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Lyon have joined all the other teams in Ligue 1, except PSG, in preparing a fire sale of nearly half their first team squad, 18-year-old attacker Rayan Cherki and former Leicester City striker Islam Slimani are both to be made available for transfer as Lyon desperately try to balance their books by starting their sale ahead of what could well become a glut of clubs wishing to hawk their wares to the 'rich' clubs in England.

Without wishing to put the commentator's curse on proceedings, Premier League clubs will be excited by the prospect of signing Ligue 1 players as a result of the continuing impact of the failed TV deal, but will have to act quickly. One player who became available due to 'Frogate' was Stade de Reims’ Boulaye Dia, unfortunately Villarreal CF snapped him up, which has however meant that Luuk de Jong has fallen down the pecking order and has 'expressed an interest' in leaving the Europa League winners.

One by one Hammers transfer targets seem to be slipping through the club's hands as the transfer window enters it's last 11 days, but just like the limbs of lizards, geckos and iguanas, rumours about transfer targets simply grow again as soon as the old ones die!

There have been so many players supposedly on Hammers radar that fans must be feeling like air traffic controllers, as they sieve through endless drivel about targets 'linked' with the club. Interesting expression 'linked', it can be used ubiquitously in order to mask a multitude of nefarious information, it usually preceeds this well known phrase which is taken from the West Ham hierarchy's coat of arms "Habent, habere possent, ut".

It is pretty obvious to most fans that Hammers transfer business, if any, is going to be conducted on or around the last day of the transfer window. It really will be a 'last turkey in the shop' situation, except this is the summer window, but the jeopardy remains the same.

Tottingham or at least their agents, phone tappers included, seem to know an awful lot about Hammers transfer targets. Perhaps the Hierarchy at the London Bowl should organise a security sweep for hidden devices, after all it's not unheard of for a bit of 'sneak listening to be sanctioned by certain parties is it?

Nigel Winterburn's name is synonimous with Arsenal football club, which is enrirely understandable given that he played nearly 500 games for the Gunners, however he also played 94 games for West Ham after joining the club in 2000 before eventually retiring in 2003.

Hammers recruitment, or lack of it, is a continuing bone of contention among the majority of fans, the need for an additional striker, centre back and central defensive midfielder is as blatant as a tapped call instigated by Daniel Levy! Having been 'linked' with a plethora of players from many different clubs for each 'vacancy' the club have as yet overtly appeared to have done very little as the transfer window closure looms.

The Pai(n) 'wash your dirty linen in public' attempted take over of West Ham United had one major flaw that most Hammers fans saw through almost straight away, the use of the Ferdinand name! Now Sir Les is a QPR legend, even after his big money move from what was then called Loftus Road, his little Porsche could regularly be seen in one of the prized parking lots outside the ground as he revisited the club that made him.

Hammers overcame the club's six year opening Barclays Premier League voodoo with a resounding, albeit hard fought, 4-2 victory at St James' Park. The home team, roared on by a packed 50,000 crowd of Geordie supporters, bossed the 1st half for significant periods, they snatched their opening goal courtesy of who else but Irons nemesis Calum Wilson.