games under their belts.

Yet in my opinion, as is now a recurring, sinister trend amongst young English players, Townsend’s fifteen minutes of fame came too soon. Had Hodgson been patient in letting the 23 year-old  create a role for himself at Tottenham before exposing him to the inevitable higher scrutiny placed on England internationals, perhaps there wouldn’t be such a dark cloud of disappointment lingering over him now.

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Another, possibly more popular, explanation, would be that  the Lilywhites starlet was always punching above his weight; a mixture of decent form and youthful enthusiasm making him stand out amid the dearth of exciting young quality in the England set-up at the time.

Either way, the captivating performances spawned from Townsend’s self-centred style of play was always unsustainable. Failing to adapt his game to compensate for this inevitability remains the youngster’s biggest crime, but one must consider what effect overconfidence, created by an excessively premature inaugural England call-up, has had on Townsend’s mindset over the last twelve months.

Unfortunately, although the rise and fall of Andros Townsend is an extreme case in terms of highs, lows and time scale, it is very much a typical saga for young English players.

It could be worse Nando, you could be one of these guys…

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Ipswich have already made a few additions to their squad since the end of the 12/13 season, but the club may well have to wait a while before making any more.

It is strongly rumored that financial fair play rules are preventing the club from making any more additions as new signings would stretch the current wage bill past what is allowed based on The Tractor Boys revenue.

This news is surprising as the current Ipswich squad is not overly big and they do not have any particularly great players. However, it is thought that both Jay Emmanuel-Thomas and Micheal Chopra are on large contracts that are holding the club back in the transfer market.

When the two players were first signed by the club they had good reputations and looked as though they would be solid purchases for a Championship side. I think the club were desperate for players at the time and had more money than sense, which allowed players to negotiate good contracts for themselves at the clubs expense.

Although neither player will be considered a success at the club, JET is not causing the club as many problems as Chopra. The former Arsenal youngster isn’t paid as much as Chopra and it will be much easier to offload JET onto another club.

JET would be a useful signing for a lot of Championship sides and would only have to take a minor pay cut in order to move on.

The former Cardiff man on the other hand will struggle to find a club willing to take him. Chopra has been poor as a player and as a professional of late so I can’t see many teams that would be happy to pay anything close to what he is on at Ipswich. He has been linked with a few foreign clubs but a move abroad is unlikely as it would prevent him from visiting his young son that lives with his ex-wife.

It is an unfortunate situation for Mick McCarthy as he has inherited a squad weighed down by decisions that were made long before he arrived. Signing Chopra was a huge mistake, giving him a highly paid and lengthy contract was an even bigger one.

When Ipswich made the signing, either nobody thought about the possibility of Chopra failing as a player or they were so desperate that they decided to take a huge risk that didn’t pay off.

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Regardless, that doesn’t change the current situation. Ipswich need to somehow find a club that has a lot more money than sense to sign their dead weight before they can make any decent moves themselves. It will be a frustrating time for the fans but they will have to hope that McCarthy make it work even if nobody does sign Chopra.

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The Cardiff City Stadium boasted its largest ever crowd for the Saturday afternoon meeting with Nottingham Forrest who came into the game as the in-form team in the division, having put together a ten match unbeaten run, while all the other teams including Cardiff City had stuttered and faltered.

Even the driving rain couldn’t perturb Cardiff City supporters, who had galvanised together, after ecstasy had turned into agony for them on Tuesday night; when, with the Cardiff City faithful desperately calling for the final whistle after the five minutes of added time were up, Barnsley’s Stephen Foster deflected Tomasz Cywka’s shot past a stranded David Marshall.

The 97th minute goal equalised for Barnsley and denied The Bluebirds the win they richly deserved, it felt cruel and unjust, the old doubts and niggles started to surface, fans from Championship rivals stared the old taunts of Bluebottlers, but the Bluebird supporters and the team took it all in their stride and turned it into the their advantage by using those taunts to fire themselves up.

So with CCS buoyant, the supporters singing all the old songs loudly and proudly; the Bluebirds dressed in red and black kicked off against the blue and white wearing Nottingham Forest. Billy Davies’ side had come ready for a fight, chasing a playoff place and not ready to hand over their undefeated ten game run, but City were snapping at their heels from the off – a handful, bright and determined chasing after every ball, down the right wing Bellamy was full of tricks with able support from Taylor and Kim. The Forest defence were quickly on the back foot, all sixes and sevens after being forced to deal with several early probing and dangerous crosses.

The match was being played at a high tempo, though it was to be The Forest who created the first real chance as Chris Cohen broke into space down the left. He passed to Adlène Guedoiura on the edge of the box, who unleashed a low driven shot that brushed the side-netting – this just served to galvanise The City’s efforts and both Helguson and Bellamy fired shots just over the bar, City fans began to fear that the missed chances may prove to be costly, but they need not have worried because in the 25th minute,  Kim was brought down and Bellamy stepped up to take the free kick, an in-swinging, whipped in delivery, into the box, which was met by the head of Heidar Helguson. The Iceman coolly nodded the ball down into the bottom corner for Cardiff city to take the lead.

Nerves settled a little, but Forest kept coming and David Marshall was forced to make a superb double save, palming Darius Henderson’s shot away from goal, then scrambling back up quickly to dive at the feet of Dexter Blackstock as he tried to connect with the ball at the back-post. Henderson was then sent off for a raised elbow which on second view may have been a little harsh – a game changer.

The start of the second half saw a change for both sides with Nottingham Forest bringing on Tudgay for Majewski, while Cardiff City brought on Rudy Gestede for Helguson.

However, despite being down to ten men The Forest Reds signalled by their substitution of a midfielder for a replacement striker that they were determined to continue attacking The Bluebirds.

Things went from bad to worse for the visitors when Rudy Gestede with his foot high, caught the stooping Greg Halford in the head a sickening and worrying injury; Halford left the pitch on a stretcher to a round of applause from everyone in CCS, relieved to see he was conscious. Welsh international Danny Collins replaced Halford.

Forest continued to break and cause City problems, but they were finding it harder and harder, the spaces were starting to open up and  the Bluebirds were exploiting them at every opportunity – The Forest soon picked up a third and fourth yellow cards of the game, for niggly, silly, panicky fouls outside the box giving Bellamy a free kick  which rattled the upright with a curling shot completely bamboozling  Karl Darlow. The rebound bounced out wide, where Taylor met it quickly, whipping the ball back in and Rudy Gestede, showing perfect timing, met the ball and planted his header sweetly into the back of the net.

The Bluebirds were now dominant and threatening to cause a rout, a plethora of good chances ensued. First Kim dummied one way, then another on the edge of the box before firing towards the top right hand corner. Somehow Darlow launched himself to his right in an almost acrobatic fashion to palm the ball away, then Leon Barnett (who on Thursday had extended his loan spell with Cardiff from his parent side Norwich until the end of the season) had a far-post header fly just wide, then the impressive Kim then laid the ball off for Tommy Smith, whose powerful strike was deflected wide for a corner. Bellamy swung an excellent delivery into the box and it was Gestede who again rose highest to head the ball his effort hitting the post before going in. The Cardiff City Stadium erupted – a round of The Blues are going up rang out loud.

Then everyone thought that the superb Craig Bellamy had scored, after he latched onto an Aron Gunnarsson drive into the box from the right hand side,  drilling the ball across the face of goal to Bellamy, unmarked at the back post, but somehow with a rue smile at the celebrating Bluebird fans he had only found the side netting! Another substitution was made by Cardiff City: Peter Whittingham coming on for Jordon Mutch

City saw the game out dominating possession and keeping Forest at bay – toying with them, giving them a lesson in passing and fancy footwork, but they failed to add to their tally. Craig Noone again came agonisingly close, crashing a shot against the far post; the ball seemed to roll across the goal line and over the goal line, but the goal wasn’t given

The game ended 3-0 and the Bluebirds now just need one point from their remaining games to be promoted to the Promised land of the Top Flight which has eluded them since 1962, and just four points to be promoted as championship leaders, a feat that would see them get one over derby rival Swansea who were promoted via the playoffs two seasons ago

So, in extremely high spirits, Cardiff City and their Blue army of supporters will again pack out CCS on Tuesday night for the game against Charlton, ready to start the promotion party.

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Malky Mackay attempted to remain stoic, but allowed himself a little smile saying “I was really pleased with the way we played up until the sending off because we were up against a team who were flying,”

  Mackay continued “It can be difficult to play against 10 men, but I thought we were brilliant.” He added ”We will go into the Charlton game in the same way as we did last Tuesday against Barnsley and as we did today.

Obviously we need to see who is ready to go and who has the fresh legs, but we will make sure the players have the best preparation.”

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It would have seemed a little pointless to send glowing praise Everton’s way had they started this season in their usual manner. Slow starts, big finishes, but not quite making the grade. This season, however, David Moyes has taken his squad of players onto a new level. They should have been knocked back by the disappointment of losing another one of their products from that incredible youth system, but they soldiered on and made this a squad that can beat anyone on their day. With a rocking Goodison Park, who’s to say Everton can’t make Champions League football?

The thing with Everton lately is that everyone wants to jump on the bandwagon to praise David Moyes and his team. Iain Macintosh wrote a great piece—and fully deserving—on the unsung hero that is Tony Hibbert. It was fitting and not just a testament to some good work shown over the past month. If anything, Hibbert is the poster boy for Everton Football Club. The full-back is incredibly hard working, gets up and down the pitch without a fuss, and typifies the no nonsense attitude of his manager. Isn’t that the real embodiment of English fighting spirit?

It’s easy to talk about Marouane Fellaini as this beast of a player who can brawl with the very best and somehow manage to throw some continental style into the mix, too. But what about that ever-reliable goalkeeper between the posts? The best goalkeeper in Merseyside at the moment? Certainly the most consistent. What about that back four that can see players come in and out but maintain it’s hard working ethos? Goal-line clearances are the norm, but it once again sums up the never say die attitude of the manager and his players. And then there’s a forward line led into battle by a real predator in the box, a player who would fit right in at any of the bigger clubs in the Premier League, an absolute bargain of a buy from Rangers, and a player who should leave many, many managers and scouts wondering how they ever missed his undeniable class.

If that’s not a squad that can form a strong charge on the Champions League for next season, then what’s the point? Is this a league that has it’s mind made up in October or November like, say, La Liga? Should we dismiss Everton and what they genuinely are capable of just because it’s not really the norm? Tottenham challenging for the league title isn’t the norm, but people fancied a ride on that train for a while. Who told Chelsea they were allowed to overcome internal struggles, beat the best team in the world and see off a fantastic Bayern Munich in their own stadium to win the Champions League? It can’t be done, it really shouldn’t have been done. Shouldn’t we exercise a little caution when dismissing teams like Everton from making a real impression in the league?

David Moyes is one of the finest managers of the Premier League era in England. He could manage Manchester United one day, one day when he feels the time is right to move on. But taking him out of the Everton fold would really smack of something wholly disappointing. Why break up a project that’s been in the works for 10-years?

Wayne Rooney’s move to Manchester United should have set the club back, even with the injection of cash the player saw going in the opposite direction while on his way to Old Trafford. What about Mikel Arteta leaving last year at the last minute and with no hope or time or even cash to find a ready replacement? What does it tell you of Moyes and the great togetherness of Everton when Kevin Mirallas turns down Arsenal and Champions League football and big crowds in the capital for the blue half of Merseyside? It isn’t really a fluke or a mistake. It wasn’t when the club found Fellaini or Nikica Jelavic and snapped them up before the big guns of Europe.

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What’s the point in sports if we tell clubs or athletes that it can’t be done? This is a group of international players who are good enough to play at the pinnacle of club football in Europe, and definitely not only because there might be one spot in the top four that’s up for grabs. What kind of message will it send out to the rest of Europe about English football? What sort it message will it sent out to the rest of English football if Everton can land another Champions League place?

Everton are working to a budget, they don’t have the biggest stadium or anywhere near it. They will have to sell in order to move on, but that’s no worry, Moyes will just find another gem to add to his squad and carry on. But there are no real internal struggles at Everton, they are not dealing with players flirting with the big teams in Europe and, importantly, they’re all buying into the idea that David Moyes is selling.

James Milner says that following his Manchester City team’s domestic double this term the Champions League is their next major aim.

The Sky Blues secured the Premier League title with a last day victory over West Ham to add to their Capital One Cup success earlier this year.

Now the Citizens have won every competition available to them in England, yet success on the continental stage has evaded them.

City made it out of the group stage for the first time in their history last term, but were sent home after a two-legged defeat to Barcelona.

Milner – who has been a solid performer under both Manuel Pellegrini and Roberto Mancini – now has his sights focused on Champions League silverware:

“We have won two trophies this season and I came here to win trophies. I want to contribute to the club as much as I can and help us move forward.” He is quoted by the Daily Star.

“The next thing we need to win is the European Cup. I have been lucky enough since I have been here to win every domestic trophy – so that is the next one.

“If you look at everything City are doing on and off the field, they are a massive club in every way.

“You just have to look at how the club has expanded, the players that we have, so it has to be the next step.

“It was disappointing to go out to Barcelona this season but, had things been slightly different, you never know.

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“We beat the European champions in their own back yard. It shows we can do it.”

City are expected to spend again this summer to attract big name players, even with the prospect of a hefty £50m fine due to a suspicion of breaching Financial Fair Play rules.

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Paris St Germain boss Carlo Ancelotti has ruled out any big money signings in January as he is happy with his talented squad.

The former Chelsea manager has been able to splash the cash since he arrived at the French capital in the summer but new signings are not currently at the forefront of his mind.

The likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Thiago Silva were bought in the summer and despite the club being back by mega rich foreign owners; it is unlikely that they will throw money around in this transfer window.

Chelsea left back Ashley Cole and England legend David Beckham have both been linked with a free move to the club which is something that Ancelotti is refusing to rule out.

Ancelotti has not dismissed the chance that PSG will do business in the January transfer window but he is delighted with his current squad and despite losing a few fringe players, he doesn’t see January as a busy time.

“We will not refuse (new signings) but we do not need other player,” Ancelotti told French paper Sport Style

“We have very good players back, middle and front.

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“Managing over 30 players is not easy.

“I already said that if players want to leave the club, we can think but today there is nothing official. Some players were asked to leave, but there is nothing official. 

England have installed Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney as the nation’s captain for the upcoming World Cup qualifying clash with San Marino on Friday night.

With Steven Gerrard injured and Frank Lampard struggling with injury and unlikely to feature, Roy Hodgson needed another skipper to call upon.

It is believed that Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart was also in the running to wear the armband against the eastern European minnows, but Hodgson has given the talented attacker the nod.

Rooney has amassed 76 caps for the Three Lions, but this will be the first time that he has skippered the nation in a competitive fixture.

The Red Devils forward has expressed his delight with the decision, and is hoping to lead his side to a win at Wembley.

“It is a great honour. I’m really proud and excited. It will be a big night for me and my family,” he is quoted as saying on Sky Sports.

“It is a big challenge for myself. I don’t know what sort of captain I am and I already speak with all the players whether it is younger or older.

“But I will try and get the best out of myself and the other players – and hopefully they can get the best out of me.

“Hopefully it will be a great result for us and I’m looking forward to the game,” he concluded.

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Steven Gerrard will most likely return to the team against Poland and retake the captaincy, as his suspension for being sent off against Ukraine will have been served.

Wayne Rooney bounced back from scoring an early own goal to score twice for Manchester United as they beat Stoke in a six-goal thriller at Old Trafford.

Sir Alex Ferguson’s side bounced back from a disappointing home defeat against Tottenham with an impressive win away at Newcastle before the international break. The Red Devil’s hadn’t lost successive games on their own turf since 2003 but must have been fearing the worst after Rooney handed the Potters into a shock 11th minute lead.

Paul Scholes, making his 400th Premier League start, gave away a free kick that was delivered by Charlie Adam and indadvertedly headed into his home net by Rooney with former United youngster Ryan Shawcross lurking behind.

Adam then forced David De Gea into a smart save and Jonathan Walters fired wide as the visitors looked to capitalise on their shock lead but were pegged back just before the half hour mark. Rooney atoned for his error to score head home his first Premier League goal of the season from a fizzing Robin Van Persie cross.

Van Persie then steered in Antonio Valencia’s centre to deservedly put United in front heading into the break extending their lead just a minute after the restart as Rooney took advantage of a napping Stoke defence to set up Danny Welbeck for his first of the campaign.

But the home sides defensive frailties were once again brought to the fore in the 58th minute as Michael Kightly bulldozed his way through four challenges before finding the net via the post to give Stoke hope of mounting a stunning comeback.

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Luckily for Ferguson and his players the visitors switched off again and Rooney was on hand to restore United’s two goal cushion and score his second of the game to ensure they stay hot on Chelsea’s heels at the top.

It’s to no one’s great surprise that Andy Carroll is injured again. Not only that, but the striker will miss the next four months, returning sometime around November, though you’d be brave to bet on that.

West Ham, in the meantime, will be in need of plugging that gap and bringing in someone who can work effectively in the Premier League until the striker’s return.

The club have already brought in Enner Valencia and Mauro Zarate, but between them they have half-a-season’s worth of experience in the English top flight. Bringing in someone already based in the Premier League should be a must.

Here is a rundown of five options to replace Andy Carroll in the West Ham squad.

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Danny Welbeck

Danny Welbeck’s future at Manchester United isn’t really in danger or any great doubt, but the striker hasn’t done enough to be a regular in the team’s starting XI, failing to hit the back of the net with the regularity that’s expected of him.

Welbeck could be the perfect short-term answer for West Ham. The England international is good enough to be a starter in Sam Allardyce’s team, with the versatility and work rate to be deployed anywhere across the front line.

Welbeck could have a good career at Old Trafford, but now he really does need to develop further as a forward. A loan move would suit all parties.

Jordan Rhodes

There are surely some who are still waiting for Jordan Rhodes to make the step up from the Championship to the Premier League.

The Scotland international has scored over 20 goals in each of his two seasons with Blackburn and very much looks capable of producing in the top flight.

West Ham will find trouble in negotiating with Blackburn, who will not want to lose their star forward. But while it is a gamble, if Sam Allardyce can land the 24-year-old, it could pay off in a big way.

Nicklas Bendtner

Nicklas Bendtner is currently a free agent after seeing his contract at Arsenal expire. The Dane hasn’t the best of reputations in England, but that’s largely due to his off-field actions.

Bendtner may have frustrated Arsenal supporters in the past, but his form for Denmark has generally been very good – and that’s what his next club will need to unlock, the consistency to perform effectively at the highest level.

The Dane would be a good signing for West Ham, provided they can get round his wage demands. Bendtner is a good footballer who, on his day, can produce far more than many of the mid-table strikers currently in the league.

Connor Wickham

Connor Wickham arrived at Sunderland in 2011 with plenty of promise, but hasn’t featured as much as many would have expected over the past few seasons, seeing a couple of loan moves during that period.

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But most would have been reminded that he still plays for the club during their stunning run of form at the end of last season, in which the 21-year-old scored against Manchester City and Chelsea.

Wickham wouldn’t be a bad shout for West Ham this summer, even as a loan signing from now until January.

Marouane Fellaini

Marouane Fellaini doesn’t look to have a future at Manchester United with Louis van Gaal now in charge. The Belgian international had a hugely disappointing season at the club last term and will more than likely be shown the door at some stage this summer.

Even though he isn’t a striker, he’d be a perfect replacement for Andy Carroll at West Ham, with experience of having played in an advanced role during his Everton days.

Fellaini ticks all the boxes of a typical Sam Allardyce signing, and if the club can get a loan move off the ground at the very least, he should be able to kick start his career, which is currently going nowhere at Old Trafford.