West Ham United are looking to improve their forward options in 2026, and their scouts have been left seriously impressed by a “tremendous” striker.

West Ham keen on new striker with Fullkrug set to leave

Niclas Fullkrug could be on the move in the upcoming transfer window, with it being revealed the German striker is determined to leave, and West Ham have no plans to stand in his way.

It is probably the correct decision to offload the Hannover-born striker, given that he has flattered to deceive ever since arriving at the London Stadium, and could now be in the latter stages of his career at 32-years-old.

Niclas Fullkrug’s goalscoring record

PL appearances

Goals

2024-25

18

3

2025-26

8

0

The centre-forward has also struggled on the injury front, having suffered two muscle issues already this season, which have meant he hasn’t started a Premier League game since the 2-0 defeat against Arsenal at the beginning of October.

Consequently, West Ham are now stepping up their pursuit of a new striker, with informal talks being held over a deal for Al-Ahli’s Ivan Toney last week, while Norwich City’s Josh Sargent has also emerged as an option.

That is according to a report from Football Insider, which reveals the Hammers have been keeping tabs on the Norwich star, and scouts have been left seriously impressed by his performances.

However, with the American contracted until 2028, the Canaries are in a strong negotiating position, and it is unclear what sort of fee the Championship side would be looking to receive.

The Irons are only willing to shell out £20m on a new forward, but there is a belief the 25-year-old could be available for a lower amount.

"Tremendous" Sargent enjoying impressive Championship campaign

The Missouri-born striker notched 15 goals in the Championship last season, and he is on course to reach a similar tally this season, having scored six goals in the second tier, while also grabbing one in the EFL Cup.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Transfer expert Graeme Bailey has suggested the USA international could have what it takes to make the step-up to the top flight too, saying: “Sargent is a tremendous player, some people remember him from his Premier League time with Norwich but he is much improved since then – he is a top centre forward now.”

Related Nuno's a big fan: West Ham hold very strong interest in "fantastic" forward

The Hammers’ plans for the January transfer window are now starting to take shape.

Posts ByDominic Lund

However, while the Missouri-born forward may have kicked on since his previous stint in the Premier League, there may be some concerns about his output in the 2021-22 campaign, netting just two goals in 26 appearances for the Canaries.

As such, Sargent, who is represented by the same agent as Max Kilman, would be a risky signing for West Ham, in what will be an important January transfer window, considering they are now three points from safety.

Lucas has been on a real journey since his arrival at Liverpool eight years ago.

Signed under Rafa Benitez, the Brazilian was lauded as the ‘next big thing’ following some fine attacking midfield showings in his homeland, and Reds fans dared to dream that they may be seeing a genuine samba star running games from midfield on Merseyside.

However, Lucas’ adaptation was slow to say the least, and as a back-up to Steven Gerrard, Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano he was a scapegoat waiting to happen for significant sections of the Anfield crowd.

However, as the years advanced he moved deeper, changing his game to develop into a controlling holding midfielder, and with this adaptation, and the club’s slide, he became a vital cog, helping to stem the flow of goals at the wrong end while adding some authority as the likes of Mascherano and Alonso left.

He’s now firmly a cult hero among Kopites, so it’s been greeted with a degree of sadness to hear that he may be on his way out of the club after a fall-out with manager Brendan Rodgers. The Northern Irishman is understood to have indicated to him that he’s fifth choice at the club behind Emre Can, Joe Allen, Jordan Henderson and James Milner, opening the door for a long talked about switch to Inter Milan.

However, even with his role limited, Rodgers wants a replacement to come in and should he delve back into the transfer market any addition would be number EIGHT this summer. So, what options remain for Liverpool?

Well, here are FIVE…

Asier Illarramendi

Although not in the same mould as Lucas in terms of his defensive midfield contribution, Illarramendi is already being touted as the most likely target should the Brazilian leave.

The Spaniard has been likened to Kop hero Xabi Alonso in the past due to his passing range and desire to dictate the play from a deep midfield role, which appears well-suited to the style of football Rodgers craves.

On top of this, Illarramendi is thought to be available with Rafa Benitez having deemed him surplus to requirements at the club, which could open the door for a move.

Sergi Samper

Another deep-lying playmaker of Spanish descent that may be of interest to the Reds is Barcelona’s Sergi Samper. The 20-year-old currently plies his trade with the Catalans’ B team, but with his age now hovering around that of a player who should be playing senior football, it appears to be ‘make or break’ for the midfielder in terms of progression.

An £8.4m release clause sits tantalisingly in the mix, and even though Barca have suggested that he’ll be considered for first-team action, it’s hard to see how he’ll fit in regularly with the likes of Sergio Busquets, Ivan Rakitic and, when available, Arda Turan just three of a host of impressive central stars at the Camp Nou. A lack of Champions League action may dissuade Samper from selecting Anfield, but regular playing time is sure to be appealing.

Thiago Motta

At the other end of the scale, both in terms of style and age, is PSG’s Thiago Motta. The Brazil-born Italy international is a burly, destruction-minded defensive midfielder, which is, typically, the sort of player Rodgers has dodged at Anfield so far.

However, at 32 he looks set to move on for a small fee, and with bags of experience from a career spent playing for sides such as Barcelona, Inter Milan and PSG – he’s won league titles with all three – he does appear to be an appealing short-term option and is unlike any player currently available on the red half of Merseyside.

Adrien Rabiot

Also at PSG, Rabiot is another potential option. The 20-year-old has been linked with moves away from Paris for much of the last few years amid fears for his first-team future, with the Ligue 1 champions well-stocked in terms of experienced and proven options in the engine room.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

---

Subscribe

By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept Valnet’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime.

Sent off in PSG’s first game of the new season for picking up two bookings within the opening 30 minutes at Lille, Rabiot may well find himself out of the action again for some time as the Parisians look for a fourth consecutive league title, and his cultured, pass-orientated style appears suited to Rodgers’ approach.

William Carvalho

Likely to be a popular name among the Reds’ fanbase, Carvalho is an appealing, if unlikely, late option for the Reds. The Portugal international has long been talked about as one of Europe’s finest emerging defensive midfielders, so a fee of close to £30m is likely to be asked for by Sporting CP.

Although Liverpool are by no means paupers, such a sum on the back of the £80m+ spend this summer – not factoring in wages and signing on fees – may be a stretch, yet if a decent fee can be reeled in for Lucas and the Merseysiders are clever with their negotiations, a deal could be possible, with Rodgers a fan of the player.

Group AAustria beat Gibraltar by six runs in Port Soif, on the first day of the European Championship Division One Twenty20. Having been asked to bat, Austria put up n 141 in 19.1 overs, mainly due to handy cameos from the lower order. Gibraltar fell just short of the target, finishing on 135 for 8, despite an unbeaten knock of 66 from 60 balls by Mark Bacarese.Italy chased down 90 in a tight game against Croatia in St Peter Port, winning by one wicket. Choosing to bat, Croatia’s innings lacked momentum, as they limped to 89 despite having four wickets in hand at the end of their 20 overs. Italy were not convincing in the chase, but sneaked home on the back of a knock of 26 not out from middle-order batsman Damian Crowley. Croatia’s fast bowlers John Vujnovich and Vivek Sharma were impressive, claiming three wickets each in tidy spells.Guernsey registered a comprehensive 10-wicket win against Norway at Castel. Choosing to bowl they shot out Norway for 57, before openers Tim Ravenscroft and Ross Kneller chased down the target in 7.1 overs. James Nussbaumer was the pick of their bowlers, knocking over three top-order Norway batsmen and conceding only seven runs in a 3.2-over spell.In their second game of the day Italy turned out an improved performance, easing past Austria by seven wickets in Castel. Batting first, Austria were bowled out for 105 in 19th over, as none of their top order were able to build on double-digit starts. Peter Petricola did most of the damage with the ball, claiming 4 for 20. Steady batting from Italy in the chase saw them through without much drama.Norway recovered well from their one-sided defeat against Guernsey to beat Gibraltar by a comfortable eight-wicket margin in Port Soif. Batting first, Gibraltar managed only 77 for 8 in their 20. Legspinner Muhammad Butt produced the best figures of the game, 3 for 13, before Norway’s batsmen clicked. Driven by an innings of 35 from 20 balls by Zaheer Ashiq, they knocked off the runs 62 balls to spare.Guernsey remained unbeaten on day one, beating Croatia by three wickets with an over to spare in St Peter Port. Chasing 98, the Guernsey top order was shaky and wickets fell at regular intervals, but a steady 34 from Stuart Le Prevost and a couple of timely lower-order cameos saw them home.Group BBelgium beat France by five wickets with two balls to spare in St Clement. Choosing to bat, France’s innings was hampered as both openers were run out. There were no sizeable contributions from the rest of the order, as they folded for 114 in exactly 20 overs. In the chase, four of Belgium’s top five batsmen got into double figures, ensuring their side began with a win.Denmark eased past Israel by eight wickets in St Martin, chasing down a target of 95 with five overs to spare. Denmark’s ploy of bowling first worked, as their bowlers shared the wickets around in tidy spells to restrict Israel to 94 for 9. The chase was steered by a fluent, unbeaten 44 from opener Freddie Klokker.A solid all-round performance helped Jersey beat Germany by six wickets in St Brelade. Choosing to field, Jersey kept Germany to 99 for 7. Only middle-order batsman Imran Chaudhry was able to launch an attack, scoring 36 off 25, before being bowled by Anthony Hawkins-Kay who claimed 3 for 13. Jersey were solid in the chase. Their top order produced steady cameos, which carried them to a win in the 17th over.Belgium won a nail-biter against Denmark by one run when last man Sair Anjum was caught off the bowling of Faisal Khaliq with two to get and three balls remaining in St Clement. Having chosen to bat, Belgium were bowled out for a modest 104. Bobby Chawla was the pick of the bowlers, taking 3 for 13. Denmark got off to horrendous start, losing half their side with only 19 runs on the board. However, a lower-order resurgence saw them fight back to within touching distance of victory, but Belgium, and Khaliq, eventually had the final say to remain unbeaten after two games.Tony Carlyon starred with the ball and Dean Martin with the bat as Jersey routed Israel by eight wickets in St. Martin. Put in to bat by Jersey, Israel crawled to 87 all out from their 20 overs, with Carlyon taking 4 for 9 in four overs. He was ably backed up Anthony Hawkins-Kay, who took 3 for 16. Martin then made sure there would be no jitters chasing the small total with a brutal, unbeaten 64 from 44 balls, laced with three fours and five sixes, to see Jersey home with eight overs to spare.An allround bowling performance helped France beat Germany by 34 runs in St Brelade. Put into bat, France managed 126 for 7, with Usman Khan top scoring with 36. Germany struggled from the start, losing wickets at regular intervals, and were bundled out for 92 in 18.3 overs. Zika Ali picked up 3 for 17, while Usman chipped in with the ball as well, taking 2 for 22.

Playing his first competitive game since March, left-arm spinner Ashton Agar celebrated his comeback by dismissing a man he admired – India Test captain Virat Kohli.Agar, who has only recently recovered from shoulder injury, was in his fourth over when he trapped Kohli lbw for 16 off 42 balls and contributed to bundling India A out for 135 in Chennai.”It was very satisfying to get Virat Kohli out,” he said. “I look up to him as a batsman. He is one of my favourite players to watch bat. So, to get an opportunity to bowl to him was great and then to get him out was even better. I was very pleased with that.”Agar, who took 2 for 23 in 12 overs, credited his team-mates for sticking to their disciplines. The plan had been to attack the stumps to make the most of the occasional up-and-down bounce in the MA Chidambaram pitch. Considering they did not allow anyone to score more than 50, and shot the opposition out in 135 overs, it was a job well done.”I think we bowled extremely well all day,” Agar said. “So, bowling to the stumps, there is variable bounce in the pitch. If one shoots low, there is a chance of lbw or bowled. If one kicks a bit you get a chance for caught behind, caught in the slips or caught in front of the wicket.There had been some resistance, with Karun Nair and Naman Ojha playing out a wicket-less second session but their 56-run fifth-wicket stand came in 197 balls. That meant Australia A felt they were never too far behind.”So, we had a plan and we stuck to that the whole time and though we din’t get any wickets in the middle session, their scoreboard wasn’t really moving,” Agar said. “So, we knew if we got two wickets quickly then they are in a lot of trouble and that’s what happened and we were able to run through the tail in the end. I think our plan went really well.”Agar then got on to grip and turn sharply past Ojha’s defences and seeing that even seamers like Gurinder Sandhu decided to follow suit. Sandhu took 3 for 25.”When the spinners were bowling, there was some turn out there. So we thought we could try our offcutters and legcutters and see what happens. It might turn and grip a little, it might hold when you play and someone tries to get a catch in front of the wicket. We just thought we could give it a go. If you don’t try, you don’t know what’s going to happen. He [Stoinis] tried a little more than I did. It worked for him last game and it worked for him this game. It was just the change up to the normal ball or the cross-seam ball.”

Neil Harvey has remembered his fellow ‘Invincible’, Arthur Morris, as “a great team man” and one of the best players Australia has produced.Morris has died at the age of 93, leaving Harvey as the sole surviving member of Don Bradman’s touring party that went through the 1948 tour of England undefeated and earned the Invincibles nickname. Harvey was 19 at the time and he said it was a great learning curve to watch Morris, a fellow left-hander, dismantle England’s attack in that Ashes series during which he was the leading run-scorer.”I learnt a lot off Arthur over the years,” Harvey told ESPNcricinfo. “I was on four or five tours with him. We got to know each other pretty well. You wouldn’t find a nicer bloke in the world: a great sense of humour, a great team man. Just one of those great fellas that you can spend a lot of time with and enjoy his company. A better bloke you couldn’t find.”He’s been one of the best players this country has produced, a left-hander of great ability. He and Sid Barnes in my opinion formed the best opening pair this country has produced, in my time anyway.”During the 1948 series, Morris was a key part of one of Test cricket’s highest successful run chases, when he scored 182 and Bradman made 173 not out in pursuing a target of 404 in Leeds. The task was made harder by the fact that the pitch was six days old (including the Sunday rest day), it had been rained on early in the match, and was providing plenty of turn for Jim Laker.”That’s probably the best partnership I’ve ever seen, the Bradman-Morris one,” Harvey said. “To go out there on the last day – not even a full day’s play, because we lost the first 15 minutes when England batted on – to get all those runs.”They didn’t really set out to win when play started on the last day. As soon as Hassett got out and Morris and Bradman got in, they pushed the runs along at a pretty fair rate. All of a sudden we guys in the dressing room said ‘we could win this’. And that’s what happened.”Harvey, now 86, also remembered the sacrifice made by Morris while they were batting together against South Africa at the MCG in 1953. Morris was run out for 99 in a mix-up with Harvey, who went on to score his fourth century of the series and finished with 205.”He sacrificed his innings for me,” Harvey said. “We had a bit of a mix-up, we could’ve been both left in the middle of the pitch. He said ‘come on’, he called me through and he went through and got run out. It was another one of his great acts as a gentleman. It was an act I appreciated so much because he didn’t have to do it. And it was my fault. He was just one of those nice guys.”Harvey was present at the SCG during this week when the Arthur Morris Gates were unveiled, although Morris himself was too ill to attend. Also at the opening was Alan Davidson, the fast-bowling allrounder who first met Morris in 1949-50 when Davidson moved to Sydney from the country to try his luck in grade cricket.”I can remember playing against him at St George,” Davidson said. “I arrived late, thank goodness, because he’d scored a hundred before I got to the ground. I got lost on a train and by the time I got to the ground, St George were about 1 for 180, Arthur Morris had made a hundred, and he got out as I was changing into my boots.”You had to see the bloke and his artistry, his ability was phenomenal. It didn’t matter if it was a fast bowler or a spin bowler. He’d go down the wicket to a spinner and pick them off. He was a magnificent back-foot player. His judgement of the length of a ball was incredible.”It was not only on the field that Morris had fine timing. Although he was naturally a quiet man, he had a remarkable sense of wit.”He had a charm about him,” Davidson said. “Everybody was endeared by him. He was not a demonstrative person, he was a quiet sort of person. But he was always good company no matter what the situation. He had incredible wit. He was once asked what did cricket give him, and he said ‘poverty’. He had a tremendous sense of timing.”

ScorecardSteven Smith was originally meant to be captaining Australia in Fatullah today; instead he made an unbeaten 143 at Bankstown Oval•Getty Images

The first day of Cricket Australia’s experiment with a seventh Matador Cup side ended with an Australian record victory for New South Wales, after Steven Smith and Nic Maddinson smashed centuries at Bankstown Oval. Set 339 for victory, the Cricket Australia XI failed to handle the class of Mitchell Starc, who picked up 6 for 25, and in their first official List A game they were skittled for 59, surviving less than half their allotted overs.The margin of 279 runs made this the biggest victory in Australia’s one-day domestic history, and the tenth biggest in all of List A cricket. The Cricket Australia XI, made up of the best young players who did not squeeze into the 14-man squads of the six states, were always going to find the step up significant against a New South Wales side that boasted 10 out of 11 players with international experience.Had Australia’s Test tour of Bangladesh gone ahead as scheduled, Smith would have been captaining Australia on the final day of their warm-up match in Fatullah today; instead he was leading New South Wales on a suburban ground in Sydney. Smith won the toss and chose to bat, and found himself at the crease at 1 for 56 after Ed Cowan fell for 21 to debutant James Bazley.Smith and Maddinson then combined for a 153-run partnership as they enjoyed the hit-out against an attack featuring four players on List A debut. Maddinson was strong driving through the off side and scored his maiden one-day century before on 108 he skied a return catch to Jack Wildermuth off a leading edge when he tried to work a ball through leg.Against what is effectively a youth side, Smith looked about as threatened as if he’d played against primary school kids, hitting to every part of the ground at will. The No.1 Test batsman in the world, Smith struck ten fours and five sixes on his way to an unbeaten 143 from 122 deliveries, and he had support in the late overs from Moises Henriques (48 off 42).If the Cricket Australia XI thought things might get easier when their chance to bat arrived, they were mistaken. Another of the world’s best – Starc is the highest-ranked fast bowler in the ICC’s ODI bowling rankings – caused them just as many problems as Smith had. Starc collected 6 for 25 from his 8.4 overs as New South Wales ran through the CA XI for 59.Alex Gregory was the only batsman who reached double figures; he finished unbeaten on 23 as the final wicket fell in the 25th over. The job was done so effectively by Starc, Sean Abbott, Gurinder Sandhu and Steve O’Keefe that Australia’s first-choice Test spinner, Nathan Lyon, was not even required to bowl.