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As we have previously reported, La Liga's Real Betis are actively pursuing the signing of former Arsenal striker Luca Perez who has failed to establish himself at West Ham following his £4.5 million summer move.

The Emirates FA Cup fourth round sees West Ham United drawn to face AFC Wimbledon, Hammers have already faced Wimbledon at their Cherry Red Records home this season, having played them in the second round of the Carabao Cup in August. Manuel Pellegrini's men won on the day with goals from Issa Diop, Angelo Ogbonna and Javier Hernandez.

There was a 'touch of the Di Canio' when Hammer's manager Manuel Pellegrini decided to 'hook' Marko Arnoutovic just a few minutes in to the cup tie against Birmingham City at the London Stadium. 'Arnie' had scored within two minutes but then fell quite heavily, when he got back to his feet he did the usual Arnoutovic grimace, he always looks as if he is carrying a knock! In this instance, whether he was crying wolf or not, Arnie found himself being 'hauled off' by his manager, who obviously had the slight matter of a crucial home game against Arsenal in a week's time on his mind.

That paragon of virtue Stan Collymore has briefly come down from his seat high up on Mount Olympus in order to chuck his two pennies worth regarding the price charged by West Ham for match day mascots. No one emerges with much credit from the situation, least of all West Ham, but for a well known beater of women to come out spouting such hypocrisy beggars belief!

Adrian San Miguel and Andrew Thomas Carroll share today as their birthday, both made a rare starting appearance in the 2-0 FA Cup victory over a very strong and well drilled Birmingham City side who, under the guidance of Gary Monk, were definitely not at the London Stadium just to make up the numbers.

West Ham United: Adrian (c), Antonio, Diop, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Rice, Obiang, Diangana, Nasri, Xande Silva, Arnautovic Subs: Fabianski, Cresswell, Coventry, Snodgrass, Felipe Anderson, Lucas Perez, Carroll
Birmingham City: Camp, Harding, Morrison (c), Dean, Colin, Mahoney, Gardner, Kieftenbeld, Maghoma, Adams, Jutkiewicz Subs: Trueman (GK), C.Gardner, Lubala, Scarr, Lakin, Otabor, Dacres-Cogley

No one exactly knows, has known or seems they will know what has occured between young Hammers star Reece Oxford and his manager Manuel Pellegrini, once tipped to be the brightest star to emerge from the 'famous' West Ham Academy, Reece has seen his career go backwards. The 6'3" just turned 20 year old can play as a centre half or in midfield, but his debut as a sixteen year old which saw him dominate the Arsenal players during a 2-0 away victory for the club seems an awful long time ago now.

On the back of an incredibly busy December and a very busy January, Hammers manager Manuel Pellegrini will be forced to 'shuffle his pack' ahead of this Saturday's early FA Cup tie against Championship high flyers Birmingham City at the London Stadium. The need to rest his squad will have to be delicately balanced between the need to progress in what realistically is the only trophy available to the club, a good FA Cup run can revitalise a club and it's fanbase.

West Ham: Fabianski, Zabaleta, Ogbonna, Diop, Cresswell, Snodgrass, Obiang, Rice, Anderson, Carroll, Arnautovic Subs: Adrian, Noble, Nasri, Masuaku, Perez, Antonio, Diangana
Brighton: Button, Duffy, Dunk, Montoya, Bernardo, Stephens, Gross, March, Propper, Murray, Locadia Subs: Steele, Bong, Kayal, Bissouma, Andone, Knockaert, Balogun

Fresh from topping the Premier League list for the most expensive 'mascot experience', Hammers are earning another unenviable top of the pile listing, namely as the team with the most injuries to their first team squad. Although Pablo Zabaleta and Robert Snodgrass stand a decent chance of making the match day squad, the rest of the players on the list have a ways to go before even being considered for inclusion in to the first team, Fabian Balbuena, Javier Hernandez, Jack Wilshere, Ryan Fredericks, Andrily Yarmolenko, Carlos Sanchez, Winston Reid and Manuel Lanzini.