Transfer notebook: Julen Lopetegui has two games to save West Ham job, Chelsea eyes two Premier League strikers
The future of Julen Lopetegui's West Ham is likely to depend on the outcome of next week's third FA Cup round trip to Aston Villa, talkSPORT understands.
Lopetegui is under pressure again after Sunday's 5-0 win at home against the Premier League leaders Liverpool.
Despite having a former Chelsea boss Graham Potter As he waits in the wings for several weeks, Hammers chairman David Sullivan remains reluctant to sack the Spaniard.
However, the next two games, away from home against the champions. city of manchester Saturday and the Villa Cup tie are seen by many inside the London Stadium as key for Lopetegui.
West Ham finished ninth last season and languish in the bottom half of the table, having won just six of Lopetegui's 19 league games in charge.
Chelsea follow the Premier League duo
Chelsea They are looking at both Liam Delap and Evan Ferguson as possible new forward options.
The high-flying Blues are eager to reinforce their attacking line to ease the scoring burden of Nicholas Jackson.
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talkSPORT has been told the Blues maintain their long-term interest in Brighton and Republic of Ireland star Ferguson, 20, while Stamford Bridge scouts have eyed Ipswich ace Delap on numerous occasions this season.
A deal for either player would be difficult to reach in January as Brighton continue to rate Ferguson in the £80m to £100m range despite only scoring one Premier League goal.
goal all season.
Meanwhile, Delap is seen as key to Ipswich's hopes of avoiding relegation, while former club Manchester City have a buy-back option on his £20m summer move to Portman Road.
Saints on the march
Southampton They could have both domestic loan spots available in January with Maxwell Cornet and Lesley Ugochukwu expected to be recalled by their parent clubs.
Between them, Cornet (one) and Ugochukwu (three) have started just four Premier League games since arriving from West Ham and Chelsea respectively last summer.
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The Hammers are planning to terminate Cornet's loan to try to sell the failed Ivorian permanently.
Chelsea also have reservations about Ugochukwu's lack of playing time.
The Frenchman cost Chelsea more than £20m but only moved to St Mary's as a compensatory weight in striker Sekou Mara's move from Saints to the Blues' sister club Strasbourg.
Spurs opt for tried and trusted approach
As Ange Postecoglou watched his injury-hit Tottenham side drop two more points at home to Wolves on Sunday, it was no coincidence that the club's former transfer guru Fabio Paratici was watching from the stadium stands. Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Paratici was forced to resign as Spurs sporting director in March 2023 after being banned from football for 30 months by FIFA for his role in financial irregularities at Juventus.
However, the Italian has continued to advise Spurs on their transfer policy, being very important in the signings of goalkeeper Vicario and James Maddison In particular.
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However, the Italian has continued to advise Spurs on their transfer policy, being very important in the signings of goalkeeper Vicario and James Maddison In particular.
With Postecoglou desperately in need of reinforcements, President Daniel Levy is expected to access Paratici's contact book.
One player Paratici is already believed to have identified as a potential Spurs target is Torino midfielder Samuele Ricci.
