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West Ham: Fabianski, Johnson, Cresswell, Zouma, Coufal, Soucek, Rice, Lanzini, Fornals, Bowen, Antonio Subs: Areola, Randolph, Scamacca, Vlasic, Downes, Benrahma, Coventry, Okoflex, Ashby
City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Cancelo, Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne, Grealish, Haaland, Foden Subs: Ortega, Phillips, Stones, Alvarez, Silva, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis, Wilson-Esbrand

What is it with big tall 6'4" or 6'5" French defenders and midfielders of African descent? There is a spate of them and then, just like Policemen and Busses, there are none around when you really need them! Well true to form just as Hammers midfield target Amadou 'another one' Onana gets snaffled by rampant inflationists Everton, a similarly 'statuesque' tall French defender has emerged in the form of PSV Eindhoven's Ibrahim Sangare.

If you wondered why on earth a 20 year old would turn down a £65,000 basic wage rising to £100,000 per week from a relatively high profile club playing in the most competitive league in the World and in a massive stadium, then look no further than family!

Authur Masuaku has joined Turkish side Besiktas on a season's loan with an option to buy, Hammers will be payng 50% of 'King' Authur's wages. Masuaku's exit has intensified Hammers search for a replacement and the club
have reignited their interest in Burnley's versatile winger Maxwel Cornet after growing frustrated with their pursuit of Frankfurt's Filip Kostic.

According to a raft of media sources including the BBC, West Ham have had a bid of between £28-40 Million depending on which source you care to use accepted by Lille for Amadou Onana.

The numbers involved in the deal for the 6'5" 20 year old midfielder are staggering for several reasons, so let's extrapolate the details. As recently as the end of May of this year Onana was valued at around £9 Million by Transfer market and listed as earning as little as £5,500 per week.

RC Lens: TBC
West Ham: Fabianski, Coufal, Zouma, Dawson, Johnson, Rice (c), Soucek, Benrahma, Fornals, Masuaku, Bowen Subs: Areola (GK), Randolph (GK), Ashby, Coventry, Downes, Lanzini, Vlasic, Mubama

Much attention has been given to David Moyes' Red Bull blue print for taking West Ham forward as a club that can genuinely look to upset the established order by challenging for a top six spot on a regular basis and be there ready to pounce should another 'elite' club slip up!

"You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime, you'll find you get what you need!" so sang Mick Jagger and recently Hammers fans have been waking up to the dawn of a new West Ham transfer reality, with the club actually achieving what they set out to do! The injury to Nayef Aguerd was a big set back. but the 'flow' of players coming in has become something of a torrent since the initial 'tepid' toe dipping when the transfer window opened.

The list reads like a footballing recruitment crime sheet of an offender who will never mend their ways despite all their "I promise I will Guvnor" protestations. Perennial offenders David Sullivan and David "I was born in Green Street" Gold, aided and abetted by the patroness of the dark arts herself Lady Brady, preceded over a litany of failures which veered between the ludicrous and the unlucky, the one thing all the signings had in common was a lack of due diligence in exchange for a bargain 'once in lifetime opportunity financed on the never' mentality.

A cognitive Pyschocologist would have difficulty in understanding the wherewith alls and eccentricities of West Ham United's transfer activities if they were a person, one minute pleading poverty and the next minute embarking on wildly expensive extravagancies.