Wigan manager Roberto Martinez believes midfielder Mohammed Diame will be a threat to his team when West Ham visit the DW Stadium.
But Martinez has backed his players to concentrate on their own performance when the clubs meet in the Premier League on Saturday.
Diame left Wigan in the summer to join newly promoted West Ham, with Sam Allardyce overseeing a major revamp of the east London side s squad.
The 25-year-old has impressed since joining the Hammers, a factor that hasn t gone unnoticed by Martinez who plucked him from Spanish Second Division obscurity in 2009.
You look at West Ham, and you have to say that their recruitment over the summer was really powerful and of the highest quality, he said.
You re talking about players like Andy Carr…
Stoke City have been reportedly monitoring the progress of Blackpool s Alex Baptiste ahead of a possible transfer bid in January.
Tony Pulis s Stoke went down 4-0 at home against Chelsea on Saturday, but had previously only conceded seven goals at the Britannia Stadium all season.
The prospect of signing Baptiste presents a good opportunity to bring in one of the best defenders outside the Premier League at good value.
Baptiste will be a free agent at the end of the season and as of December had not begun talks about a new deal at Bloomfield Road.
Baptiste was picked up for 5,000 pounds from Mansfield Town in 2008 and has become indispensable to the club after making more than 150 appearances since then.
Meanwhile, Blackpool are reportedly close…
Andres Iniesta sees Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti as his ideal replacement at Barcelona, according to Blaise Matuidi.
Verratti put in a sublime performance in PSG s 4-0 Champions League win over Barcelona at the Parc des Princes last week and Matuidi has claimed Iniesta was thoroughly impressed with the Italy international during the game.
When Verratti was down on the ground with an injury, I told Iniesta that Marco was his successor and he replied that he thought the same, Matuidi told France Bleu.
Iniesta is an extraordinary player. He is getting a bit older now, but the things he does are amazing.
He is just coming back from an injury and he will return to top form for the return.
We are fortunate to have his suc…
Real Madrid are readying a fresh bid for Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea, .
The Spain international was strongly linked with a switch to the Bernabeu in the summer, though the move never materialised with the shot-stopper eventually signing a new four-year deal at Old Trafford.
Now, despite previously saying that they will not return for the twenty-five-year-old, the La Liga giants are considering a new offer for the end of the season.
De Gea moved to Manchester in the summer of 2011 and is closing in on two hundred appearances in all competitions for the club while internationally he has been capped seven times for his country.
Prior to his arrival in England he spent two years in Atletico Madrid’s first team and he could now be set to r…
Theo Hernandez has completed a transfer from Real Madrid to AC Milan.
Milan have paid a reported €20million for the 21-year-old, who has signed a five-year contract at San Siro.
Theo joined Los Blancos on a six-year deal from city rivals Atletico Madrid in 2017 but made just 23 appearances in his maiden season at Madrid, before joining Real Sociedad on loan for 2018-19.
With Madrid having signed left-back Ferland Mendy from Lyon, Theo – whose brother Lucas left Atleti to join Bayern Munich on July 1 – has been deemed surplus to requirements.
129 completed 129 dribbles in the last three La Liga campaigns, more than any other defender in the competition. Slalom.
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo)
Following Theo to Milan could be Empoli mid…
Jurgen Klinsmann will lead Hertha Berlin as head coach until the end of the season after the Bundesliga side parted company with Ante Covic.
The capital club announced the change in the wake of a 4-0 defeat to Augsburg that left them hovering precariously above the relegation places.
Klinsmann has Bundesliga experience with Bayern Munich on his resume but has not held a coaching position for three years.
The former Germany boss, a top-class striker in his playing days, was sacked by the United States in November 2016 after failing to secure qualification for the 2018 World Cup.
We would like to thank for all his hard work and his love for the team that he has shown not just as head coach, but over the entirety of the last 20 years.
— Hertha B…
Neymar has returned to training ahead of Brazil s World Cup last-16 tie with South Korea and will feature if he gets the green light from the team s medical department.
Brazil s talisman has not featured in Qatar since the Selecao s opening Group G game a 2-0 win over Serbia.
Neymar went off in that match having sustained an ankle injury and was unavailable for the rest of the group stage.
The 30-year-old posted images from his return to training on social media on Saturday, along with the caption I feel good, I knew that I would now , and it was confirmed in Brazil s pre-match press conference that Neymar will be available as long as he comes through a session unscathed on Sunday.
I feel good, I knew that I would now
— Neymar Jr (@neymarjr) <…
Liverpool striker Diogo Jota believes that he and his team-mates can still catch Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table despite losing further ground in the title race.
The Reds fell to a shock 1-0 defeat at Leicester City on Tuesday, before Man City overcame Brentford by the same scoreline on Wednesday to extend their lead, now eight points ahead of second-place Chelsea and nine ahead of Liverpool, albeit having played a game more than Jurgen Klopp s side.
The defending Premier League champions have dropped just 10 points in their first 20 games this season, but Jota insists that Liverpool can close the gap between now and the end of the season.
There are still a lot of games. Obviously there is a gap now between us and them, the Portugal int…
AC Milan manager Stefano Pioli hinted Christian Pulisic could be utilised as a false nine during Friday’s game against Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
The former Chelsea forward has scored twice in his first two Serie A appearances and could be deployed in the position in the capital.
Milan will be without fellow summer-signing Noah Okafor who is recovering from injury though Samuel Chukwueze and Yunus Musah who also arrived during the summer will be available “from the first minute.”
Ciao Christian!
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
Pioli’s side lead the early Serie A table after beating Bologna and Torino in their opening games, and will open up a three-point lead on champions Napoli with victory against Roma, for at least 24 hours.
Of Pul…
Leeds United thumped Norwich City 4-0 in the second leg of their Championship play-off semi-final to seal their place at Wembley.
After a goalless draw in the first leg left it all to play for at Elland Road on Thursday, Leeds turned on the style in front of a raucous home crowd to cruise into the final on May 26.
Ilia Gruev settled the majority of Elland Road s nerves with just seven minutes played as he caught out Angus Gunn with a long-range free-kick, curling into the space vacated by the Norwich goalkeeper s expectation of a cross.
Joel Piroe then doubled the hosts advantage 13 minutes later, again capitalising on poor goalkeeping to beat Gunn to Wilfried Gnonto s cross and nod home.
The tie was effectively over five minutes from half-time, Georginio…