Up The Hammers – Latest West Ham United FC News

Latest updates as West Ham travel to The Emirates Email nick.ames.casual@theguardian.com | Tweet: @NickAmes82 Live scores: keep up with all today’s matches Follow Preston North End v Middlesborough – live! 12.30pm BST Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Jacob Steinberg on Arsenal: Arsène Wenger describes himself as a natural optimist. Arsenal’s manager is the romantic who always believes in a better tomorrow and when he was asked whether his squad is strong enough to …

Read the full story

Petr Cech to Arsenal, Raheem Sterling to Manchester City, Bastian Schweinsteiger to Manchester United … the movers hoping to become shakers * denotes loan deal Continue reading…

Read the full story

Jacob Steinberg looks at the Hammers’ state of play going into 2015-16. Upton Park will be retired at the end of this season, and new boss Slaven Bilic will be looking to give it a decent send-off. They wobbled in Europa League qualifying, but with the likes of new signings Angelo Ogbonna and Dimitri Payet raising the bar, and Bilic’s fiery persona, expect fireworks on and off the pitch Continue reading…

Read the full story

It’s not always the big-name arrivals who steal the limelight, so here are five who haven’t broken the bank but might prove to be excellent value for money Raymond Domenech, the former France coach, believes West Ham “are not enough” for a midfield creator who shone for an exciting Marseille side last season. At 28 the man born on the Indian Ocean island of Réunion appears near his peak. Responsible for numerous assists, he proved…

Read the full story

• Astra Giurgiu 2-1 West Ham United (4-3 agg) • Budescu 32, 36; Lanzini 3 Slaven Bilic watched from the stands as his Europa League gamble ended with West Ham United going bust and crashing out to Astra Giurgiu on Thursday night. The manager left a host of first-team players at home before this tie, despite the fact it was hanging in the balance following a 2-2 draw at Upton Park a week ago. Continue reading…

Read the full story

• BBC documentary claims club is effectively getting venue rent free • ‘We are more than paying our way,’ say West Ham A significant amount of West Ham’s running costs at the Olympic Stadium will be paid for by the taxpayer once the Premier League side move into the venue next year , according to a BBC documentary. The documentary alleges a number of facilities and services at the £700m…

Read the full story

Today’s tittle-tattle has still never been offered a free coffee in Pret A Manger The problem with spending £49m on a player who has yet to achieve very much is that the rest of the world’s clubs tend to notice. And so, if you’re a club such as Manchester City and have recently bagged Raheem Sterling for that kind of fee, then Wolfsburg aren’t going to flog you Kevin De Bruyne for less then £50m. …

Read the full story

• Consultant says: ‘He will be available for selection within 10 to 12 weeks’ • Forward needed oxygen before being carried off in Europa League West Ham will be without Enner Valencia for up to 12 weeks and the club admit there remains a possibility he may yet require an operation. Related: West Ham 2-2 Astra Giurgiu | Europa League third qualifying round match report Continue reading…

Read the full story

Newcastle need a return on Ashley’s commitment; Sunderland expect trouble; anticipation is high at Swansea; Watford look to the obvious from their Uruguayan centre-back and Spurs want Lee Marvin leading their Dirty Dozen A new head coach, new backroom staff and a new commitment from Mike Ashley to back the team with cash … this has been a summer of change after all the stagnation. Steve McClaren wasn’t first choice with many fans, but he was probably the most experienced…

Read the full story

• Ecuador striker sustained injury in 2-2 draw with Astra Giurgiu • Valencia set to see specialist consultant on Monday morning West Ham striker Enner Valencia suffered an apparently “significant” injury to his right knee and right ankle in the Europa League clash with Astra Giurgiu, the club have announced. The Ecuador forward was starting his first game since returning from the Copa America, but was stretchered off with a potentially serious knee injury before half-time. Continue

Read the full story

• West Ham 2-2 Astra Giurgiu • Valencia 23, Zárate 51; Boldrin 71, Ogbonna 82 og Slaven Bilic could hardly believe it. For an hour, almost everything went according to plan. West Ham United led 2-0 thanks to excellent goals from Enner Valencia and Mauro Zárate and they were producing their most convincing performance so far under their new manager. The football was bright and inventive, the Upton Park crowd happy. However, an evening that had promised …

Read the full story

Roberto Martínez faces a difficult start, and has yet to seriously strengthen his squad, as he looks to prove that his disappointing second season was a blip Guardian writers’ predicted position: 8th (NB: this is not necessarily Andy Hunter’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips) Last season’s position: 11th Continue reading…

Read the full story

• Birkirkara 1-0 West Ham (1-1 agg; West Ham win 5-3 on penalties) • Hammers had James Tomkins sent off in first half Ten-man West Ham needed a penalty shootout to see-off a spirited Birkirkara effort and progress into the Europa League third qualifying round after toiling in the Maltese heat. A 1-0 defeat and disappointing second-leg display meant the Premier League side needed penalties to go through, although the …

Read the full story

• 22-year-old signs from United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira • Argentinian midfielder is nicknamed The Jewel West Ham have signed the Argentinian midfielder Manuel Lanzini, the club co-chairman David Gold has announced. The former River Plate and Fluminense player Lanzini, 22, joins from the United Arab Emirates club Al Jazira. Manuel Lanzini an attacking midfielder has today signed for West Ham United. He’s nicknamed “the jewel” dg pic.

Read the full story

The nine-year long saga has included Boris Johnson encouraging Tottenham’s rival bid, high court appeals and West Ham’s deal collapsing at one point Just over a year after London wins the right to host the 2012 Olympics, the organising committee selects a consortium to design and deliver the stadium in Stratford. Continue reading…

Read the full story

Photographer Andy Hall is granted exclusive access to the 2012 Olympic Stadium as it is converted into a new ground for West Ham Owen Gibson: how football came to the Olympic Stadium Continue reading…

Read the full story

• West Ham handed potential tie against Inverness Caledonian Thistle • Aberdeen set to play Kairat Almaty of Kazakhstan or Armenia’s Alashkert Southampton will face the Dutch club Vitesse Arnhem in the third qualifying round of the Europa League, while West Ham were handed a potential tie against the Scottish Premiership side Inverness Caledonian Thistle should they both progress. The Saints finished seventh in the Premier League last season and so were among the sides …

Read the full story

• England international winger joins Championship club on four-year deal • ‘He’s more than just a player’ says Boro manager Aitor Karanka The winger Stewart Downing has rejoined his former club Middlesbrough from West Ham on a four-year deal. Downing drops down from the Premier League to rejoin his home-town club, who were beaten by Norwich in the Championship play-off final in May. Related: West Ham 1-0 Birkirkara

Read the full story

• West Ham 1-0 Birkirkara • Tomkins 90 James Tomkins’ scrappy goal in the 90th minute saved West Ham’s blushes with a 1-0 win over Birkirkara in the Europa League second qualifying round first leg clash at Upton Park. With Slaven Bilic in the Upton Park dugout for the first time since his summer appointment, the Irons were expected to make short work of the Maltese Cup winners, having seen off FC Lusitans of Andorra 4-0 on aggregate in the

Read the full story

• Downing left the Riverside for Aston Villa in 2009 for £12m • No fee yet agreed between clubs, but 30-year-old keen on move Middlesbrough are close to bringing former England midfielder Stewart Downing back to the Riverside Stadium from West Ham. No fee has yet been agreed between the clubs according to reports, but discussions are believed to have progressed and there is an appetite to do a deal, meaning the 30-year-old…

Read the full story

It is almost a decade since the Italian striker shocked Liverpool with a stunning scissor-kick for Benfica but he returns to English soil on Thursday having resurfaced at the Maltese champions Birkirkara Fabrizio Miccoli was running towards 50 Birkirkara supporters rather than a 2,000-strong Benfica contingent, and the venue was a sparsely populated Republican Stadium in Yerevan rather than a throbbing Anfield, but there was less of a distinction to be made in the visceral celebrations and urge to …

Read the full story

From Arsenal’s Daniel Crowley to West Ham’s Reece Oxford, we cast our eye on the young players who could stake a claim for a place in their first teams over the next few weeks There is excitement at the club about this diminutive attacking midfielder, who turns 18 next month and ticks so many boxes for Arsène Wenger. Crowley has excellent close control and technical ability; he can pick a pass and find pockets of space and, above all, he…

Read the full story

• Full-back impressed while at Upton Park last season • ‘I’m a young player and I loved every minute of it here’ West Ham have re-signed the Arsenal full-back Carl Jenkinson on a season-long loan while at the same time he has also agreed a new long-term deal with the Gunners. Jenkinson, 23, impressed while on loan at Upton Park last season and will now return to form part of

Read the full story

• 27-year-old centre-back Ogbonna completes move to London • Was unused substitute in Juve’s Champions League final defeat West Ham United have completed the signing of the Juventus centre-half Angelo Ogbonna on a four-year deal. Ogbonna, who has 10 Italy caps, had also attracted interest from Everton but the prospect of moving to London appears to have swayed his decision. BREAKING: The Hammers are delighted to confirm the transfer of Angelo Ogbonna from Juventus http://t.co/…

Read the full story

• Lusitans 0-1 West Ham; West Ham win 0-4 on aggregate • Diafra Sakho sent off after 14 minutes of second leg in Andorra West Ham recovered from an early red card for Diafra Sakho to ease past Lusitans and advance to the second round of Europa League qualifiers. Having scored twice in the first leg , Sakho had a night to forget in Andorra after being sent off in the 14th minute. The striker will now miss the second-round …

Read the full story

• Jenkinson made 29 Premier League starts for West Ham last season • 23-year-old behind Héctor Bellerín and Mathieu Debuchy at Arsenal Carl Jenkinson is expected to seal a season-long loan return to West Ham United from Arsenal. The right-back, who was a part of the England squad at the European Under-21 Championship last month, has been chased by Southampton and Sunderland this summer. Related: Southampton eye up Carl Jenkinson in case Nathaniel Clyne needs replacing Continue

Read the full story