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According to The Guardian, West Ham United are willing to delay contract negotiation talks with Declan Rice until the end of the season.

As per the aforementioned report, the 19-year-old still has 18 months remaining on his current deal, but is eager to see his weekly wage rise from £3,000 to £30,000. His impressive performances so far this season could also encourage the Hammers’ rivals to offer the defensive midfielder even more lucrative terms.

Check out the video below to see Playmaker FC’s American Soccer Fan give his take on all six ‘field goals’ in West Ham v Burnley…

A pay rise would certainly reflect Rice’s value to Manuel Pellegrini’s squad, but the east London club appear to be in no mood to be bullied. Though, they are perhaps taking a risk in allowing the in-form youngster’s contract run down even further.

If Rice’s demands are not met then he may grow disenchanted at the London Stadium in which instance it could become much easier for him to be prised away by another club.

However, if it did come to selling Rice then the Irons would certainly be able to raise significant funds. The teenager’s Transfermarkt valuation of £13.5 million falls far short of his true worth when his vast potential is taken into account. If Pellegrini opted to cash in on the versatile ace, then he could expect to receive a fee in excess of £30m.

What do you think, Hammers fans, how much is Rice worth?

Chelsea’s season continued in good form this weekend with a win over London rivals Fulham.

The Blues have been in decent nick for most of the campaign and manager Mauro Sarri will be hopeful for some success as the season plays out into what’s sure to be an exciting second half of the Premier League campaign.

With the January window just around the corner, it will be interesting to see if the Blues take any action in the market, and we at the Tavern think a few new additions might well be on the agenda for the Blues.

And one man we feel would be a superb addition is recent England cap Callum Wilson, who is continuing to impress for current side Bournemouth.

The former Coventry man has developed his game to become one of the best strikers in the top flight at the moment, and it would be a big shock to not see Wilson end up at one of the so called big boys in the Premier League in the coming seasons.

Chelsea do have options up top, but lack a genuine number nine with pace like Wilson, and he would no doubt be a superb addition for the Blues if they could capture him.

Wilson has plenty of speed, excellent movement, and can finish, and there’s definitely a player there who can make a big impact at Stamford Bridge.

Blues fans, what do you think? Good signing? Let us know in the comments!

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Bournemouth fans have taken to Twitter to react after their star midfielder Lewis Cook suffered a serious, season-ending knee injury in the win over Huddersfield.

The England international had to leave the field of play at the Vitality Stadium midway through Tuesday’s victory over the Terriers, and it has now been revealed that the 21-year-old will miss up to nine months having ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Cook has made 56 appearances for the Cherries since arriving from Leeds back in 2016, becoming a key player in Eddie Howe’s side.

He can be buoyed by the sight of Callum Wilson terrorising defences and causing havoc amongst the likes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Sergio Aguero this season, as he too suffered a similar injury on more than one occasion, only to bounce back in tremendous fashion.

Naturally, fans of the South Coast club have offered their sympathies to the youngster…

Playmaker FC Exclusive: Jermaine Jenas reveals he often received racist abuse after North London Derbies – Check out the video below…

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Loads of Everton fans have been giving their verdict on Saturday’s defeat, and fans are split on the performance and future of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Everton are absolutely crying out for a proper centre forward, but could they already have one under their noses?

Calvert-Lewin started 18 league games last season and made a further 14 substitute appearances, but he has started just five times in the league under Marco Silva.

Former Wigan & Fulham man, Jimmy Bullard recently showed that he’s still got it! Check out the video below...

The lanky England Under-21 international has all the tools to become a top Premier League striker, but he just hasn’t put it all together on the big stage.

That was until Saturday, when he was arguably the Toffees’ best player in the 3-1 defeat at the Etihad.

Manchester City were two up shortly after half time courtesy of brace from Gabriel Jesus, but Calvert-Lewin got his side back in the game with a well-taken goal.

Raheem Sterling’s header then put the game out of reach, but there were plenty of positives to take from Calvert-Lewin’s display.

The 21 year-old won five aerial duels, fired three shots at Ederson’s goal, and also made one key pass.

Fans still seem split on the young forward though, and you can find some of the best Twitter reactions down below…

Injuries could force Manuel Pellegrini into the January transfer window which opens in less than a month.

The Chilean has made a decent start to life as West Ham manager after replacing David Moyes in the summer. However, injuries have taken a toll on the Hammers squad as they look to build on their reasonably good start to the campaign. Carlos Sanchez will miss the majority of the season with Andriy Yarmolenko also ruled out of the foreseeable future.

Following Marko Arnautovic’s injury which will see him miss up to a month of action, Pellegrini would be wise to bolster his forward options. Andy Carroll has been unable to stay fit in recent seasons with Lucas Perez also unreliable. The Chilean should be in the market for a new forward.

One man he should target is Hoffenheim forward – Joelinton. Valued at just £6.3m by Transfermarkt, the Brazilian has blossomed into a key player for the Bundesliga side after spending two seasons on loan developing at Rapid Vienna. Now flourishing in a starting role, Joelinton should follow in the footsteps of his countryman Roberto Firmino and make a move to the Premier League.

The 22-year-old has been in fine form in Germany, leading the line excellently, scoring an impressive eight goals and registering five assists in all competitions this season. Joelinton is a traditional target man but excels with the ball on his feet, bringing others into the game, averaging 1.6 key passes per game. The youngster also loves to beat his man, completing 1.6 successful dribbles per game, highlighting the danger he will pose to Premier League defences (WhoScored).

The Brazilian has the potential to be a star forward in England, and West Ham should do everything they can to lure him to the London Stadium.

West Ham fans, thoughts?

As January approaches so does the need for Premier League club’s to strengthen their squads as they enter the crucial second-half of the season. 

Arsenal are coming off two losses after losing to Spurs and Southampton which ended their 22-game unbeaten run. In both of those games, Arsenal didn’t play well and combined with the number of injuries, especially in defence, Unai Emery needs to reinvest into the squad in January.

According to the Evening Standard, Arsenal are tracking Legia Warsaw goalkeeper, Radoslaw Majecki.

The Breakdown

Bern Leno seems to be entrenched as the club’s first-choice goalkeeper under Emery. Petr Cech did hold the role at the beginning of the season but following his injury, Emery switched to the former Bayer Leverkusen man due to his ability with the ball at his feet.

It’s been a fairly average tenure for Cech at Arsenal. At times he’s proven to be a strong presence in goal but at others he has been a slight liability for the Gunners. His current deal runs out at the end of the season and it is yet unsure if Arsenal will offer him a new contract extension.

Cech has only made 11 appearances in the league this season and if his playing time continues to diminish he may indeed look to move away rather than staying at Arsenal.

The deal for Majecki seems to be one for the future and it could see Emiliano Martinez promoted to the second-choice position. On the face of it, it seems Cech’s career at Arsenal could well be coming to an end.

Thoughts Arsenal fans? 

According to the BBC, Ben Brereton has joined Blackburn from Nottingham Forest for a fee worth up to £7m. 

The 19-year-old had been on loan at Rovers since the early stages of the season, with the permanent deal expected to be completed in January.

The deal raised a few eyebrows at the beginning of the season, as Forest had not settled upon a striker, and it may have confused fans as to why they were willing to lose a player at such a young age.

However, from manager Aitor Karanka’s perspective, this was certainly the right decision. The Spaniard is at Forest for one reason and one reason only; to get the club promoted in as short a time as possible. He is not that concerned with developing players for the future of the club, as bad as that sounds, he just wants immediate success. It may have been a gamble at the beginning of the season to let Brereton leave, particularly with new man Lewis Grabban struggling to find his feet, but there is no denying that it was the right decision.

Grabban has gone on to take the Championship by storm, and is one of the league’s top scorers, and has singlehandedly carried The Reds at times. On the other hand, Brereton has had to settle for very few league starts, and is yet to score.

Of course, Brereton is more than ten years younger than Grabban, and clearly has a brighter future. But at present, Grabban is the better player, and Karanka is proving to be right after all.

According to French outlet France Football, Aston Villa are one of the contenders to sign promising Le Havre defender Harold Moukoudi. 

Currently plying his trade in Ligue 2, the France under-2o international is on the radar of some of Europe’s biggest clubs such as German giants Borussia Dortmund. The 21-year-old is clearly a hugely promising player, and would be an unbelievable coup if The Villans were able to bring him to Villa Park.

Now it is no secret that Aston Villa desperately need to strengthen their defence this January, as it has been their Achilles heel so far this season, particularly the centre-back position. This has seen the likes of midfielder Mile Jedinak and fullback Alan Hutton occupy the vacant position, to not a huge amount of success. The arrival of Moukouki would be a quantum leap in the right direction for The Lions.

Moreover, if Dean Smith were able to beat a club of the status of Borussia Dortmund to the 6ft 3 defender’s signature, it would be a clear signal of intent from Villa that they are not only focused on securing promotion back to the Premier League, but becoming a force in the top division again, with a young team with a very bright future.

This would be a brilliant signing for so many reasons, and one that Villa should go all out to secure. Not only would it go a long way in creating a much more resolute defence, but it is a statement signing that shows Villa have a great future.

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Derby County fans have reacted with shock to Marcelo Bielsa’s explosive press conference on Wednesday.

The Argentine manager admitted to spying on Frank Lampard’s training session prior to Leeds beating Derby 2-0 on Friday.

And, in a hastily arranged press conference on Wednesday, he then went one step further by admitting that Leeds have spied on every single team they have faced thus far this season.

Leeds, of course, are top of the Championship, four points clear of second-placed Sheffield United.

Derby, meanwhile, sit sixth, 11 points further back, but within the play-off places.

Indeed, Bielsa claims to have watched every single game the club played last season, and even showed waiting journalists a PowerPoint presentation detailing Derby’s tactics.

He said, per the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Why did we do that? Because we think this is professional behaviour. It’s to try and avoid being ignorant about the competition we’re playing in.”

And County fans have now called on the Football League to impose sanctions on the Argentine and the club after his amazing admission.

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Michy Batshuayi’s loan deal with Valencia has been cut short after the Chelsea outcast failed to establish himself at the Mestalla, and now Everton have been tipped to swoop for the 25-year-old.

The Belgian international saw his career stagnate upon his arrival in England back in 2016, but usurped all expectations when he joined Borussia Dortmund for the second half of last season. The move looked to have worked wonders for Batshuayi’s chances back in the Premier League.

It turned out not to be the case, however, and once again the former Marseille man is looking to impress out on loan. With that in mind, Football FanCast consider the potential consequences of Everton winning the race to land his signature…

Check out Neymar’s controversial new haircut for 2019 and Xherdan Shaqiri as you’ve never seen him before in the video below…

Finally replacing Lukaku

It may be one and a half years since Manchester United signed Romelu Lukaku from Everton for £76.2million, but the Toffees are yet to adequately replace the Belgium international.

Cenk Tosun, Sandro Ramirez and Wayne Rooney were all signed with the money received, but none managed to really establish themselves at Goodison Park.

Rooney swiftly headed for the exit door after a year, while Ramirez was shipped out on loan after only managing to score a single goal in England. Tosun, meanwhile, stuck around but has been a fringe player under Marco Silva.

Should he land Batshuayi, even on loan, Marcel Brands would finally solve this problem position for his head coach.

A change of formation

While potential club-record signing Richarlison was brought to Merseyside as a winger, the lack of a potent striker has seen Silva shift the Brazilian into the middle and he flourished at first.

The 21-year-old may have found the net less frequently in recent weeks, but with fellow summer signing Bernard and former Arsenal mainstay Theo Walcott often underperforming, the possible arrival of Batshuayi could signal a change of formation to include two strikers sitting ahead of Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Both Batshuayi and Richarlison have shown throughout their careers that they are great at linking with teammates, taking on defenders and scoring goals, while Sigurdsson excels when creating chances behind a mobile forward – so why not make it two?

Challenge for Europe

For all of Silva’s hard work the Toffees are currently short of Europa League qualifying Arsenal, who sit pretty on 41 points.

That could soon change, however, if a top-draw talent were to arrive at Goodison Park, with the clubs currently ahead of Everton all showing weaknesses that need addressing and the Toffees offering arguably the best squad outside the so-called top-six.

Arsenal, in particular, have shown a magnitude of flaws since their remarkable unbeaten streak came to an abrupt end in December away to Southampton, and the Gunners will likely leak further points before the rot is stopped.

With Batshuayi up front, Everton would have the firepower to make some serious ground on Arsenal and the rest of the Europa League hopefuls.