Vice-captain Pope said that the issue was the result of “the amount he’s pushed his body” during this series but insisted he’d be fit to bowl on Saturday

Matt Roller25-Jul-20254:14

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England played down concerns over Ben Stokes’ workload after he was forced to retire hurt for the first time in his international career in Manchester due to cramp in his left leg. Ollie Pope, Stokes’ vice-captain, said that the issue was the result of “the amount he’s pushed his body” during this series but insisted that he would be fit to bowl on Saturday.Stokes had scored 66, his highest score of the series, when he retired hurt on Friday evening, as England built a substantial first-innings lead over India. He returned after the fall of three further wickets, reaching 77 not out overnight, but appeared to be in some discomfort while running between the wickets.While Stokes was fit enough to resume his innings, the fact that he retired hurt will sound alarm bells, particularly after a heavy bowling workload. Stokes dedicated five months to his rehabilitation from surgery on his left hamstring this year and has bowled 129 overs against India, the most that he has bowled in a Test series.Related

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“I think he’s okay,” Pope said. “He’s just cramping down his leg, and it managed to spread to his whole leg. It’s probably just a build-up of the amount he’s pushed his body over the last four or five weeks. He’s obviously pushed himself to some serious limits so far, and that was probably just a build-up of it. I think he will be good to go tomorrow, I’m sure, with bat and ball.”Ben Stokes retired hurt on 66 before coming back at the fall of the seventh wicket•Getty Images

Pope has previously said that he considers helping Stokes to manage his workload to be one of his responsibilities as vice-captain but conceded: “That doesn’t always go my way.” He said: “Everyone knows what a competitor he is, and the lengths he’s prepared to push his body to get the job in hand done… There’s times where you can’t take the ball off him.”Stokes clutched the back of his left leg while playing a reverse-sweep off Washington Sundar during the evening session, and suffered cramp while taking a single off Mohammed Siraj. He briefly consulted England’s physio before batting on, but retired hurt at the end of the following over, grimacing as he walked off the field.Stokes became the second player to retire hurt during the fourth Test, after Rishabh Pant was forced off with a foot injury on the first day. Pant later returned to the crease on the second day to score a further 17 runs but was unable to keep wicket and is unlikely to feature in the fifth Test at The Oval next week.Pope stood in for England’s media duties on Friday night because Joe Root – like Stokes – was suffering from cramp, but said that Root would be fit to field on Saturday. “He just didn’t fancy the media tonight,” Pope said, laughing. “He’ll be here in the morning.”

The election commissioner announced that Mithun got 154 votes, beating Salim Shahed

Mohammad Isam04-Sep-2025Mohammad Mithun has become the new president of Cricketers’ Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB) after winning the players body’s election, held in Dhaka on Thursday. Election commissioner Iftekhar Rahman announced that Mithun got 154 votes, beating Salim Shahed who was the interim CWAB convenor since May this year. Shahed got 34 votes.”We will try to solve everything through negotiation,” Mithun said shortly after the election results were announced. “If that’s not possible, as I have come here to protect the rights of the cricketers, I have to speak for them. The BCB is our guardian. We can go to our guardian with whatever demands that we have. I hope the BCB sees those demands positively.”CWAB was established in 2004 but it hasn’t had any elections in the 21 years of existence. Naimur Rahman, the former Bangladesh captain and Awami League MP, was the CWAB president for 11 years, alongside general secretary Debabrata Paul. The pair quit their posts earlier this year, before Shahed was made the interim head of an ad-hoc committee.After many years, CWAB saw involvement from the country’s top cricketers. Before Thursday’s elections, the other positions in the executive body were filled uncontested.Former batter Shahriar Hossain is the senior vice-president while Nurul Hasan is the vice president. Najmul Hossain Shanto, Shamsur Rahman, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rumana Ahmed, Khaled Mashud Pilot, Imrul Kayes, Irfan Sukkur, and Akbar Ali are new executive committee members.CWAB is an affiliate of the World Cricketers’ Association (formerly known as FICA). It came under the spotlight when Bangladesh’s top cricketers went on an indefinite strike in 2019, and one of their demands was CWAB’s overhaul at the time. CWAB bosses Naimur and Paul promised elections, but it was never held in the following five years.

Ben Duckett set for final outing of busy summer before being rested for T20Is

Matt Roller06-Sep-2025Ben Duckett has been backed to end his international season in style in Southampton on Sunday, keeping his place for the third ODI against South Africa despite England’s decision to rest him for next week’s T20Is.England have made a single change from the team that lost by five runs at Lord’s to go 2-0 down in the three-match series, with Jamie Overton replacing Saqib Mahmood. It means that they will again be relying on Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks and potentially Joe Root to share the workload of a fifth bowler, after Bethell and Jacks returned combined figures of 1 for 112 in 10 overs on Thursday.Duckett is one of three England players – along with Harry Brook and Jamie Smith – who has featured in all 14 of their home internationals this season: six Tests, five ODIs and three T20Is. Since the start of the Hundred last month, he has only gone past 20 once in 10 innings and followed his 5 in the first ODI at Headingley with an uncharacteristically scratchy 14 off 33 balls at Lord’s.Related

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He has since spoken to Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, and reached the decision to miss next week’s T20Is, with Sam Curran replacing him in the squad. Marcus Trescothick, one of McCullum’s assistants, said that the call was designed to ensure Duckett is “firing” ahead of a busy winter schedule, which includes the Ashes in Australia followed by a T20 World Cup.”Brendon spoke to him over the last few days, trying to get a gauge of where he’s at,” Trescothick said. “You look at every situation individually and in its own way, looking at the volume of cricket they’ve played and by chatting with them to see how they’re feeling… This is the best [decision] to maximise performances going forward as we head into a big winter.”We need certain players to be firing, and Ben is certainly one of those… We need the boys firing going into November, December, January. That’s an important time. It’s not to say things aren’t important coming up, but sometimes you just have to take your foot off the gas a bit and rejuvenate the mind. Then, you can get back on the horse and crack on.”ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Duckett’s retention means that Tom Banton, the spare batter in their squad, will not feature in the series barring a late withdrawal. But he has not been released to play for Somerset in their T20 Blast quarter-final against Warwickshire on Saturday night, and will instead stay in Southampton on standby.McCullum took over England’s white-ball teams in January – becoming coach across formats – but has failed to address their slide in 50-over cricket. They have lost eight out of 11 ODIs this year, including all three matches at the Champions Trophy, and sit eighth in the ICC’s rankings after a sustained run of poor results.Eight teams will qualify for the 2027 World Cup automatically via the rankings – with South Africa and Zimbabwe guaranteed spots as Full-Member co-hosts – so England would likely have to slip below both West Indies and Bangladesh to miss out. But the mere notion of having to play in the global qualifier is a source of embarrassment for the 2019 world champions.”We’re in an interesting position where we need to climb those rankings,” Trescothick said. “Longer term, there’s a bigger picture: we need to look at being at the top of those rankings and beyond. We want to go and compete in the biggest competitions and we’ve got to be a team that has grown from where we have been to compete like we did in 2019.”The journey hasn’t been easy, of course not, but I definitely feel we’re improving and moving in the right direction even though the last two results have been disappointing… We’ve made a few changes in recent times since Brendon took over, and we feel like we’re starting to play better cricket generally.”Overton’s inclusion means he will make his first appearance for England since his decision to put his red-ball ambitions on hold took the team’s management by surprise. Rob Key, England’s managing director, said Overton’s decision was “unexpected”, but his selection for the third ODI confirms that he remains part of their white-ball plans.England XI for the third ODI vs South Africa: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Adil Rashid

“I think more about the team’s win than about my scores,” he says after scoring second first-class century

Daya Sagar20-Sep-2025Dhruv Jurel, the wicketkeeper-batter, is now a regular in India’s Test squad. But before India A’s ongoing four-day series against Australia A, he had only one first-class century to his name, that too from December 2022, when he scored 249 against Nagaland. And – guess what? – the lack of really big scores doesn’t even bother him.”Honestly, earlier it did matter to me whether my score was 100 or 150. But now I understand that the team’s victory is more important,” Jurel said after scoring 140 in 197 balls in India A’s only innings in the drawn first game in Lucknow. “In first-class cricket, I have seven-eight (he has four) scores in the 90s, which could have been centuries.”One of them was in the Ranchi Test [against England in February 2024], where I became Player of the Match and the team won the match. Cricket is a team game, and we play cricket so that the team wins. Now I think more about the team’s win than about my scores.”Related

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In Ranchi, playing only his second Test, Jurel batted at No. 7 in India’s first innings and scored 90, before scoring 39 not out in the second as India won by five wickets.Jurel, 24, first got into the India A set-up in December 2023 on the tour of South Africa. There, in the second four-day game in Benoni, he scored 69 in India A’s only innings, and was in the Test squad for India’s next home series against England. Just one-and-a-half months later, he had a Test cap to his name in Rajkot. So far, he has played five Tests – usually when Rishabh Pant hasn’t been around – including in Australia and in England, and has 255 runs and 11 dismissals to show for it.”Staying with or around the [India] team definitely gives you confidence,” he said. “I consider myself very lucky and privileged that I got the chance to play Tests for India and to be with the team. Even if you are not playing, when seniors are around. you learn so many things from them. In a country of billions, how many people get this opportunity?”Curiously, Jurel’s overall numbers with the bat have improved since he started playing Test cricket (he has also played four T20Is). Before his Test debut, Jurel averaged 46 in first-class cricket, and had one century and five half-centuries from 19 innings. Since then, his average has gone up to 54-plus, and he has one century and seven half-centuries in 18 innings. These include valuable innings for India A, and the 93 he scored for Rest of India against Mumbai in last season’s Irani Cup.”Everyone dreams of playing for India. When I got the Test cap, I realised, ‘yes, this can happen’,” Jurel said. “I come from a small city, Agra. It feels really good that I could make my parents and the people there proud. Where I come from, there wasn’t even a proper wicket. I practiced on a cement wicket. So people there should feel that no matter where you come from, you can still make it, as long as you work hard with a true heart.”India will start their home Test season next month, and play two Tests each against West Indies and South Africa. Jurel will most likely be in the squad, whether or not he gets a chance to play, which will be dependent on Pant’s fitness.”I take it one match at a time, and don’t think too far ahead,” he said. “The more you think, the more pressure you put on yourself. Right now, I played a match today, and three days later, the next match [against Australia A] is there. So, I am only thinking about the next match, and only after that will I look further.”

Everton have signed Ramiro Funes Mori from River Plate in a £9.5million deal, according to reports from the Guardian.The 24-year-old was heavily linked with a move to Goodison Park in recent weeks amid Chelsea’s continued interest in star defender John Stones, with the Argentine also being spotted during the Toffees’ clash against Manchester City over a week ago.WANT MORE? >> EvertonÂTransfer News | LatestÂTransfer NewsAnd despite Stones now set to stay at the club, Mori has signed a five-year contract until 2020 after River Plate agreed on a £9.5million fee.“When I heard about Everton’s interest, I didn’t think twice. My agent told me about this opportunity and Everton did everything to bring me over and I wanted to come,†he said.“I feel happy because the people here have shown me a lot of love and I’m very happy and comfortable here already.“I saw the people at Goodison Park and I saw they were a family and all cheering the players and obviously I liked that atmosphere.“Hopefully I can fit straight into the group, we can get along and do big things here.â€It was thought that the transfer would only cost Everton £5.5million, but it increased following paperwork and work permit issues.The Merseyside Blues have had a relatively quiet transfer market, with their biggest issue being Chelsea’s non-ending pursuit of Stones.Everton had to reject four offers for the English centre-back, with the last one a staggering £38million bid.Mori made 50 appearances in all competitions for River Plate last season, scoring six goals.

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With the international break upon us it makes for a nice point to assess the Jurgen Klopp reign so far.

The last time players were away with their countries the German gaffer was being unveiled at Anfield following the exit of Brendan Rodgers, and the seven games between then and now have given fans plenty to go on in terms of where the Merseysiders are heading.

There’s been an undeniable improvement in terms of the football being played, even if results haven’t been truly inspiring. The win – Klopp’s only three-point league haul so far – at Chelsea has been the pinnacle, and showed that the Liverpool boss’ approach isn’t all about pressing and running, and indeed – as was witnessed in the latter stages of his Dortmund reign – he can set up teams to dominate possession and push forward at the right time to take advantage of opponents’ weaknesses.

Naturally, it’s becoming clear that certain players are going to be key under Klopp, and that areas are short in terms of cover and quality. Losing Mamadou Sakho is a massive blow given his ability to pass out from the back, while Jordon Ibe is the only direct winger at Klopp’s disposal and Simon Mignolet’s errors are extremely worrying.

2016 offers the chance to make signings – both in January and the summer – and writing for the Liverpool Echo club idol Jan Molby has suggested that the his old side’s boss should make use of his knowledge of the German market.

With that in mind, here are FIVE Bundesliga stars Klopp may want to think about signing…

Timo Horn/Bernd Leno

The goalkeeping situation is sure to be at the forefront of Klopp’s mind going into January. There’s an argument to suggest that Mignolet alone has cost Liverpool at least three points already through gaffes in the draw with Norwich and the loss against Crystal Palace, so his lack of decisiveness at set-pieces is far outweighing his excellent shot-stopping ability.

German football is currently in a purple patch for producing goalkeepers, with Manuel Neuer by far the best glovesman on the planet, and beyond him there are numerous options, too. Koln’s Horn has been aligned with the Reds of late, with a £6.4m release clause mightily tempting ahead of January given that the 22-year-old has been earning rave reviews in BuLi action for a while.

However, Leno may be an even better choice, with the Bayer Leverkusen man more experienced at the top end of his division and a player that has been in and around the German international set-up of late.

Leroy Sane

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Very much a ‘new kid on the block’ in German football, Sane is currently one of the hottest young talents around. Liverpool have been heavily aligned with him of late, too, suggesting that a 2016 raid is on their agenda – either in January or the summer.

Klopp is known to appreciate wingers with pace and a direct nature to their game, but he currently only possesses one option of that mould: Jordon Ibe. Sane, 19, would give the German another choice and allow him to set up effectively to counter-attack, while Sane’s own potential means that he’s likely to be worth a great deal in terms of selling on eventually, which Liverpool’s owners will appreciate.

Both would certainly be upgrades on Mignolet.

Neven Subotic

A favourite of Klopp and linked with a move to Liverpool to join the German manager before he’d even officially taken over at Anfield, it would be no surprise to see the Serbian targeted in January despite the tactician’s suggestions that he will not raid Dortmund for his ex-players.

Subotic followed the 48-year-old from Mainz to BVB and performed exceptionally well alongside Mats Hummels during the club’s Bundesliga title wins in 2011 and 2012, which shows he’s a player that knows what the charismatic coach demands from his stars.

Subotic may be able to come in and help the Reds stem the worrying level of goals going in at the wrong end and improve in terms of defending from set-pieces, which has already cost the club at least three points – a draw at home to Southampton and a loss against Crystal Palace – since Klopp’s arrival.

Subotic could also be open to a deal with the 26-year-old having only featured once in BuLi action this term under his new manager, Thomas Tuchel.

Shinji Kagawa

A controversial one and, perhaps, a deal that won’t be doable until at least the summer, Kagawa is a player who has long been associated with Klopp.

Sold to Manchester United, the Japan international had a difficult spell in English football, and the now Anfield manager put that down to the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson, David Moyes and Louis van Gaal failing to use him correctly… which is given bulk by the fact he’s been sublime at Dortmund during both of his spells – he re-signed for BVB from the Red Devils.

Some Liverpool fans will not have forgiven Kagawa for pulling on the shirt of their bitterest of bitter rivals, but he’s ideally suited to Klopp’s game and is technically excellent – imagine an attacking midfield three of the Asian ace, Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino!

With five assists already this season in league action it’s clear to see that the 26-year-old possesses the spark somewhat missing from the Merseysiders’ play – James Milner is the current creative king in red with only three.

Lars Bender

Lucas Leiva has re-emerged as one of the lynchpins of the Liverpool XI despite being on the verge of leaving just a few months ago, reaffirming the importance of a defensive midfielder at Anfield.

The Brazilian is currently the only genuine enforcer in the centre of the park available to Klopp, and with his Dortmund side characterised by one creator and one destroyer in the anchoring roles, he’s likely to be keen to get another body in. At BVB the 48-year-old coached Sven Bender, but his twin, Lars, of Bayer Leverkusen might be more tempting.

The BayArena star is, arguably, a little more refined than his sibling in terms of approach and his physicality may make him more useful than Lucas, whose lack of pace and agility is becoming a slight issue – arguably he should have been red-carded in the win at Chelsea with the scoreline at 1-1.

It was billed as a close-knit encounter between two London rivals separated by just one position in the Premier League table, but on that front Tottenham Hotspur’s clash against West Ham didn’t quite deliver.

No doubt, it was a relatively entertaining match with enough goal mouth action to quench the thirst of most Premier League neutrals. But there was only ever one side really in the game as Spurs took all the local bragging rights in a 4-1 win.

Harry Kane bagged a brace, opening the scoring in the 23rd minute and following on just after half-time, whilst Belgium international netted during the intermittent period by heading home a swerving corner from Christian Eriksen and Kyle Walker put the final nail in the coffin on the 83rd minute – a rifled effort into the top corner of Adrian’s net.

West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini, meanwhile, secured his side a consolation goal with five minutes remaining.

But the 4-1 win wouldn’t mean a thing unless we learned something from it. And with that in mind, here’s the three major talking points Football Fancast took from this afternoon’s action.

BILIC PHILOSOPHY CAN’T GET THE BEST OUT OF ANDY CARROLL

Slaven Bilic has earned rave reviews since taking West Ham’s managerial reigns from Sam Allardyce during the summer, but today’s result proved that the Upton Park gaffer does have his flaws.

Clearly, the tactics that saw West Ham claim shock wins over Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea earlier this season didn’t work against the Lilywhites, with the utilisation of Andy Carroll at centre-forward being one of the biggest differences.

Centre-backs Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen demonstrated their aerial frailties against Arsenal before the international break, with Olivier Giroud running riot in the final third and particularly from set pieces.

Also measuring in at 6 foot 4 and famed for his heading prowess, Carroll could have made a similar impact this afternoon. But the England international was isolated for large periods and finished the match with just 30 touches of the ball – the least of any starter (including both goalkeepers) for either side.

The Hammers recorded just four accurate crosses and 64 long balls, a decrease of their average of 69 per match last season, whilst Carroll finished up with just two efforts at goal.

Having suffered similar ineffectual woes against Watford and Everton prior to the international break, clearly the Bilic philosophy doesn’t really accommodate for a towering striker leading the attack. Accordingly, one fears for the 26-year-old’s long-term future at Upton Park.

HARRY KANE BACK TO HIS BEST

Not too long ago, Harry ‘he’s one of our own’ Kane was finding himself trying to shake off the one-season wonder tag. The 22-year-old striker was absolutely brilliant last season, finishing up as the Premier League’s top scoring Englishman with 21 goals in 34 appearances, but failed to find the net in his first six league outings of the 2015/16 campaign – inevitably leading to a wave of criticism from the ever-hyperbolic English media.

But after bagging a brace against the Hammers, there’s no question the England international is back to his best form. He’s now scored eight goals in 13 Premier League appearances, including a hat-trick against Bournemouth and seven strikes in his last five league outings.

Yet, it wasn’t just Kane’s goals that caught the eye, even though both of them included expert finishes that gave West Ham goalkeeper Adrian no chance at all. The 6 foot 2 centre-forward’s all-round play was simply brilliant against West Ham, perhaps epitomised best by his three tackles and regular headed clearances from corners.

After representing little more than a summer breeze during the first six league games of the season, the Hurrikane is well and truly terrorising Premier League defences once again.

Walker throws down the gauntlet in England right-back race

Now 13 games into the new Premier League season, next summer’s European championships might not be as far away as they seem.

Although England aren’t exactly considered the favourites, Roy Hodgson now has a squad with great competition in every department, ranging from goalkeeper to centre-forward and everything in between – including right-back.

Kyle Walker’s not everybody’s cup of tea and there are certainly some inconsistencies to his game, which has seen most – including Roy Hodgson – move closer towards Nathaniel Clyne as the Three Lions’ first choice No.2 for Euro 2016.

But the Tottenham defender hit back at his critics today in an expert display, capped off with a fantastic strike to make it 4-0 in the dying embers of the match. Heung-Min Son laid off the ball at the edge of the penalty area, inviting Walker to drill it past Adrian with the outside of his boot.

Likewise, the 25-year-old recorded five interceptions and two accurate crosses, both statistics being the best returns of any player on the pitch. With this performance, Walker has thrown down the gauntlet to his competitors for England’s right-back berth. Are you watching Hodgson?

Although Manchester United have certainly carried out their fair share of summer spending in recent windows, the Red Devils nonetheless find themselves linked with a whole host of new talent ahead of the approaching January transfer period.

Louis van Gaal’s expensively assembled side may well be sitting comfortably near the top of the table at this current moment in time, but because his team have still looked distinctly short of goal-scoring form in 2015/16 there is seemingly still a great deal of work to be done at Old Trafford.

Such a statement clearly throws the club’s apparent prowess in the transfer market into doubt, for it honestly seems as if Man United are just buying players for the sake of it. However, because Bayern Munich’s notoriously effective winger – Arjen Robben – has been the most recent name linked with the Red Devils this season, the Old Trafford faithful will likely find their collective transfer-fuelled excitement rising once again.

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So, should Louis van Gaal really be moving for the talented Dutchman this January, or does this merely represent another ill-conceived move at the club that would likely prove rather pointless?

Whilst the former PSV, Chelsea and Real Madrid man has been somewhat cast aside recently due to a succession of testing injury concerns at the Allianz, on his day, Arjen Robben is simply unplayable.

Every single football fan across Europe knows exactly how influential the wide-man can prove at times, marking him down as one of the undoubtedly strongest players of his generation.

When it comes to dangerously quick movement on the counter-attack, sublime ball-control in even the most crowded of scenarios, as well as just an admirable determination to never-say-die when the going gets tough, this is a player no club team would likely turn down on the basis of pure talent alone. His diving antics can nonetheless prove absolutely tiresome on occasion, acting as the only real downfall within Robben’s overall game.

The well-known Dutch international would therefore improve Manchester United’s title winning chances rather dramatically on paper. The fast pace of the Premier League would be perfectly suited to someone of his general skill-set, as would the often naïve nature of English referees, who regularly buckle at the first opportunity to blow up for players who go down too easily in the box.

However, the Old Trafford hierarchy must nonetheless act sensibly when discussing the potential behind this particular deal. Arjen Robben himself may well be interested in linking up with his former boss at Manchester United – considering his apparent lack of first team action at Bayern since returning from injury – but surely Red Devils fans must have found themselves in almost the exact same position before?

It remains important to learn from the ill-fated Angel Di Maria saga, as it proves that no matter how big a name you can proudly sport on the back of your shirt, sometimes majorly expensive gambles simply prove too unstable to work out in the end.

Louis van Gaal had also supposedly signed the most impressive young Dutch talent currently operating out there – in the shape of Memphis Depay – as a response to Di Maria’s failure to make it at Old Trafford. Why then would the subsequent capture of Arjen Robben really prove necessary?

Manchester United ultimately put their neck on the line regarding their expensive preference of Memphis Depay last summer, so the club have no choice but to lie in their metaphorical bed now that it’s been made for them. The 21-year-old up and coming star represents everything that Arjen Robben is not – someone approaching the peak years of their career, with something to prove at the highest level, and enough left in the tank to develop even further at Old Trafford.

Were Robben to be made available for a knock-down transfer fee this January, then Manchester United would be well within their rights to move for such an unquestionably talented asset. As he has reportedly been valued up at an incredible £49.7 million, however – for an ageing 31-year-old remember – this deal seemingly makes no sense for the Red Devils.

Sooner or later, Louis van Gaal is going to have to knuckle down with his managerial duties behind the scenes at Old Trafford, rather than constantly relying on the increasingly prevalent transfer kitty on offer at his club.

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West Ham, despite Andy Carroll’s return, are likely to still be looking for a new centre forward to take them into the business end of the season.

The regular appearances of Nikica Jelavic suggest that a new striker is a necessity at the Boleyn Ground and the owners have shown that they are not afraid to give Slaven Bilic financial backing – that has rewarded them with some excellent signings since the manager joined last summer.

Jordan Rhodes continues to prove himself as a lethal finisher and the Scot would surely be open to a move to a club that is pushing for European football. West Ham’s squad has undertaken a complete evolution over the past three or four seasons and signing a player like Rhodes would just be another step in the development of the squad – and club as a whole.

Here are FIVE reasons that this Championship ace could be perfect for the Hammers..

Goodbye Andy

Other than his lack of a first touch and clumsy approach to the game, West Ham are seeing a huge amount of wages drain out of the clubs coffers whilst Andy Carroll is not even available for selection.

The former Liverpool man might score the odd goal when he is fit, but a genuine replacement is needed if West Ham are going to become regular top 8 challengers.

Nikica out the door

Other than his initial spell when he signed for Everton, Jelavic has largely looked to be below the standard required for a top half Premier League side.

Despite all his hard work, Jelavic needs to be replaced if the Hammers want to have a strike force capable of pushing sides like Tottenham and Stoke.

Europa ambition

Considering just how open the Premier League is this season, European football is not a ridiculous ambition for the Hammers and their strike force will certainly need reinforcements if they are to make it that far.

Rhodes’ impressive goal record suggests he would be able to make the step up with easy.

Cool, calm, composed

Consistently registering as one of the most clinical finishers in the football league, Rhodes would feed off the chances created by players like Payet and Lanzini.

The Scotland international has a reputation for lethal finishing and would be a pleasant upgrade from the sitters missed by so many Hammers.

Coming of age..

Blackburn’s leading marksman is now 25 and, without question, ready to make the step up to the top flight.

Before another club poaches the ex-Huddersfield man, West Ham should snatch the opportunity to take a player who is about to peak and could really take the league by storm.

When Tottenham, Manchester United and Liverpool were all put in the pot for the Europa League, it was always likely that two of them would be facing each other. So what better than Man United and Liverpool drawing eachother, and many are claiming that whoever wins the tie will have a good chance of getting to the final.

Neither side have faced each other in European competition, and both sets of managers wanted to play each other. Liverpool have won the Europa League/UEFA Cup on several occasions, whereas United are yet to win the competition. But with both sides desperate for Champions League football next season, this would be the best opportunity to get it.

Louis van Gaal has a good record against Liverpool, with four wins from four matches.

For Jurgen Klopp, its a chance to redeem himself amongst the fans. His record at Liverpool hasn’t been any better than Rodgers, however he continues to be popular amongst disillusioned Liverpool fans, with a recent 3-0 win over Man City and a 5-4 win over Norwich making them think everything is ok.

Although Manchester United are currently in with a chance of still finishing in the top four, they need to be more consistent, which van Gaal does not believe will happen. The Dutchman has consistently said that United’s best chance of Champions League football is to win the Europa League, and beating Liverpool will highlight their intent.

For Liverpool, this will be a chance to get a Champions League spot that they really don’t deserve. This season they have been poor, and given their current squad, they should be sitting higher than 7th.

You can guarantee that when the two meet, Liverpool fans will be reminding everyone of how he red half of Merseyside have five European cups. United fans will quickly respond that they have won 20 league titles. Unless both sides use these nights to propel their season to success, then they will be at risk of being history.

The fact that these sides have never met in European Competition will make this a fiery affair. Under the floodlights, it could prove to be a real exciting, explosive and competitive fixture. The atmosphere will be incredible, and United will be thankful that the second leg is at home for them.

Liverpool only just narrowly beat FC Augsburg in the previous round, and were very lucky to make it out of their Europa League group. This rivalry recently has lacked the spice it had eight years ago, but hopefully these European nights can reignite that spark.

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