Today’s West Ham United roundup takes a look at the latest news surrounding the Hammers. Fans will be happy about Manchester United’s injury crisis, the club are monitoring Jack Clarke’s situation, and Winston Reid is on the comeback trail.
Man Utd injury disaster ahead of Sunday
Report: As per ESPN, Man United are set to be without Paul Pogba, Luke Shaw and Anthony Martial for their trip to the London Stadium on Sunday. All three have missed the last two games, with Shaw’s hamstring injury keeping him out, whilst the French stars have not yet returned to training.
Verdict: This can only be good news for West Ham. Pogba, despite his poor form, continues to be United’s main creative output bagging two assists in the four games thus far, just as Martial has netted twice and provided one assist in the three games he has played.
Ashley Young is expected to come in for the injured Shaw at left-back, which may play in the Hammers’ favour. Young has been a weak link in United’s side over the past year, and the 34-year-old has averaged just 0.3 tackles per game in his three Premier League outings this season.
Club ready to pounce on Clarke
Report: As reported by the Express, Tottenham Hotspur are poised to bring back Jack Clarke, who is on loan at Leeds United, with the Lilywhites set to immediately loan him back out. West Ham, amongst other Premier League sides, are keeping a close eye on the 18-year-old’s unhappy time with the Yorkshire club and are ready to pounce should he become available.
Verdict: Clarke burst onto the scene last season with Leeds winning the Young Player of the Year after bagging two goals and four assists in 22 Championship appearances. The teenager has returned to Elland Road on loan this season having signed for Spurs on a permanent basis, although, he has not yet been involved in a squad for a Championship fixture and has appeared just twice for the Whites in the League Cup.
Clarke may not boast the best goalscoring record as of now, but at 18, winning the Young Player of the Year for Leeds is both prestigious and proof of how important he can be. Indeed, the Hammers are certainly not lacking firepower on the wings this year, with Felipe Anderson and Andriy Yarmolenko both starting the season in great form. However, Clarke could certainly come in as an alternative.
Reid set for U23’s test
Report: As reported by the Evening Standard, centre-back Winston Reid is set to play for the Under-23s as he steps up the recovery from a knee injury. The 31-year-old has been out of action since March 2018.
Verdict: Reid would be a welcomed addition back in the West Ham squad after he proved his importance time and again for the Hammers prior to his injury. Since 2012-13, when Reid became a regular at the back, he has averaged a performance rating of a 7 or above, and also won the Hammer of the Year in 12-13.
Despite Issa Diop and Angelo Ogbonna building a decent partnership this season, the New Zealander will certainly come back into the setup and provide admirable backup if one of them were to be sidelined.
