Negredo wanted by Hammers

West Ham made an offer of £17m for Alvaro Negredo back in January as the striker prepares for a summer move away from Spain.



Everton were strongly linked with Negredo back in the New Year but £20m proved to be too much - now Sevilla president Jose Del Nido has revealed that the Hammers made an offer of £17m which was turned down by the Spanish club.



Sevilla have a release clause of £20m on the 27-year-old who scored 25 goals last season and they are looking to get full value for the striker.



His agent, Juanma Lopez, has confirmed there is interest from the Premier League for the player but hinted that Rafael Benitez's Napoli may be his preferred option.

"Alavaro has played a very important season and many clubs are coming forward for him," Lopez told tuttomercatoweb. "I think he can go either to England or Italy.



"Napoli is a possibility given that [Rafa] Benitez likes the player and the team will play in next season's Champions League, a competition that Negredo would like to take part in.



"The final decision is up to Seville, whoever wants Negredo has to find an agreement with them."

Big Sam rues Lewandowski miss

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce admits that during his time at Blackburn, he was looking at signing Robert Lewandowski.



Back in 2010, Lewandowski was due to hold talks with Rovers, as the battle to sign him from Lech Poznan was on-going.

Borussia Dortmund secured a deal, and the rest is history as the Pole is now one of the hottest talents in world football - which was highlighted by his four-goal haul against Real Madrid on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg.

"It's true," the West Ham boss said.

"He was put forward to sign very strongly by our recruitment staff and unfortunately it was one that got knocked back.

"My distant memory isn't that great but I think (former Rovers chairman) John (Williams) and the board said we are not going to commit that amount of money.

"I think they wanted three or four million euros but we were particularly strapped financially at the time at Blackburn. I watched him play. But I didn't get the chance to meet him.

"I think his agent said he couldn't come over because of the ash cloud, yes. He's probably worth 40 million euros now."

Allardyce admits he rues missing the chance to work with him.

"I think about it every time I see him play. Last night I was thinking it again," the 58-year-old said.

"He would have had a period of getting used to the level and the physical presence, but with a talent like that it wouldn't have been too long before he started to shine and score goals.

"The level he is playing at now is unbelievable, not just his scoring ability but his ability to retain possession.

"There were a lot of people looking at him at that time as well but we had the edge over everyone else because of the attraction of the Premier League. He could have used us as a stepping stone but it didn't happen."


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Ton-up Nolan fires West Ham

Kevin Nolan netted his 100th career goal as West Ham United pushed Wigan Athletic a little deeper into the relegation mire with a 2-0 victory at Upton Park.

A cross from Matt Jarvis which was allowed to slip past a clutch of bodies in a crowded penalty area and into the bottom corner opened the scoring during a tight first half.

The Hammers netted their second of the afternoon 10 minutes from time when Nolan turned an acrobatic volley into the back of the net - and they are now through the 40-point mark for the season while the Latics continue to languish in the bottom three.

Wigan started brightly and were the first side to create an opening as Antolin Alcaraz - who was replaced after 15 minutes due to injury - fired a low shot straight at Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Hammers skipper Nolan had found the net just once since the turn of the year before the clash with Wigan, but he had two half chances to open the scoring as the hosts came back into the game. Firstly he could not rise high enough to make meaningful contact with a Gary O'Neil corner that had been flicked into his path by James Collins before latching onto a free-kick and seeing his volley pushed clear by Wigan goalkeeper Joel Robles.

Dead-ball specialist Shaun Maloney put a 22-yard free-kick just over Jaaskelainen's bar with both sides still in search of the opening goal.

It came just four minutes later when Jarvis' cross from the left flank evaded both Mohamed Diame and Nolan before sneaking inside Robles' far post.

West Ham then had strong claims for a penalty following an exchange of passes between Ricardo Vaz Te and Nolan, with James McCarthy appearing to trip Nolan as he prepared to shoot.

Roberto Martinez made his second change at half-time as he introduced James McArthur in place of Callum McManaman.

The visitors came out attacking with both Jordi Gomez and Arouna Kone having strikes at Jaaskelainen's goal within two minutes of the re-start.

Wigan finally created a decent opportunity as Maynor Figueroa lofted a ball over the West Ham defence and Emmerson Boyce's diving header was kept out by Jaaskelainen.

That effort seemed to galvanise Martinez's side and they dominated for the next 15 minutes, culminating with substitute James McArthur forcing a smart save out of the Finnish goalkeeper with 20 minutes remaining.

Paul Scharner then headed straight at Jaaskelainen when free inside the area with the home fans starting to show their tension as their fragile lead continued to be threatened. But those worries were put to bed with a little over 10 minutes remaining as Nolan latched on to Carroll's pass to volley West Ham into a two-goal lead and score his seventh goal of the season.

Carroll should have added a third himself after bursting into the area but he put his shot wide.


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Carroll plays down De Gea row

Andy Carroll played down his clash with Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea which infuriated Sir Alex Ferguson.

Ferguson felt Carroll deserved a red card for his robust aerial challenge on De Gea from a West Ham corner right on the stroke of half-time.



Carroll escaped punishment for the foul on De Gea and the big striker insists there was nothing he could to stop himself colliding with the keeper as he challenged for the ball.

"I just went for the ball and obviously went through De Gea, but I just went for the ball and that's all it was," Carroll told



"I was running straight in trying to get the ball and couldn't stop at that moment, obviously the keeper has come and won it and I couldn't stop when I was flying through the air."



Carroll had a running battle with the United defence and also clashed with England team-mate Wayne Rooney in the build-up to the De Gea clash and he admitted he enjoyed the physical challenges in the game.



"It was great, a tough battle, I enjoyed every minute and getting stuck in, getting a few elbows and giving a few. It's all part of the game," added Carroll.



On his clash with Rooney he added: "It was a bit of friendly banter with me and Wazza,



Carroll admits he has enjoyed his loan spell at West Ham from Liverpool, but remains unsure where his long-term future lies this summer.



"I've loved every minute and the lads have been great, the fans have been excellent and I am just carrying on going until the end of the season," continued Carroll.



"We will just have to wait and see what happens."

Andy Carroll 'too expensive'

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has admitted that Andy Carroll's wages would be a stumbling block to the club's hopes of signing the striker from Liverpool.

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Carroll, 24, has impressed during a loan spell at Upton Park this season, during which he scored six goals in 20 appearances.

However, the Hammers hopes of making the deal permanent would be hampered by their inability to match the contract given to the England international when he joined Liverpool from Newcastle for £35m in January 2011.

And Allardyce revealed that the financial restrictions that are due to come into force next season in the Premier League, which would impose short-term limits on wage rises and force clubs to work towards breaking even, make a deal very difficult.

"The hardest thing is the overall package and making sure it is sustainable," said Allardyce. "I point to financial restrictions being implemented next season that will blow the whole deal in one go.

"Someone will have a bigger budget than us probably but this is what is going to happen.

"In one fell swoop the financial restrictions mean we won't be able to sign Andy Carroll from Liverpool because it is too expensive, even if we wanted him, which we do."

Carroll open to permanent West Ham move

Andy Carroll has admitted that he would be happy to make his loan move from Liverpool to West Ham United a permanent one this summer.

Carroll moved to Anfield from Chelsea in January 2011 for £35m, but he struggled to settle and find form before leaving on loan.



The England striker has since rediscovered his form in Sam Allardyce's side, scoring six goals. Now the former Newcastle United forward has revealed that he would sign for the Hammers, but doesn't know what the situation is currently.



"I have just got to wait and see, really. We'll see what happens at the end of the season," said Carroll.



"Obviously I don't know what is happening so we will just have to wait and see. It has been great here and every minute has been fantastic. The lads have been great, the gaffer has been great and the fans are unbelievable.



"We will have to wait and see. It is obviously a great club and I do not see why not."



Carroll signed a season-long loan deal in August.

West Ham star Set To Sign On

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce has confirmed that goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen will sign a contract extension with the club in the coming days.



The former Bolton stopper signed a one year contract at the start of the season at Upton Park but has automatically gained a year extension due to his number of appearances.



Jaaskelainen has had a decent season for the Hammers and has made more saves that any other goalkeeper in the Premier League over the past nine months.



The 37 year old has started every league game for the East End club this season and has endeared himself to the Upton Park crowd.



Allardyce is yet to sign a new contract himself at West Ham and will put all summer activity on hold until his own future is sealed but Jaaskelainen will definitely be staying on for an extra year.



“It’s sorted,” Allardyce told Sky Sports.



“The option is linked into this year and kicked in with him completing the games.



“There is no doubt about the value of his signing.”

Joe Cole: 'I should never have joined Liverpool'

Joe Cole admits his decision to join Liverpool in 2010 was a mistake, claiming his only other option was an unthinkable move to Tottenham.

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Cole, 31, spent two-and-a-half years as a player at Anfield but failed to become a regular in the first team, being sent out on loan to Lille last season before rejoining his boyhood club West Ham in January.

The England international says he never felt comfortable at Livepool but was forced to take up the only offer that appealed to him.

"I can only play for teams that I'm passionate about and I think that's what went wrong for me at Liverpool," Cole said. "I didn't feel a connection with the club or the place that I had at Chelsea and West Ham.

"I had seven great years at Chelsea but the club wanted to go in a certain direction and I wasn't involved. So I was left with two real options - Liverpool or Spurs.

"Spurs was probably the best option because they were offering me a five-year deal and it meant I could stay in familiar surroundings.

style="border-radius: 25px 25px 25px 25px; border: 5px solid rgb(204, 204, 204);" width="320" />"But I just couldn't do it, I just couldn't see myself pulling that Spurs shirt over my head. With the rivalry between Spurs and West Ham and Chelsea, it felt a bit mercenary."

Cole believes the mentality at Liverpool made it difficult for him to settle in, with their insistence on being known as the "biggest club in the country" catching him off guard.

"When I joined, the guy interviewing me said 'you've joined the biggest club in the country' and reeled off the trophies they'd won," he said. "I just said 'yeah, if you put it like that, I suppose you're right' and Liverpool used that as the headline to the interview.

"I didn't want to upset anyone so I just went along with it. But obviously they're not the biggest club in the country any more. How do you judge how big a club are? Nottingham Forest won the European Cup twice but they're not a bigger club than Chelsea."

Although issues with match time plagued Cole at Chelsea, he seemed more motivated to break into the Blues' line-up than he did at Liverpool.

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"I rolled in at Chelsea on my first day thinking 'I'm going to be a big part of this club'," he added. "Then Sebastian Veron walks through the door with about five agents. Same position as me, costing three or four times as much.

"As soon as I signed, (former owner Ken) Bates said to me: 'Congratulations, son, you've joined to sit on our bench'. I just thought 'I'll show you' and a year later I was playing regularly and Veron was off."

And his decision to return to Upton Park was not only buoyed by an unhappy stint with the Reds.





"I was missing London and my family and I had a personal tragedy in December when my brother-in-law died. I got an opportunity to go back to West Ham and I don't want to move any more."