West Ham United forward Javier Hernandez should consider a move to Newcastle United if they come calling amid claims by the Press Association that a striker is on the top of Rafael Benitez’s wishlist.

What’s the word?

Hernandez had a frustrating first season at the Hammers as he was farmed out wide to accommodate for Marko Arnautovic.

The Mexico international, who has 106 caps for his country, is much more effective through the middle, and he may have an opportunity to win back that position under new manager Manuel Pellegrini.

However, the club have recruited seven new signings already in the transfer window, and the arrival of Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko could complicate things for Hernandez.

There is every chance that the former Manchester United attacker will be used up front with Arnautovic and Anderson either side of him.

Although, he could be push out of the side completely if Pellegrini opts to use Yarmolenko in a 4-3-3 position alongside Arnautovic and Anderson.

Why should Newcastle be an option?

As mentioned, the Press Association has claimed that a striker is the number-one priority for Benitez.

Dwight Gayle and Joselu failed to impress last season, so any new hitman that comes through the door at St James’ Park is likely to be the focal point of attack.

Hernandez will get his desired position if he joined the Magpies, but be may also be involved in a relegation battle.

There is a sense of uncertainty at the club due to the lack of transfer funds from club owner Mike Ashley, which in turn has poured doubt over Benitez’s future.

If game time is a major priority for Hernandez, then he should certainly be open to a move if Newcastle come calling, and it would be an opportunity for him to reignite his floundering Premier League career.

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According to The Daily Mail, Everton’s new director of football Marcel Brands is in Barcelona to continue transfer negotiations for defenders Yerry Mina and Lucas Digne.

What’s the story?

With new boss Marco Silva likely to play with three central defenders and then wing-backs on either flank, the Mail reports that forward-thinking Digne is seen as the Toffees’ long-term replacement to Leighton Baines.

The 25-year-old is valued at £13.5m by Transfermarkt and has played 46 times for Barcelona, scoring two goals and providing three assists since his move from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer of 2016.

Silva made his first signing of the summer recently, with Brazilian winger Richarlison arriving from Watford for an initial £40m. However, with Baines now 33-years-old a replacement for the Everton stalwart will be high on the new boss’s wish list.

Galloway loan

If Digne were to sign for the Merseyside club, he would surely come in as first choice at left wing-back with Baines acting as his deputy. This would mean that 22-year-old Brendan Galloway would surely be available for a loan deal to any willing clubs.

West Brom boss Darren Moore currently has Kieran Gibbs as his only recognised left-back in his squad and a return to the Hawthorns, where Galloway spent time on loan during the 2016/17 season, could suit all parties.

The Zimbabwe-born former England U21 international only featured five times under Tony Pulis in his time with the Baggies and also struggled for game time last season while on loan with Sunderland. However, if he can find the form he showed when breaking into the Everton team as a youngster he could be the perfect signing for Moore’s start to life in the Championship.

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When a new manager enters the fold, personnel within the team is expected to change.

Marco Silva has taken time getting his squad together at Everton, but he has finally made some moves by bringing in attacker Richarlison and left-back Lucas Digne.

It has been widely suggested that the Merseyside outfit could also do with a new centre-back and perhaps a defensive midfielder.

The Liverpool Echo stated as much, and in the piece they claimed that Muhamed Besic could be heading towards the exit gates.

The Bosnian, who is valued at £4.5m by Transfermarkt, has struggled for game time over the last few seasons, but has impressed during pre-season.

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Besic can play as a centre-back or right-back, but his main position is in defensive midfield.

Judging by these latest reports it seems that Silva is not entirely convinced by the 25-year-old’s ability, and could dip into the market for a new face.

The reaction from Everton fans on Reddit has been mixed.

Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.Comment from discussion The Echo claims Besic is expected to be out and we are looking to bolster CB and DM ranks.

It used to be Liverpool and Manchester United. That was the one; the bitter, unmissable rivalry than ran for decades rooted in fierce tribalism, entitlement, and geographical difference.

The managers hated one another and the players responded in kind. The fan-bases loathed the other as an enemy, indeed as ‘other’. It was personal, nasty and downright horrible, which is precisely why the rest of us tuned in enthralled every time they clashed.

That was then, though. That’s now in the past. When the ‘M62 derby’ plays out these days it inevitably ends in a sterile draw, while a minority section of both fan-bases chant despicable taunts across the ground. It is now hatred purely for hatred’s sake; a re-enactment of a time when their coming together was meaningful.

It feels like a broken marriage, where the couple forgot to get divorced and now spend their time bickering about who didn’t put the plates away twenty years ago.

Frankly, Liverpool and Manchester United as a rivalry has incrementally descended into a predictable and tiresome string of familiar insults.

With each taking it in turns to be fading forces a vacuum existed, creating a need for fresh antagonised conflict over and above local derbies with all of their local, petty point-scoring. So it was that Liverpool went after Chelsea hard, viewing them as ‘plastic’ and everything they stood against as the clubs kept on being paired up in Europe.

This was entertaining for a while, it has to be said. There was John Terry and Steven Gerrard on the pitch. Off it Chelsea were all swagger and spouting anti-Scouse cliché, while the Merseysiders enshrouded themselves in authenticity. They were passionate, historic and ‘real’. Chelsea were not.

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Before we proceed further you may notice that all three examples of non-derby rivalries involve Liverpool and they deserve an enormous amount of credit for that. Sincerely. Football is flashy and hyperbolic but also anodyne at heart and it needs the electric pulse of conflict to thrive, to exist and too rare that is.

Anyway, back to the rivalries and Liverpool and Chelsea that doesn’t really thrive anymore. Liverpool fans hate Chelsea fans, of that there is no doubt, while Chelsea fans will forever sing of Stevie G’s slip. It still feels passe though. Of its time. It’s as dated as New Labour v Tory.

Thankfully there is a new rivalry on the block and better yet it’s one only recognised by one side. That’s a new twist and the best and bitterest of rivalries need twists.

When Manchester City and Liverpool contested the 2013/14 league title, neck and neck the whole way and each scoring so many goals they can both claim to have elevated that season to an entertaining height, City fans only viewed Liverpool with the same degree of hostility they had always reserved for them. By which it’s meant there was nothing exaggerated in their feelings towards their title rivals. Not especially.

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But by the time the teams faced off at Anfield near the end of the campaign Blues were beginning to resent the media’s trumpeting of Liverpool’s ‘fairytale’ season. Clearly one club was being portrayed as the big bad spenders, the other as the plucky ‘authentic’ underdog, and it was a romantic misnomer being swallowed wholesale by Reds. Even at this early stage City were being groomed to be Chelsea’s replacement as the embodiment of ‘plastic’ from one half of Merseyside.

The game happened to fall on the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough tragedy and with City – a few idiots aside of course – having always stood in allegiance with Liverpool over the abhorrent injustices that followed that awful afternoon, it was no surprise to see visiting fans to Anfield impeccably observe the minute’s silence and hold aloft a huge banner that stated their kinship on the matter.

It was pretty shocking, then, when the rest of Anfield booed the City players every time they touched the ball for the ensuing ninety minutes. When Yaya Toure hobbled off injured the crowd cheered loudly. After the game a coach containing City supporters – after their team had lost incidentally – was stoned, causing serious damage.

That lack of appreciation felt like a kick in the teeth that day, which brings us neatly to Sadio Mane’s dangerous lunge that connected squarely with Ederson at the beginning of last term.  It was a high boot that resulted in the City keeper being stretchered off unconscious and the Liverpool striker seeing red. The Reds also saw red, blaming Ederson for, well; you’ll have to ask them what for. All that can be stated for certain is that Liverpool supporters, in the absence of all logic, feel immensely resentful of the incident.

So is that why Liverpool fans hate City? Again, you’d have to ask them, but the response may well be mired in denial. For their sincere claim is that the rivalry between the two clubs is one manufactured by City fans, to make the three times Premier League champions more relevant by attaching themselves to a club that has never won the Premier League.

Their refusal to acknowledge a very modern rivalry is made all the stranger when the Champions League first leg of last season is considered. For Blues it was a huge game of its own merit. For Liverpool it was hyped up to ridiculous levels, to good versus evil, with the good incidentally smashing up City’s team bus so badly a replacement was required to get them home.

So that’s where we all stand right now. City are the new Chelsea. Plastic and obsessed with Liverpool. Liverpool, meanwhile, are obsessed with smashing up coaches while wholly believing they are somehow virtuous and pure in comparison to the rest of modern football.

It’s a rivalry that is only set to worsen as both team challenge for the league this season. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing depends entirely on your point of view.

Everton have been handed a timely injury boost ahead of their Premier League clash with Southampton on Saturday.

The Toffees will be looking to build on a positive start to life under Marco Silva this weekend after they were held to a 2-2 draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers and it appears that the man that starred in that fixture will be available for their next game.

According to Ben Dinnery, who is a freelance injury data analyst, Richarlison has been passed fit to face the Saints, following a slight calf problem.

The Brazilian, who joined Silva at Goodison Park from Watford this summer in a big-money deal, started life as an Everton player in fine fashion last weekend.

Richarlison managed to score a brace on his debut against Wolves and Everton will be hoping he can continue that fine form and help the club to take the three points from Southampton.

The Verdict:

Everton will be delighted that Richarlison has been deemed fit for the clash with the Saints after he picked up a calf injury.

There was a sense of surprise when the Toffees spent as much as they did on the 21-year-old, however, if his debut for the club is a sign of things to come, he will be an important player for the team.

Everton will feel more confident of securing a result with the midfielder in the team, however, Silva will know Southampton will prove a different kind of test to the one that Wolves provided them.

Everton fans – thoughts?

According to The Express, PSG are preparing to make a £100 million bid for Tottenham Hotspur’s Christian Eriksen before their summer transfer window closes at the end of this month.

What’s the story?

Whilst the English transfer window has now shut, the market remains open in Europe, meaning that foreign clubs are free to try and prise players away from English sides until August 31st. 

Spurs could become a victim of this extended European buying period, as PSG look set to launch a huge bid for Eriksen.

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The Danish playmaker is yet to renew contract terms with the North London club, despite an offer apparently being on the table. This state of affairs could encourage the French giants in their pursuit of the talented 26-year-old.

If Eriksen continues to refuse Spurs’ contract offers and pushes for a move away from the club, then chairman Daniel Levy may be forced to cash in on the man valued at £72 million by Transfermarkt.

Whilst Spurs would obviously prefer to keep hold of Eriksen, they should already be preparing a contingency plan for the midfielders’ exit. A list of potential successors to the Dane ought to be drawn up by the club, and James Rodriguez should be at the top of it.

Perfect replacement 

The departure of Eriksen would inevitably bring significant funds to the Tottenham coffers. Mauricio Pochettino needs to ensure that the money for the Dane’s replacement is spent wisely.

£100 million ought to be enough to convince Real Madrid to permanently part with James Rodriguez, who is currently on loan with Bayern Munich.

The Colombian – also valued at £72 million by Transfermarkt – could transform the Spurs attack. The 27-year-old would replace Eriksen’s technical ability and creativity from an attacking midfield role, and he would also maintain the goal threat currently posed by the Tottenham man.

Despite his huge talent, James appears surplus to requirements at the Bernabeu. Whilst Spurs would have to wait until January to strike a deal for the midfielder’s signature, if they have already lost Eriksen by then they shouldn’t hesitate to make their move. 

Heading into Monday’s showdown with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United feel like a club on the cusp of crisis. To some extent, that fear always seems to revolve around Jose Mourinho in one form or another, but United’s 3-2 defeat to relegation battlers Brighton on Sunday offered up eerie comparisons with the Portuguese’s catastrophic implosion at Chelsea, while a divisive and debasing power struggle with matchday captain Paul Pogba continues to rumble on.

One flicker of kinetic energy could be all that’s needed to set the seemingly toxic atmosphere at Old Trafford ablaze, and a loss to a key divisional rival at home would certainly provide that spark.

Amid such a backdrop, United’s defeat to Tottenham at Wembley last season suddenly takes a refreshed relevance – not least because another on bank holiday Monday, this time at Old Trafford, will inevitably heap the pressure on a manager who appears to have made enemies amongst the fan base, the dressing room and even the board.

It would also significantly dent United’s chances of not only challenging for the title this season, but even finishing inside the top four – something that worryingly feels so far from a formality, even though it should be considering the money United have spent, after an underwhelming performance against Leicester and an utterly disastrous display at the Amex Stadium last time out.

Mourinho will point to that game as a precise example of why he insists this United side continue to play with the handbrake on despite entering his third term at the helm. On the last day of January 2018, the Red Devils boss set out an ambitious and offensive side at Wembley; deviating from his usual 4-3-3 setup, Jesse Lingard took up the No.10 role in front of Nemanja Matic and Paul Pogba, the England international flanked by Anthony Martial and new signing Alexis Sanchez.

For all intents and purposes, that’s three goalscorers ahead of two offensive-minded midfielders, ahead of a single anchorman in Matic.

But within seconds, United were already undone as Christian Eriksen netted in under a minute. Phil Jones failed to win a header cleanly – something Mourinho will point to as justification for his insistence on bringing in a top-class centre-back this summer – but the Dane and Dele Alli’s runs from midfield weren’t picked up either.

The England international scuffed the ball into Eriksen’s path and the playmaker converted from point-blank range to instantly put United on the back foot at Wembley. Tottenham’s second goal in the 28th minute, meanwhile, a Jones own goal that once again highlighted the lack of truly elite personnel at the back, seemed to put the game beyond doubt before it had truly got going.

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Mourinho’s eventual reaction came surprisingly late from a manager once famed for making a triple substitution within half an hour, but the effects were devastating nonetheless. Having proved so positionally ill-disciplined in deep midfield alongside Matic and spent much of the match being out-muscled and outclassed by Mousa Dembele, Mourinho hauled off his world-record signing to replace him with Marouane Fellaini, a far more rudimentary midfielder but one the United boss seems to trust that little bit more.

Tellingly, Fellaini only lasted seven minutes because he wasn’t fit, at which point he was replaced by Ander Herrera, but Mourinho felt the risk was more worthwhile than keeping the most expensive acquisition of his career and United’s commercial posterboy on the pitch.

It was by no means the start of the Mourinho-versus-Pogba narrative, but it was nonetheless a moment that amplified the divisions in perception. Whereas some questioned why the costliest midfielder of all time couldn’t put in a disciplined performance in a deeper role away from home, many pointed the finger at Mourinho’s tactics, accusing him of trying to put a leash on a talent that thrives from the freedom to be inventive and failing to get the best out of a player who looked so exceptional at Juventus.

From that moment on, it has always felt as if there are two mutually exclusive schools of thought amongst United fans and pundits – Mourinho’s pragmatic, conservative thinktank and Pogba’s movement for individual self-determinism.

We’ve now reached a point where the gap between those two ways of thinking are so vast that there’s no common ground left to build a bridge on, and even if there were it’s been meticulously picked apart by Mino Raiola, Paul Scholes and any of the other talking heads who seem to only drive further divisions through a fractious United camp.

The Red Devils’ backline hasn’t improved either – in fact, the makeshift full-backs have only grown older and the underwhelming centre-backs have only seemingly lost confidence – and thus, the style of play hasn’t evolved to appease the ever-expanding contingent of disillusioned supporters.

From conceding in the opening minute to hauling Pogba off with half an hour left to play and even the full time whistle that marked Sanchez’s completely anonymous debut – tellingly, his second mention in this article comes in the last paragraph – all the underlying pressures at United seemed to surface that day against Tottenham.

Seven months down the line, none of those issues have really been solved and the Red Devils once again face the prospect of a defeat that will highlight their many shortcomings.

This time though, rather than simply exposing fundamental flaws, a loss could soon prove to be the beginning of the end of Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford.

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It’s not exactly most loved cup competition in English football, but you have to admit, the Carabao Cup is full of talking points.

Whether it’s the ridiculous attempts at making each round draw even more farfetched, the dwindling attendance numbers or the inevitable squad rotations, the league cup, in a way is great value.

This week was no different as we saw the first wave of Premier League clubs enter the draw in the second round.

What followed saw us be entertained by 62 goals, four upsets, last minute winners and one hilarious own goal, take a look through our gallery of the moments you likely missed on a busy midweek of Carabao Cup action.

Snodgrass Photographer Issues

With his side looking for the all important third goal in the game, Robert Snodgrass was insistent on having the perfect run-up for his corner taking. Unfortunately for him, one particular cameraman kept getting in the way!

After telling him to move a number of times, the photographer attempted to swivel on his seat, what followed left the crowd in hysterics.

The poor photographer was left embarrassed as  he swivelled right off his chair and into the advertising hoardings, right in front of the West Ham away support.

Harry Campbell Save

After Burton Albion goalkeeper Stephen Bywater was forced off injured in the first half, 22 year old Harry Campbell came off the bench to make his first appearance for the club.

With the Brewers 1-0 up, Campbell was a very busy man in the second half as he kept out a desperate Aston Villa.

But in the 89th minute it looked like all his hard work would come to nothing as the away side were awarded a penalty. But as Albert Adomah stepped up, Campbell had other ideas and became an Albion hero by denying the forward twice, as he deflected Adomah’s rebound over the bar.

Steve Bruce Anger

It is no secret that Aston Villa have a big squad, so unsurprisingly Steve Bruce made nine changes to the team that started the previous weekend’s Championship game.

After those players went on to lose against Burton Albion, Bruce’s post-match interviews saw him question them, in a scathing attack.

He told cameras that the players he picked had been knocking on his door asking to play, but after that performance they “really haven’t done themselves any favours at all.”

A Saido Berahino Goal

After 913 days without one, Stoke City striker Saido Berahino finally got himself on the scoresheet as the Potters progressed to the third round by beating Huddersfield 2-0.

The 25-year-old’s drought has been widely reported, especially as just before it started, the former West Brom man was prolific in front of goal and had been pushing for a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Cardiff Out

Neil Warnock and Cardiff City’s early season woes continued as they bowed out of the competition with a humbling defeat at home to Norwich City.

Although it was a Premier League side being knocked out by a Championship one, it was expected with Norwich being in a run of good form against Cardiff who haven’t scored a league goal yet.

Christian Fuchs Goal

Leicester’s fears of suffering a cup upset were almost immediately cured thanks to an incredible hit from left-back Christian Fuchs.

Almost a carbon-copy of Gareth Bale’s wonder strike against Stoke City in 2010, his foot connects with the ball above his head!

A Bonatini Goal

Not as a long a drought as Saido Berahino, but Leo Bonatini ended his own period without a goal against Sheffield Wednesday on Tuesday night.

The Brazilian netted his first goal since December 2017 as the Premier League side edged of their hosts 2-0.

Leeds Lost

Marco Bielsa has made a brilliant start to his tenure as Leeds boss, with four wins and a draw in the Championship so far, but on Tuesday he suffered his first defeat, at home to Preston.

Despite the visitors being down to ten men for 60 minutes, Bielsa’s men couldn’t turn around their 2-0 half-time deficit.

Rangers fans in the Transfer Tavern have been somewhat despondent in recent times after seeing their side suffer a narrow defeat in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

Steven Gerrard’s men went into their clash with bitter rivals Celtic off the back of drawing 1-1 with Ufa to book their place in the group stages of the Europa League, thus returning to the group stages of European competition for the first time since 2010. Yet the Gers were unable to record their first victory over the Bhoys in six years in going down 1-0 at Parkhead on Sunday, with Olivier Ntcham’s strike proving to be the difference between the two Scottish giants.

As such, there have been many despondent Light Blues fans up and down the country in recent times, although several have taken to Twitter recently to express their delight at the signing of defender Gareth McAuley.

And those Rangers fans are absolutely right to show their delight at the addition of the former West Brom centre back, as the arrival of the Northern Ireland international could prove to be a masterstroke.

Ultimately, the Gers shipped more goals than any other side in the top seven of the Scottish Premiership last season to underline just how much work needed doing in the defensive ranks over the summer, work Gerrard has set about doing.

The likes of Connor Goldson and Nikola Katic have made the move to Ibrox to bolster that department, but the departure of Bruno Alves and David Bates has left the Gers somewhat short of cover in that area, not to mention a slight lack of experience.

Yet the arrival of 38-year-old McAuley will go some way to solving both of those problems, given that the defender has over 200 appearances at Premier League level to call upon, alongside the fact that he was playing, and indeed excelling, in the top tier little over 12 months ago.

The Northern Irishman made the move to the Hawthorns back in 2011 and went on to appear 227 times for the Baggies as they slowly but surely became an established top tier club, prior to their surprising relegation from the Premier League last season.

And McAuley certainly played his part in their steady finishes in the top-flight, be it in his own box making telling blocks and clearances, and indeed in the opposition’s in scoring six times for the Midlands outfit during the 2016/17 campaign.

Thus, it’s clear that the 38-year-old knows what it takes to deliver the goods at a top level, and with over 500 club appearances and 78 international caps under his belt, the addition of the defender could prove to be a masterstroke, which is why Rangers fans are absolutely right to be delighted with his arrival.

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

Some Liverpool fans would have taken a big interest in the news involving Dele Alli this week.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder withdrew from the England squad after picking up a minor injury during the Nations League 2-1 defeat to Spain.

Gareth Southgate will not have the 22-year-old available for Tuesday’s friendly against Switzerland, but it seems that he will be fresh for Saturday’s Premier League clash against Liverpool.

While speaking to the assembled media, the England boss insisted that Alli’s injury is not a serious one and is unlikely to hamper the player’s ability to feature against the Reds.

The news has not come as a huge surprise to Liverpool fans, with some suggesting that Alli’s withdrawal was tactical by Spurs.

The midfielder is now less at risk of picking up an further injury, and he also has an extra day to prepare for the showdown at Wembley.

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Liverpool are heading into the clash with a 100% record having won all four of their league fixtures, while Tottenham suffered their first defeat prior to the international break.

Mauricio Pochettino’s men were beaten 2-1 by Watford at Vicarage Road.