West Ham United made heavy weather of their FA Cup third round meeting with London neighbours Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
Nuno Espirito Santo may have survived successive defeats by Wolves and Nottingham Forest. But an FA Cup exit at the earliest opportunity at home to a Championship side based a few miles down the road?
Hammers News understands that Nuno retains David Sullivan’s backing as a tense capital city derby against Tottenham Hotspur looms. But had QPR snaffled a dramatic winner at the London Stadium, even a board more patient than most could have been forgiven for feeling that the proverbial Rubicon had been crossed.
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In the end, Nuno was indebted to a wonderful Crysencio Summerville assist and a bullet Taty Castellanos header as West Ham set up a fourth round clash with Burton Albion.
Argentina international Castellanos opened his account in the eighth minute of extra time after Summerville had bamboozled his marker down the left-hand side.
It is fair to say there was to be no such drama across the Channel in the Coupe de France, as Marseille put nine goals past the minnows of FC Bayeux without reply.
Former West Ham United left-back Emerson Palmieri started on a night when Roberto de Zerbi’s free-scoring L’OM outfit racked up their biggest win since 2018. The Brazil-born Italian has now been on the winning side during 11 of his 17 domestic appearances in a Marseille jersey.
Yet, for the second time in a matter of months, 31-year-old Emerson could suffer the ignominy of being replaced by a ‘younger model’.
Former West Ham United defender Emerson Palmieri in 9-0 Marseille win
Graham Potter froze Emerson out completely during his final few months in East London. Exactly why the former boss seemed to take such a disliking to a dependable, experienced operator – Potter even promoted Ollie Scarles ahead of him – is a bit of a mystery.
In the end, West Ham sold the Conference League winner to Marseille for less than £1 million while spending nearly 20 times that amount bringing in the talented but unproven El Hadji Malick Diouf from Slavia Prague.
According to L’Equipe, lightning may yet strike twice.
Because nearly a month after reports from the Netherlands suggested that Souffian El Karouani was ‘on his way’ to West Ham from FC Utrecht, Marseille are now pursuing a deal for the soon-to-be out-of-contract left-back.
Marseille join the Hammers in Souffian El Karouani chase
At just 25, El Karouani is six years younger than Emerson. He also has 15 assists across all competitions this season – the joint-most in Europe – compared to Emerson’s one. Given that madcap former Brighton boss De Zerbi tends to give his full-backs plenty of licence to wreak havoc going forward, the ageing, increasingly defensive-first Emerson always had the feel of a short-term stopgap.
“Two weeks [before I joined Marseille], I had already given De Zerbi the ‘OK’. The clubs needed to reach an agreement,” Emerson told Calciomercato earlier in the campaign. “I was a little nervous because I was afraid they wouldn’t reach an agreement.
“But the manager and [sporting director Medhi] Benatia wanted me so much that they waited until the very end. I had this fear, because I’m a man of my word, but it wasn’t just up to me.
“Before the transfer, I spent 50 days training alone. West Ham wouldn’t lower their demands, but I kept calm because I knew Marseille were there.
“My brother’s presence [helped]. He came from Brazil to London to be with me. And when Marseille came forward, he immediately advised me to accept because it would be a unique experience.”
El Karouani open to Premier League switch but links have cooled
As for El Karouani, the extent of West Ham’s interest remains somewhat uncertain. Perhaps they have slowed down their pursuit following some impressive Ollie Scarles displays during Malick Diouf’s Africa Cup of Nations-enforced absence.
Or maybe Nuno simply has more pressing targets in other positions.
West Ham made an offer for Al-Nassr goalkeeper Bento, only to see the Brazil international push to join Genoa instead. A centre-half remains high on the list of priorities, while a replacement for Lucas Paqueta may be required.
Flamengo have offered £34 million for Paqueta, though the Hammers are holding out for £42 million.
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Interestingly, El Karouani called West Ham a ‘great club’ when the links first emerged back in December. A less than subtle fluttering of the eyelashes and an old-school ‘come and get me plea’.
“I’ll see what happens. I know what’s going on, but ultimately, I have to want it myself,” El Karouani told De Telegraaf last week. “From there, we’ll see if we can work it out with the club.
“I’m not stressed about it at all. I’ll just hear how it goes.
“First, a club has to come to Jordy (Zuidam, Utrecht’s sporting director) and reach an agreement. Then they’re happy, and then I have to reach a contractual agreement. If I’m happy then, I can leave quickly.”
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