Bilic denies Sakho spat
Our Croatian manager, Slaven Bilic has come out against recent rumours claiming that he and striker Diafra Sakho had an argument prior to the Premier League trip to Sunderland. The Senegalese striker was not part of the match day squad that travelled to the Stadium of Light, thus causing rumours of a conflict between him and the boss to spiral. Bilic was asked about the supposed row in an exclusive interview with WHUFC.com and said: “It was in the papers that I had a row with Diaf, but no, there is no rift between us. He said ‘I am only frustrated because I have a small injury and I hope to be back or the Everton game’”. It isn’t the first time rumours have arisen about Sakho and Bilic’s relationship. At the back end of last season, the prolific striker had reportedly angered Bilic, which almost resulted in him being sold to West Brom. Sakho has spent most of the season out injured, but now with his return, will the Senegal international force his way back into the first team for the remainder of the season?
Fonte issues rallying call to teammates
Portuguese centre back, Jose Fonte has directed a statement of intent to fans and teammates following our 2-2 draw in the North East on Saturday. We concede late at the Stadium of Light ensuring that we didn’t leave with the three points, but Fonte has remained positive after the disappointment and said: “Finishing in the top half of the table is obviously one of the targets we have. We can’t look down, we have to look up”. The 33-year-old has hit the heights of European success, being a main part of Portugal’s winning Euro 2016 side, coming up against fellow Hammer James Collins in the semi-final and former Hammer Dimitri Payet in the final. The former Saints man hasn’t quite managed to find his feet yet in claret and blue, only keeping one clean sheet out of a possible eleven, but the veteran defender clearly has strong ambitions to finish the season positively.
Bilic reveals Reid return
Slaven Bilic has confirmed in an exclusive interview with the club that centre back Winston Red should be fit enough to face the Toffees in the League on Saturday. The Kiwi has missed the last four League games with an abductor problem sustained in the 2-3 home defeat to Leicester City. The New Zealand captain has been a shining light in our poor defensive displays this season and is set to bolster our defensive options ahead of the visit of Ronald Koeman’s men at the weekend. There are rumours circulating that Reid may be forced to play at right back due to the suspension of Sam Byram, but one thing is for sure, the return of the former Midtylland man will certainly be a huge boost for our back four ahead of trying to deal with the League’s top scorer on Saturday.
Transfer gossip: Hammers eye Arias and Terry
Slaven Bilic has sent speculation spiralling about the future of Chelsea defender John Terry, by refusing to rule out a summer move for the former England captain. Terry confirmed he would be leaving the Blues after winning 14 major honours in 22 years at the West London club. The 36-year-old has been limited to just five Premier League appearances under Antonio Conte this season. Bilic told Sky Sports when asked about a possible move for the former West Ham youth player “Never say never. He definitely has got at least a couple of years left with his quality and experience. The Barking born Champions League winner spent four years with our academy between 1991 and 1995, but never made a first team appearance. So could the controversial defender finally be playing in claret and blue next season? According to reports in a Dutch newspaper, we are readying a summer approach for PSV Eindhoven defender Santiago Arias. The Columbian has impressed in the Eredivisie this term and is apparently open to a move to the Premier League, previously admitting that it is a personal dream of his. Bayer Leverkusen and Swansea are also reportedly chasing the 25-year-old, so we could be facing some competition to sign the centre back in the summer transfer window.
OTD-2016
On this day in 2016 we overcame Watford 3-1 at the Boleyn Ground in an eventful Wednesday night came. Andy Carroll opened the scoring for us on 11 minutes, converting a Dimitri Payet cross before two Mark Noble penalties either side of half time put us 3 up. The Hornets then hit back 10 minutes later with a Sebastian Prodl header and Troy Deeney had a fantastic late chance to pull one back, but Adrian saved his added time penalty before Watford had Nordin Amrabat sent off just minutes later. That win would help us to a 7th place League finish in the final season at Upton Park, narrowly missing out on Champions League Football in Bilic’s first season as our manager.