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West Ham United have finally picked up a win in the Premier League, as they welcomed a truly toothless Everton side to the London Stadium.

Both teams went into the game in abysmal form, and as such shared a place towards the foot of the table.

But having downed the Toffees, the Irons have now risen to 15th in the table despite plenty of teams still to play. It may not be a huge change, but it ends their barren run and allows David Moyes to start looking up the table once more.

It was a game where both sides were lacking in confidence, which translated into a nervy opening half.

However, all nerves evaporated when Jarrod Bowen stole in behind, latching onto a flick-on to lash past Jordan Pickford.

Then, just seven minutes later and before the break, Michail Antonio stole around the sliding James Tarkowski to power a ball into the box. Bowen was once again in the right spot as he ran onto it to smash home.

These would be the only two goals of the game, despite the Merseyside outfit attempting to force the issue after the restart and Emerson striking the crossbar midway through the second half.

Although many might point to Bowen as the man of the match, given his two-goal display, it was the defensive solidity that restricted the visitors to just two shots on target that truly won them this game.

Affording 68% of the ball to Frank Lampard’s side, it was Nayef Aguerd who was the busiest man in the stadium, dealing with the aerial onslaught brought on by the Blues.

His exploits alongside Angelo Ogbonna were lauded by writer Craig Morrison after the match, who wrote: “Ogbonna and Aguerd were fantastic today at the back.”

The statistics back that up, as the Moroccan was handed a 7.6 rating by Sofascore. This was only bested by the former Hull City wide man of anyone on the field.

With 71 touches of the ball, his 83% pass accuracy helped keep things ticking over despite their lack of possession.

However, it was his mammoth 11 clearances that truly stood out, as everything that made its way into his box was removed with finesse.

He paired this with five tackles, and of the 12 duels he would compete in, he lost just two. This marked a success rate of 83% as he foiled Everton on every occasion.

Bowen may win the plaudits as the match-winner, but without Aguerd it may have allowed the travelling side back into the match. 

His presence was integral in securing West Ham’s first league win since October and now allows them to truly kickstart their season – not to mention potentially saving Moyes’ job in the West Ham dugout.

Newcastle United supporters have been handed a big update on their pursuit of Everton winger Anthony Gordon.

The Lowdown: Magpies linked…

The 21-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to St. James’ Park over the last week or so as manager Eddie Howe seeks to bolster his squad mid-season.

There have been formal talks ongoing for Gordon since the beginning of this week with Howe’s Premier League top-four chasers in need of more attacking options.

The Englishman has missed training repeatedly all week, potentially in an attempt to force through his proposed Newcastle move, with Sky journalist Lyall Thomas now sharing a big update on the saga.

The Latest: Newcastle deal ‘agreed’ for Gordon…

Taking to social media, the reporter has shared news from sources and now claims a deal is fully agreed.

When referring to the Newcastle and Everton talks, Thomas explained:

“Information now from sources via several reporters filtering through to @SkySportsNews. This deal is now agreed.”

The Verdict: Big…

The winger now on the verge of joining Newcastle comes as a big boost for Howe and the Tyneside club who could make history this season.

The Magpies haven’t secured a top four finish in the top flight since 2003, and after the takeover of PIF last year, it appears they are attempting to resolve that statistic as soon as possible.

Gordon is still very young and raw but comes with huge potential given he was, arguably, one of Everton’s star players last season.

The Merseysiders avoided a drop to England’s second tier thanks in part to some of his contributions at Goodison Park – having featured in every single league game bar three over 2021/2022.

This included a winning-goal against Man United in April with pundits like Newcastle fan favourite Alan Shearer praising Gordon for his ‘fearless attitude’.

Howe could now be about to receive a welcome signing as his side bid to compete with England’s biggest sides.

West Ham United are interested in a deal to bring Calum Chambers to the London Stadium on transfer deadline day.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Mail (via West Ham Zone), who claim that David Moyes is looking to add cover at centre-back to his current Hammers squad over the final hours of the January transfer window, with the 59-year-old believed to have identified the Aston Villa defender as a last-minute target.

This would appear to back up a claim made by Dean Jones in a recent column for GIVEMESPORT, with the transfer insider also suggesting that the Irons are plotting a deadline day swoop for the 28-year-old.

“Outstanding”

While it is true that Chambers has somewhat struggled to hold down a regular spot in the Villa XI following his £8.5m move to the club back in January last year, with Craig Dawson having recently departed east London in a move to Wolverhampton Wanderers, it is not difficult to see why Moyes would be keen on a last-minute swoop for the former Arsenal defender.

Indeed, despite his lack of game-time, the £9m-rated talent still managed to impress over his 13 Premier League outings last season, helping his side to keep three clean sheets, in addition to making an average of 1.6 tackles, 0.4 interceptions, 3.8 clearances and winning 4.0 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per game.

The £50k-per-week Englishman also caught the eye going forwards last time out, hitting the back of the net once, as well as enjoying an average of 54.3 touches, making 0.4 key passes, playing 2.7 long balls and completing 35.6 total passes – at a success rate of 83% – per match.

These returns saw the player who The Independent’s Tom Peck once dubbed “irrepressible” and legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger previously labelled “outstanding” average an extremely impressive Sofascore statistical rating of 6.90, ranking him as Villa’s seventh-best performer in the top flight in the 2021/22 campaign.

Furthermore, the former England international’s incredible positional versatility is another major positive, with Unai Emery stating of the 28-year-old after a 5-0 win over Nottingham Forest in 2019: “He helped us in the training, in the dressing room and when you need him to play right-back, centre-back, left-back like tonight, and we can use him in the midfield also. His performance is starting with his attitude and his attitude is amazing.

“After that is his best position, but tonight for example I was telling him, when he was playing left back, be calm here, help and support Bukayo [Saka], give the ball to Dani Ceballos and he was overlapping a lot of times with Bukayo! He did one very good pass for the goal with [Reiss] Nelson. He didn’t listen to me!”

As such, considering his proven Premier League ability and his capability to play in a number of different positions in defence and midfield, it would indeed appear as if Chambers’ late arrival on transfer deadline day would be an outstanding deal for Moyes to pull off – especially with a Dawson-shaped hole to fill at the back for West Ham.

Tottenham Hotspur are ‘very interested’ in signing Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford this summer, according to CBS reporter Ben Jacobs.

The Lowdown: Tottenham targeting goalkeeper

Tottenham are known to be in the market for a new goalkeeper this summer, with reports claiming that they are interested in Atletico Madrid superstar Jan Oblak, while they have also been linked to Robert Sanchez and David Raya.

The Spurs hierarchy appear to be assessing their potential options between the sticks, with journalist Michael Bridge recently telling GIVEMESPORT that he thinks Daniel Levy ‘would like’ Pickford if Everton get relegated.

The Latest: Update from Jacobs

In an interview with GIVEMESPORT, Jacobs seems to concur that the Toffees going down to the Championship could increase the interest on Tottenham’s behalf.

The journalist said:“He is likely to be a highly sought-after name, especially if Everton were to go down.

“Tottenham are very interested, but Chelsea could be there as well.”

The Verdict: Get it done

Hugo Lloris has improved in recent weeks, receiving the highest Sofascore match rating of any Spurs player in the last two Premier League matches, being awarded a 8.1 against Fulham and a 7.8 against Manchester City, making a total of five saves in the latter game.

Even though the Frenchman has rediscovered his form, however, it still must be taken into account that he is now 36 years old, and it is no doubt time to start thinking about a suitable long-term replacement.

Hailed as a ‘leader’ by former Tottenham man Jamie O’Hara, Pickford has the quality to take his place, with the Englishman enjoying another impressive campaign with Everton, most recently becoming just the second man to keep a league clean sheet against first-place Arsenal this season.

The shot-stopper would arrive with a breadth of international experience, keeping clean sheets in just under half of his 50 appearances for the Three Lions, displaying that he is ready for a move to a Champions League club.

Leeds United midfielder Adam Forshaw has had another couple of injury setbacks, claims pundit Paul Robinson.

The Lowdown: Rodrigo out

The Whites confirmed on Thursday that top scorer Rodrigo will be out of action for two months with an ankle injury he sustained in the FA Cup win over Accrington Stanley.

The Spaniard was brought on by Jesse Marsch with Leeds three goals up and has since had surgery on the issue. It looks as if the forward isn’t the only player who has had an injury setback, though, with a claim emerging on Forshaw.

The Latest: Robinson’s comments

Robinson, who now contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to MOT Leeds News, claiming he spoke with Forshaw recently. He said that the midfielder informed him he’s ‘had another couple of setbacks’ and that the target will be to get fully fit before the end of the season, claiming his return to the squad will come as a ‘huge boost’.

“I saw Forshaw after the game the other day and he’s not quite fit and ready. He’s had another couple of setbacks.

“As far as he goes, it’s imperative that he looks after himself and looks after his own fitness.

“He needs to get himself right between now and the end of the season so he can elongate his career and play as long as he can.

“He’s a fantastic player to have in and around the dressing room – he’s a fantastic person to have at the club.

“Whether that’s going to be at Leeds after this season, who knows?

“It’s imperative he gets himself right and looks after himself.

“If he can be a part of the squad between now and the end of the season, it’s only a huge boost for Jesse Marsch.”

The Verdict: Exit inevitable?

Forshaw has played just 157 minutes of Premier League action this season and has had multiple injury issues in recent years. He has managed to hit double figures for league appearances just once since 2019/20, so this news may not shock some supporters.

He is out of contract at the end of the campaign, so you’d expect that Leeds, who have brought in Tyler Adams, Marc Roca and Weston McKennie in the last two windows, may decide to allow Forshaw to depart, but before then, hopefully, he’ll be in a position where he is fully fit, something that seems a long way off at this moment in time.

James Maw of The Athletic has tipped a ‘big moment’ for Richarlison in a Tottenham Hotspur shirt before the end of the season.

The Lowdown: Slow start

Richarlison joined Antonio Conte’s side last summer, costing £60 million from fellow Premier League side Everton.

The Brazilian has yet to score a league goal so far this season but has provided three assists and netted two times in the Champions League.

Spurs’ number nine impressed many at the World Cup last winter, as he hit the back of the net three times in four tournament matches.

The Latest: ‘Big moment’ prediction

Maw predicted that Richarlison will deliver a huge moment for Tottenham before the season ends when speaking to The View From The Lane Podcast.

He stated (32:48), “I still think Richarlison is gonna have a big moment in this season. I just feel like there’s gonna be a big goal or an incredible game where we remember that as being the game where it kind of started for him or he made a big contribution to a big season.

“I just have that feeling with him, he just has that kind of energy of a player who provides a big moment and we saw that at the World Cup.”

The Verdict: The talent’s there

We believe that Richarlison has the tools to be a top talent at Spurs, it’s just whether he and Conte can work out how to do that.

When he played for Everton, the 25-year-old only failed to score a double-digit tally in one Premier League season. Richarlison scored 10 league goals last season, a campaign where the Toffees narrowly avoided relegation.

One potential issue in our view is his attitude, pundit Noel Whelan labelled him as ‘babyish’ when speaking to Football Insider.

Our view is that Richarlison shouldn’t be written off so soon, as it’s still the early stages of his and will need time to settle into a new team.

Having said that, we feel there will be immense pressure on him due to his hefty price tag, so for his sake he needs to start delivering sooner rather than later.

Tottenham midfielder Yves Bissouma ‘could miss rest of the season’ after suffering his stress fracture, according to reports.

The Lowdown: Bissouma sidelined…

The Spurs summer signing has joined goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on the treatment table, requiring an operation on Friday to fix his injury problem.

Bissouma could now be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines with Tottenham explaining that a timeframe will be better understood after surgery.

The Mali international has already struggled for Premier League game time this season but it now appears Bissouma could struggle even more following this setback.

The Latest: Bissouma ‘could miss rest of the season’…

According to Football Insider, Bissouma ‘faces a battle to play for Tottenham’ and ‘could miss rest of the season’, with it believed he ‘could struggle’ to feature again this term.

The former Brighton star is facing a potential three-month absence, including rehabilitation and getting up to match fitness, a timeframe which could mean he is unavailable for the remainder of 2022/2023.

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The Verdict: Blow for Conte…

Antonio Conte will be hoping Bissouma does in fact beat this timeline given the sheer volume of competitive games remaining for Tottenham.

The Lilywhites are still competing in both Europe and the FA Cup as things stand, as well as the English top flight.

A player of Bissouma’s quality, even off the bench, would be a real asset to Conte and Spurs as they approach the business end of the season.

The African stood out as one of Brighton’s star players last season but hasn’t been able to showcase his true ability in a Spurs shirt thus far.

As the north Londoners eagerly await the results of his surgery, supporters and Conte will have their fingers crossed that he can make a swift, swift recovery.

Journalist Dean Jones has claimed Everton will avoid relegation this season thanks to the “massive threat” of Dwight McNeil on the wing.

What’s the latest on Dwight McNeil at Everton?

While the season had looked destined for disaster under former boss Frank Lampard, new manager Sean Dyche has steadied the ship with back-to-back home wins in the Premier League.

McNeil has started all three of Dyche’s games in charge – which include wins over Arsenal and Leeds United and a defeat at Liverpool – and even provided an assist in one game.

And while the club are still not out of the woods when it comes to relegation, Jones has boldly predicted that the 23-year-old winger has enough quality to help the club avoid the drop.

Speaking on Chasing Green Arrows, the insider said: “We’ve seen already that McNeil’s deliveries are a massive threat in this team. Now, the deliveries don’t always have the preciseness that they might need, but they’re going to.

“Like, once he’s right, when his radar is fully tuned in, it’s hard to beat. And I think Dwight McNeil in the rest of this season is going to be a major part as to why Everton end up staying up.” Can McNeil help Everton avoid relegation?

It’s quite the call considering McNeil has exactly had the most incredible start to life with Everton. Indeed, he has two assists and two goals in 24 appearances across all competitions in his debut season.

However, he may be given a boost as he is now working with his former boss. Indeed, the duo worked together at Burnley and Dyche has coached the winger 142 times – so he’ll certainly be familiar with his manager’s tactics and style of play.

In that period, McNeil scored seven goals and provided 18 assists, so he’s not exactly prolific but is a steady performer and if he can kick on at his new club, perhaps he can be key in helping the Toffees pick up vital wins.

As things stand, Everton are two places and one point above the bottom three so there’s plenty of work still to do when it comes to avoiding relegation.

But perhaps the ex-Burnley duo can help salvage the season.

Manchester United defeated Barcelona last night in what was a match that proves Erik ten Hag is the man ready to bring back the glory days at Old Trafford.

Down 1-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate as the second half got underway, United showed a resilience that hasn’t been displayed since the days of Sir Alex Ferguson to finally prevail through to the next round and this will give the Dutchman major confidence that they can end their six-year drought for silverware.

With the EFL Cup final against Newcastle United to come on Sunday, that drought may come to an end sooner rather than later, although he may have to tinker with his starting XI ahead of the tie.

Marcus Rashford was uncharacteristically poor last night, taking just 30 touches while having just two shots the entire evening and they were both off target, yet it was striker Wout Weghorst who once again, underperformed in a United shirt.

How did Wout Weghorst play against Barcelona?

Statistically, he wasn’t United’s worst performer on the night, that goes to Rashford who received a Sofascore rating of 6.1/10 and having scored 15 goals since Christmas, the Englishman is entitled to have the odd game where he is below par.

Weghorst’s 6.3/10 rating via Sofascore summed up his time at the Red Devils so far – ineffective.

His game only comprised the first half, as Ten Hag hooked him at the break in order to bring on Antony, who changed the side’s attacking dynamic and added some much-needed urgency.

The Dutchman took just 12 touches in 45 minutes, which was 20 fewer than David De Gea, who had 32 during the tie, it shows how little he offers in a central role.

Weghorst only completed two passes during the match while winning just one duel from eight contested, having zero shots or attempted dribbles, and losing possession seven times.

Overall it was a dreadful performance and writer Kyle Bonn even described him as “useless” following his abject display.

It is a testament to just how well-drilled Ten Hag has gotten this United side that they can still perform well despite having passengers like Weghorst on the pitch.

Of course, the tide turned when he was substituted but ahead of the cup final on Sunday, a solution will need to be found that limits his game time so as to not destroy the Old Trafford side’s trophy ambitions.

Journalist Aaron Stokes has claimed he could see Newcastle United cutting their ties with kit manufacturers Castore very soon.

The Lowdown: Newcastle making moves off the pitch

It has been well-documented that Castore has made numerous mistakes when it comes to delivering suitable merchandise to Newcastle fans since supplying the club’s teamwear – and that may well cost them their contract.

There have been reports and suggestions that a return to Adidas could be on the cards now that Newcastle are pushing at the right end of the table and looking to make moves both on and off the pitch.

However, it will likely be difficult for the club to negotiate their way out of the current contract with Castore as it’s not widely known how long the deal is set to last, with Newcastle claiming it was a ‘multi-year deal’ when it was announced in July 2021.

The Latest: Castore could be coming to an end

Stokes dropped an exciting take on the Loaded Mag YouTube channel, claiming he could see a scenario where PIF can cut their ties with Castore in the not-too-distant future.

He said: “I think you only have to look on social media to see how many problems they’ve had with this deal. Peter Silverstone – who’s come in at the club as the new chief commercial officer – very, very good partnership with Arsenal when he was at that club [with Adidas], so you can easily see why the links are there.

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“I wouldn’t be too surprised if they did end that [Castore] deal early.”

The Verdict: PIF looking to take the next step

While Newcastle’s progress on the pitch has been clear for everyone to see, the work they are doing behind the scenes is perhaps going unnoticed, and providing fans with a more reliable kit manufacturer in the form of Adidas would be a huge step in a positive direction.

Having a lucrative deal with a major brand like Adidas, which currently provides kits for five other Premier League clubs, could have a transformational knock-on effect on Newcastle’s fortunes.

For example, the German apparel brand’s deals with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United are thought to be worth around £75m per season. In contrast, the Magpies’ current Castore agreement only rakes in about £5m annually. Therefore, it is easy to see how Newcastle could use such a tie-up to their advantage on the pitch.

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards has recently reported that Yasir Al-Rumayyan has been on Tyneside recently to conduct performance reviews with senior members at the club to see how he can help keep the club progressing.

If Newcastle wish to do so and earn a spot among the country’s elite, they will have to ensure they get things such as kit manufacturers and sponsorships right, as that is how they start to globalise as a club.