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Chelsea are "moving concretely towards" signing the French striker and wonderkid Elye Wahi after his breakout season for Ligue 1 side Montpellier, claims journalist Rudy Galetti.

Is Elye Wahi joining Chelsea this summer?

After selling enough talent to create an entire starting eleven of Premier League quality players over the last month or so, Chelsea look to have finally turned their focus to signings and bringing new faces to the club this summer.

They have already welcomed a few new names to Stamford Bridge thus far, with Nicolas Jackson joining from Villarreal, Diego Moreira from Benfica and Christopher Nkuku from RB Leipzig, who had agreed a deal to join the club earlier in the year but couldn't be officially announced until the season's conclusion.

Even with these attacking additions, the Pensioners are looking to add at least one more number nine to the squad before the new campaign gets underway.

The club were initially interested in signing Juventus' Serbian forward Dusan Vlahovic, but with the news that Paris Saint-Germain have agreed personal terms with the forward, they have instead turned their attention to Montpellier's 20-year-old striker, Wahi.

According to transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are now "advancing in talks" with the Ligue 1 outfit over the youngster's move, with plans to loan him out in the first year of his contract to get him more experience of first-team football.

The Daily Mail have also reported that the Blues are closing in on a deal for the player but that Serie A giants Inter Milan are also interested in bringing the young star to the San Siro next season, so the West Londoners better get a move on if they want to seal this deal.

What has Rudy Galetti said about Chelsea's striker search?

Galetti explained that the Blues were stepping up their striker search and that the Montpellier man was indeed a player they were looking at as one of the potential options.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: "Chelsea have started to explore alternatives, and now Wahi is gaining a position on their strikers list.

"The Montpellier player could leave for around €35m (£30m) and Chelsea are moving concretely towards him. It cannot be excluded that the player could also go on loan somewhere."

How good is Elye Wahi?

There is a reason so many top clubs are circling the 20-year-old striker, and that's because he had an outstanding breakout year with Montpellier last season, only being slightly overshadowed for those outside of France by the performances of fellow youngster Folarin Balogun.

In his 33 league games for La Paillade last year, the 6 foot forward scored 19 goals and provided five assists, giving him a goal contribution every 1.3 games, seeing him earn an average match rating of 6.87, per WhoScored.

Although impressive for his age group, his underlying numbers aren't quite as good as you might expect given his output and could suggest an element of good fortune last season.

The counterargument to that is that he is just an incredibly clinical striker, which could undoubtedly be the case; it will just take another season or two to see which it is.

According to FBref, who compare players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the dynamic forward sits in the top 7% for non-penalty goals, the top 23% for progressive carries, the top 30% for assists, the top 31% for progressive passes received, the top 35% for successful take-ons, and the top 36% for non-penalty expected goal, all per 90.

He's been a player that scouts have been aware of for some time, with Antonio Mango saying in 2022:

"He's a superstar, remember the name."

Should Chelsea decide to sign Wahi, it could be a decision that pays dividends in years to come, but it might be too soon to call it yet.

Serie A champions Napoli are reportedly interested in signing Liverpool centre-back Ibrahima Konate this summer.

How important is Konate for Liverpool?

The 24-year-old arrived from RB Leipzig two years ago and has reached a point where there is an argument to say he is the Reds' best centre-back option.

Much of that will depend on how Virgil van Dijk performs after a poor campaign by his high standards – with Konate Liverpool's standout player in that position in 2022/23. Indeed, when fit, the Frenchman averaged 2.1 tackles and 1.4 interceptions per game in the Premier League, compared to Van Dijk's 0.8 and 1 per game for those metrics respectively.

The £70,000-a-week Konate is a hugely important player for Liverpool and should continue to be for many years – assuming he stays at Anfield for the foreseeable future. A worrying new update has emerged, however, with Konate linked with a shock exit from the Reds.

Could Napoli sign Konate this summer?

According to Corriere dello Sport [via Sport Witness], Napoli are eyeing a summer move for the Liverpool ace, seeing him as a strong option to come in and replace Kim Min-jae, who is set to join Bayern Munich.

He has "not played so much" for the Reds, which is seen as a reason Napoli potentially have a chance of signing him, although they realise a "remarkable" fee would be needed to have any chance of snapping him up.

Frankly, the idea of Liverpool losing Konate this summer doesn't even bear thinking about considering he is still only 24 and has so many years ahead of him at the top level.

With Van Dijk and Joel Matip both ageing and Joe Gomez nothing more than a backup option, it is imperative that the Reds keep hold of someone who could be the leader of their defence well into the future.

While Napoli are clearly a great club in their own right, Konate will surely not even consider moving on from Liverpool, with a promising summer materialising in the transfer market and a stronger season surely expected in 2023/24 following a blip last time around.

Jurgen Klopp has hailed Konate as "incredibly talented" and no doubt values him greatly, and his absence was felt badly when he was injured last season, with the Reds boss clearly using him whenever he was available.

Liverpool simply must retain his services for as long as possible, hopefully extending his current deal at some point, which expires in the summer of 2026.

Rising Pune Supergiant won both their games against Delhi Daredevils last season. Can they keep that form going?

The Preview by Varun Shetty10-Apr-2017Match factsRising Pune Supergiant v Delhi Daredevils
Pune, April 11, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)2:42

Chopra: Lockie Ferguson should replace Dan Christian

Head-to-headThe teams have met twice and Rising Pune won both games chasing. They won the first one in Delhi by seven wickets, and the second by being 19 runs ahead of the D/L par score when rain interrupted a chase of 121 in Vizag.Form guide

Rising Pune: lost to Kings XI by 6 wickets, beat Mumbai Indians by 7 wickets

Dareveils: lost to RCB by 15 runs

In the newsNeither team has immediate, short-term injury concerns. Sri Lanka allrounder Angelo Mathews joined the Daredevils squad for training on the eve of the match, but it isn’t certain if he is available for selection. Earlier this month, Sri Lanka cricket manager Asanka Gurusinha had said it was unlikely Mathews would be 100% fit for the start of the IPL.Daredevils’ batting took a hit when Quinton De Kock’s injury was followed by JP Duminy’s withdrawal from the IPL. Their response was to sign Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus as a replacement, despite the seemingly endless list of bowling options available to them – Mohammed Shami, Kagiso Rabada, M Ashwin and Jayant Yadav make up only half of the bowlers they have in reserve.Rishabh Pant’s gutsy innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore in the face of personal grief drew praise from team-mate Chris Morris, who said the youngster is going to be a big player for India in the future. While Morris’ hypothesis will take time to test, Daredevils’ top-order performance against RCB made it all but certain that Pant is going to be their biggest player this season.Imran Tahir’s stoic declaration that his job was to ‘come and perform’ has been the only reassurance for Rising Pune’s bowling attack. He will also be keen to prove a point against the team that did not play him much last season, and then released him.Ben Stokes’ explosive batting against Kings XI Punjab on Saturday did not improve his bowling form, and Dan Christian’s went for 24 in two overs. Ashok Dinda has had a difficult start to the season as well, which leaves Rising Pune with an unsettled attack.The likely XIsRising Pune Supergiant: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Mayank Agarwal/Faf du Plessis, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 Ben Stokes, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Rajat Bhatia, 8 Dan Christian/Shardul Thakur, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Ashok Dinda/Ishwar Pandey
Delhi Daredevils: 1 Aditya Tare, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Rishabh Pant (wk), 6 Chris Morris, 7 Carlos Brathwaite/Corey Anderson, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Amit Mishra/Jayant Yadav, 10 Shahbaz Nadeem, 11 Zaheer Khan (capt)Stats that matter The last four matches at the venue have all been won by the chasing side, which is congruent to Rising Pune’s record of never having won a game after batting first. Since winning five of their first seven matches last season, Delhi Daredevils have lost six of their last eight. MS Dhoni has made three single-digit scores in his last six innings for Rising Pune, including two innings of at least 10 balls where his strike rate was below 50. Ajinkya Rahane averages 77.75 against Delhi Daredevils, with six fifties in 13 innings. They have only managed to dismiss him once inside a Powerplay. Steven Smith has 32 runs off nine balls against Shahbaz Nadeem, his highest strike-rate against any bowler in the IPL. His strike rate against Amit Mishra, however, is 72 (18 off 25 balls), his lowest against any bowler in the IPL. Chris Morris had the best economy in the slog overs last season among all bowlers who bowled more than ten overs – 7.31. In Daredevils’ previous game against RCB, Morris gave away a combined nine runs in the 18th and 20th overs, of which eight were dot balls. Rishabh Pant has 11 runs from four innings when his team bats first in the IPL, as opposed to scores of 20, 69, 4*, 39*, 23, 32 and 57 when they chase. Karun Nair hasn’t scored more than thirty in his 12 innings across formats after his Test triple-century against England. Imran Tahir has taken five wickets in eight overs, with an economy of 7.12; all other Rising Pune bowlers have taken a combined six wickets in 31 overs, at an economy of 9.29

Sri Lanka Cricket president Thilanga Sumathipala announced that Angelo Mathews would remain Sri Lanka’s captain until the 2019 World Cup in England

Sa'adi Thawfeeq19-Jan-2017

Sri Lanka Cricket and Sanath Jayasuriya, the head of the national selection committee, have backed captain Angelo Mathews after SLC president Thilanga Sumathipala announced that he would remain captain until the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The decision came despite criticism following Sri Lanka’s recent 3-0 Test series defeat in South Africa.Addressing a media conference on Wednesday, Sumathipala confirmed that the opinion of his administration was shared by Jayasuriya and the rest of the selection committee.SLC and the selectors had a post-series review with Mathews, coach Graham Ford and manager Ranjith Fernando soon after the Test losses, to discuss their preparations for the T20I and ODI series against South Africa, which start from January 20.Sumathipala also denied rumours that Mathews’ captaincy was discussed, and stated that he remained the most suitable candidate to lead Sri Lanka at the 2019 World Cup in England.”Mathews too, must understand this responsibility and should work to rebuild the team,” Sumathipala said. “We hope that the South African pitches for the T20I and ODI series will be more familiar to our players.”Sumathipala praised the Sri Lanka pace attack, especially Lahiru Kumara, who bowled consistently at close to 145kph throughout the series. “We have selected the best 11 out of 20. If we are afraid of losing, we will not learn to win. It is quite pathetic to accept that we could not go beyond the 150-mark in three innings. We not only failed in the batting, but we missed some crucial catches where we could have put pressure on the South African batting.”The truth is that we were not capable of facing the pace and bounce. We have to find a solution to this. We are quite satisfied with coach Graham Ford’s service. Instead of pointing fingers at people, we have to re-unite to get the team on a winning path,” Sumathipala said.Jayasuriya said it was not surprising that Sri Lanka lost to South Africa on their fast pitches. “We had included a bunch of young cricketers to South Africa, thinking about the future of the national team,” Jayasuriya said. “They need time to mould. So we have to accept the loss. We have just begun.”As the Sri Lanka team is full of young blood, it is not a surprise that they faced a setback in South Africa. Even though we have given them the best squad, things did not turn out as we thought. We wanted one of the top-four batsmen to play a long innings and score a hundred. At least two or three batsmen should have played a long innings. But it did not work,” Jayasuriya explained.He added that the blame should not go to the captain for the loss. “This is not a time to blame and destroy Mathews’ captaincy. This is a time when we have to strengthen Mathews,” Jayasuriya said. “As a former captain I know how these allegations can badly affect Mathews’ morale, especially during a series. We have to support Mathews, correct our faults and face the T20I and ODI series’ with confidence.”

نجح ليفربول في تحقيق الفوز أمام تشيلسي، بنتيجة 1/0، في نهائي كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية.

وواجه ليفربول نظيره تشيلسي، في إطار منافسات نهائي مسابقة كأس الرابطة الأندية الإنجليزية “الكاراباو” على ملعب “ويمبلي” في العاصمة الإنجليزية “لندن”.

اقرأ ايضاً.. إيكو: بايرن ميونخ يمتلك خطة للتفوق على ليفربول في سباق ألونسو

أنتهي الشوط الأول سلبي النتيجة بين الفريقين، في شوط شهد إلغاء هدفاً لفريق تشيلسي عن طريق رحيم ستيرلينج بداعي التسلل.

في الشوط الثاني، وبحلول الدقيقة 59، تمكن فان دايك من تسجيل الهدف الأول لصالح ليفربول لكن تم إلغاء الهدف بعد مراجعة تقنية الفيديو للهدف.

وشهدت الدقائق الأخيرة من عمر الشوط الثاني، إهدار لاعبو تشيلسي العديد من الفرص المحققة للتسجيل في وسط تألق لافت من حارس ليفربول كيليهر.

في الشوط الإضافي الأول، شهد سيطرة واضحة من لاعبو ليفربول وكاد الشاب دانس أن يفتتح التسجيل لولا براعة الحارس بيتروفيتش.

في الشوط الإضافي الثاني، واصل لاعبو ليفربول فرض سيطرتهم على مجريات اللقاء.

وعند الدقيقة 117، أحرز فان دايك الهدف الأول والوحيد في المباراة برأسية مميزة وضعها في شباك البلوز.

حاول لاعبو تشيلسي تسجيل هدف التعادل في اللحظات الأخيرة من عمر اللقاء لكن جميع المحاولات انتهت بالفشل.

وبهذا الفوز، نجح ليفربول في تحقيق اللقب العاشر له في مسابقة كأس رابطة الأندية الإنجليزية كأكثر الأندية تتويجاً باللقب. هدف فوز ليفربول القاتل علي تشيلسي (1-0) نهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

بطولات قدم تغطية حية ومباشرة لمباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي بالفيديو ويمكنك المتابعة لحظة بلحظة من خلال الرابط. بداية مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي في نهائي كاس الرابطة الانجليزية

محمد صلاح يلتقط الصور التذكارية مع ذوي الاحتياجات الخاصة قبل مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي

لويس دياز يهدر فرصة هدف امام تشيلسي بنهائي كاس الرابطة الانجليزية

 تصدي كليهير الرائع يحرم بالمر من هدف لتشيلسي بنهائي كاس الرابطة الانجليزية

اصابة جرافينبيرج وخروجة في مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي بنهائي كاس الرابطة الانجليزية

هدف تشيلسي الملغي امام ليفربول في نهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

 القائم يحرم ليفربول من هدف امام تشيلسي في نهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

 خناقة بين اللاعبين في مباراة ليفربول وتشيلسي بنهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

هد فان دايك الملغي امام تشيلسي ورد فعل يورجن كلوب

ديساسي يهدر هدف محقق بطريقة غريبة امام ليفربول بنهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

القائم يحرم تشيلسي من هدف امام ليفربول في نهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

كيليهر يتألق ويتصدي لانفراد تام وينقذ ليفربول من هدف مؤكد لـ تشيلسي

علي مرتين كيليهر ينقذ ليفربول من هدف فوز قاتل لتشيلسي

تصدي حارس تشيلسي الرائع يحرم ليفربول من هدف في نهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

هدف فان دايك القاتل في مرمي تشيلسي بنهائي كأس الرابطة الانجليزية

أدلى بيب جوارديولا، المدير الفني لفريق مانشستر سيتي، بتصريحات عقب فوزهم في مباراة الأمس ضد لوتون تاون في بطولة كأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي.

وفاز مانشستر سيتي على أصحاب الأرض بستة أهداف مقابل هدفين، في إطار منافسات دور الـ16 من بطولة الكأس.

وشهدت المباراة تألق الثنائي إيرلينج هالاند وكيفين دي بروين، حيث سجل الأول 5 أهداف، في حين صنع الأخير 4.

وقال جوارديولا في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “ماذا يمكنني أن أقول؟ الأمر كان جيدًا حقًا، هالاند كان متألقًا، وكذلك دي بروين، التواصل بينهما كان مثاليًا”.

وأضاف: “لقد كانت مباراة جيدة حقًا وأصبحنا في الدور ربع النهائي، هكذا هو الأمر”.

وواصل: “دي بروين يحتاج إلى لاعبين مثل هالاند، وهالاند يحتاج إلى لاعبين مثل دي بروين، نحن لم نكن لنتواجد هنا بدون اللاعبين الآخرين، الكثير من الفضل للجميع”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. هالاند يتفوق بقوة على محمد صلاح بعد تسجيله ميجا هاتريك أمام لوتون تاون

وأردف: “لقد فزنا في آخر مباراتين لنا بنتيجة 1-0، ولعبنا بشكل جيد ضد تشيلسي في الشوط الثاني لكننا لم نتمكن من الفوز، نتعامل مع كل مرة على حد”.

واستكمل: “كأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي مسابقة جميلة حقًا، نحن على بعد مباراة واحدة للذهاب إلى ويمبلي مرة أخرى (يُقام نصف النهائي في ذلك الملعب)”.

وعن صناعة دي بروين لـ4 أهداف لـ هالاند، قال جوارديولا: “لكن أفضل تمريرة كانت من كايل ووكر!”.

ويقصد جوارديولا تمريرة كايل ووكر، في الهدف الرابع، حيث مرر الكرة بطريقة رائعة، وصلت إلى دي بروين، قبل أن يمررها بدوره إلى هالاند.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag is seemingly ready to raid his former club Ajax once again, amid claims that the Dutchman is keen on a reunion with Mohammed Kudus this summer.

What's the latest on Kudus to Man United?

According to journalist David Ornstein – writing in his weekly column for The Athletic – the Red Devils are reportedly among the clubs who are keeping tabs on the Ghanaian international, with the 22-year-old seemingly intent on leaving the Eredivisie side at the end of the season.

The report claims that the 23-cap gem – who is also attracting interest from Arsenal and Newcastle United – only recently rejected a new one-year extension on his current deal, with the player's existing contract set to expire in the summer of 2025.

As such, the Amsterdam outfit could well sanction a sale for the former Nordsjaelland ace if he does not agree to a renewal, with the piece noting that a fee of around £40m could be enough for the likes of United to strike a deal.

Who could Kudus replace at Man United?

The 5 foot 9 sensation appears to be a player that Ten Hag is keen to link up with in the near future, with Manchester Evening News having reported back in February that the Dutchman believes the versatile forward has the 'attributes to excel in the Premier League'.

With the 53-year-old having already prised both Lisandro Martinez and Antony from his former employers last summer, it would be no surprise to see him again return to the Johan Cruyff Arena in order to snap up Kudus, with the exciting talent having enjoyed a stellar campaign thus far.

The much-coveted dynamo has scored 18 goals and provided six assists in 42 games across all fronts this season, proving an invaluable asset due to his ability to feature in a playmaking role, on the flanks or as a centre-forward.

The youngster's attacking flexibility could well make him a dream replacement for Anthony Martial in the forward line, with the injury-prone asset – who has missed 27 games this season – looking set for an exit from Old Trafford ahead of next season.

The long-serving Frenchman has scored only eight goals and provided only three assists in 27 games in all competitions so far this term, notably scoring just twice in his last ten league outings as a marker of his lack of consistency.

A major benefit of snapping up Kudus in his place would be the Ajax man's superior creative prowess as he has averaged 3.38 progressive passes and 3.38 progressive carries per 90 over the last 365 days, as per FBref, while Martial by contrast, has averaged just 2.97 and 1.66 for those same two metrics, respectively.

Equally, the Ghana international – who has been hailed as "fun to watch" by Dutch icon Marco van Basten – also seemingly possesses a great work ethic having averaged 1.27 tackles per 90, while the current United man has averaged just 0.44 for the same metric.

With Martial's time seemingly up after almost eight years in Manchester, Ten Hag could put the final nail in the striker's Man United career by turning to the fleet-footed Kudus this summer.

Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the final Test of the series against Pakistan due to a calf injury sustained during the second Test at Old Trafford

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Aug-2016Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the final Test against Pakistan due to a calf injury sustained during the second Test at Old Trafford, although England still hope he could be involved in the limited-overs series that follows.Stokes, who missed most of the series against Sri Lanka after suffering a knee injury that required surgery, was making his comeback in Manchester. But he was forced off the pitch midway through a spell of bowling on the fourth day and scans subsequently showed he had torn his right calf. As a result he missed the third Test at Edgbaston and will not play at The Oval.While an ECB spokesman said Stokes would “work towards being available for selection for the Royal London ODI series starting later this month”, England will be taking no risks with his recovery.Alastair Cook, England’s Test captain, suggested on Tuesday that Stokes’ latest injury “was in some way related to his previous one” – perhaps indicating that he might have required more time to retain peak physical condition before returning to international cricket – and stated that England should “treat him with care and let’s get him back 100 percent before we start talking of him playing again”.Following the Tests, England’s five-match ODI series against Pakistan starts on August 24 before a one-off T20 on September 7 completes the international season. Pending security assessments they then leave for the tour of Bangladesh at the end of September – a trip that includes three ODIs and two Tests – before a five-match Test series in India.Stokes will be vital to the balance of the side on the subcontinent where England will likely want to field two spinners. The performances of Chris Woakes since his comeback against Sri Lanka mean that they are not without another all-round option, but their combined skills mean England could at some stage field a six-man bowling attack with Stokes considered a good enough batsman to play in the top five.England also confirmed that Adil Rashid had been released to play in Yorkshire’s Championship match against Warwickshire, starting at Headingley on Thursday. Rashid and Jake Ball were the unused players in England’s squad of 13 for Edgbaston.

Rangers have now submitted a bid close to £4.4m for Aris Thessaloniki winger Luis Palma, according to a recent report from Deportes TVC.

What's the latest Rangers transfer news?

The Gers are now close to completing the signing of Chelsea right-back Dujon Sterling, who is in line to become Michael Beale's first summer signing, but defence is not the only position that will need strengthening in the upcoming window.

Ryan Kent looks set to depart Ibrox this summer, with the winger now in talks with Burnley about a switch south of the border, while he is also of interest to Leeds United, Udinese and Bologna, according to TuttoMercatoWeb.

As such, Beale will need to bring in a new winger, and Palma has been identified as a key target, with talks recently being held about a summer move, and the Light Blues have now come forward with their first offer.

According to a report from Deportes TVC, Rangers have submitted a bid close to £4.4m for the Aris star, and he is now "close" to completing a move to Ibrox.

The report also highlights an Instagram post from the Honduran winger, in which he posted a picture with the caption "the last dance", which indicates he is set to move on in the summer.

The 23-year-old has also attracted the interest of clubs from Greece, however they have withdrawn from the race, as they are unable to match the Gers' bid.

Should Rangers sign Luis Palma?

The Honduras international is having a fantastic season over in Greece, weighing in with a total of 13 goals and eight assists in 36 appearances in all competitions, while he has also displayed his versatility.

Although he has predominantly featured as a left-winger, the La Ceiba-born dynamo has played at striker on a number of occasions, which suggests he could also be a replacement for Alfredo Morelos, who is set to leave in the summer.

Palma's ability to play in a number of positions could be of key significance, considering the Gers' attacking options have not been prolific in the second half of the season, with Antonio Colak scoring just two goals in his last 12 Scottish Premiership games.

Hailed as "outstanding" by journalist Gustavo Roca, the 5 foot 10 forward has proven that he is ready to make the step up to a club of Rangers' size, and he would be an excellent addition to Beale's squad.

Insider ExWHUemployee has revealed that West Ham United defender Angelo Ogbonna is in contention to play in the Europa Conference League.

What's the latest Angelo Ogbonna and West Ham injury news?

While the club's Premier League form has been iffy at best this season, they've continued to march on with real promise in Europe.

Indeed, David Moyes and co managed to win all their group stages games, as well as both legs of their last-16 clash with AEK Larnaca.

However, they had to settle for a draw when they made the trip to Belgium for their quarter-final match against Gent which ended 1-1 last week.

Seeing as Ogbonna has played in all but two of West Ham's Europa Conference League matches so far, it will be great if he's fit to play on Thursday night.

And despite missing the league draw with Arsenal on Sunday, it seems as though the experienced Italian could return to feature against Gent.

Indeed, while speaking on The West Ham Way Podcast, Ex said (2:43): “Obviously, Ogbonna was due to start the game on Sunday. But he'd had a knock in training, I think which had been a result of the actual game, I think from memory, he went down for quite a long time against Gent on Thursday.

"I assume the injuries from there – and Nayef Aguerd also picked up an injury in the same game.

"But both of them should be available for Thursday, or Bournemouth at the latest. So it's not a massive thing.

"But yeah, Ogbonna's absence was a very last minute thing. And that explains it, but both of them are just minor knocks."

Will Ogbonna start for West Ham against Gent?

When speaking ahead of the 2-2 draw with Arsenal, Moyes explained the absences from his backline, telling the press: “They both tried training yesterday. We thought one of them might make it but they haven’t made it. They’re both carrying knocks. But we don’t think they’re serious.”

And now after Ex's update, it sounds as though there have been no setbacks during the week leading up the West Ham's big European match on Thursday.

That's great news as Ogbonna has been excellent in Europe so far. Indeed, as per SofaScore, he has delivered an average 7.14 match rating each game, keeping four clean sheets in seven matches.

All in all, then, it wouldn't be a surprise if the £70k-p/w defender returned to the starting team against Gent.