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West Ham earned a much-needed point against Aston Villa on Sunday to move out of the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference.

David Moyes’ side got off to a dreadful start at the London Stadium as Ollie Watkins headed in Alex Moreno’s cross with what was the Villans’ first real foray forward.

However, the Hammers would equalise less than ten minutes later when Lucas Paqueta was fouled by Leon Bailey inside the box, with Said Benrahma stepping up to smash home the penalty.

Both sides had chances to win the game, with Benrahma denied twice by Emiliano Martinez and Watkins also close to a second goal, but the Hammers would have to settle for a point on an occasion where they probably needed all three.

Who was West Ham’s worst player v Aston Villa?

There were a number of poor performances on show at the London Stadium once again on Sunday but perhaps none more disappointing than that of Jarrod Bowen, whose form has fallen off a cliff in comparison to last season, when he hit 12 goals and ten assists in the Premier League.

As per Sofascore, the England international would earn a woeful 6.5/10 rating for his display, which was joint with Danny Ings as the worst of any West Ham player to start the game.

During the 90 minutes, the former Hull City man would register 46 touches but managed to complete just nine out of his 17 attempted passes, resulting in a success rate of only 53%.

Although he has been poor this term, that success rate is far worse than the 73.5% he has averaged in the Premier League throughout 2022/23, which emphasises just how poor he was against Unai Emery’s side.

The 26-year-old was guilty of giving away possession a remarkable 22 times, with just two of his ten attempted crosses finding their mark, with his lack of consistency in attack perhaps one of several reasons why Moyes’ side have struggled so much in the final third this term.

He also managed just one shot and would win 50% of his duels, which again is a disappointing return given he has managed 2.2 shots per game in the top flight this season.

If the Hammers are to pull away from the relegation places in the final games of the campaign, they need underperforming players such as Bowen to start showing their form from previous years, as Sunday emphasised once again how much the winger has regressed since his superb displays last year.

Aston Villa have reportedly made an approach to sign Galatasaray right-back Sacha Boey this summer.

The Lowdown: Busy summer

NSWE were ready to back Unai Emery in January with a ‘huge’ transfer budget, however, it turned out to be a relatively quiet winter window at Villa Park. The club made two additions to Emery’s squad in left-back Alex Moreno and teenage forward Jhon Duran.

It could be a lot busier in the summer, though, with Christian Purslow expecting an ‘extremely busy summer’ ahead of Emery’s first full season in charge.

A number of players have already been linked with a move to the Midlands and a new striker ‘to partner Ollie Watkins is at the top of Villa’s shopping list this summer’, however, it looks as if another full-back could also be on the agenda, especially following links to Arsenal’s Kieran Tierney.

The Latest: Boey interest

Sports Witness relayed an update from Turkish outlet Takvim regarding Villa and Boey in the last 48 hours. They claimed that the right-back has been approached by Villa, with Boey also attracting interest from Crystal Palace and previously Sporting Lisbon and Lyon.

The 22-year-old has become a fan favourite at Galatasaray and is regarded as an ‘indispensable’ by manager Okan Buruk, who will have the final say on the player’s future.

The Verdict: One to watch?

Bringing in a new right-back to rival Matty Cash next season could be a wise move by Emery, especially as second-choice Ashley Young is now 37 years of age and is out of contract in the Midlands at the end of June.

Boey, like Young, can also provide cover at left-back if needed and appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high €11m Transfermarkt valuation.

Sponsored by Adidas, Boey has been hailed as a ‘talented’ player by journalist Zach Lowy and has made 41 appearances for his current employers.

As per WhoScored, Boey has also been Galatasaray’s second-best performer this season behind experienced forward Mauro Icardi, averaging a match rating of 7.25/10, a better score than any Villa player in the Premier League. He leads the way for tackles made and also ranks highly for interceptions and clearances per 90, with all three of those statistics greater than Cash in recent months.

Therefore, you could argue that a move would prove to be a shrewd one in the summer, and it looks as if it may well be one to keep an eye on.

Greg O’Keeffe has name-dropped last summer’s target Mohammed Kudus as the type of player Everton need to be signing.

The Lowdown: More goals are needed at Everton

Everton are the league’s joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League this season, which may not be a surprise given that the Toffees have been without star striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the majority of this campaign.

The Everton board clearly knew they needed more firepower in the final third because of Calvert-Lewin’s shocking injury record and that they’d sold Richarlison by targeting Ajax star Mohammed Kudus.

While it was reported that Kudus was keen on leaving Ajax for Everton in the summer, his form this season has shown why he was indeed right to stay in the Eredivisie as he will have bigger clubs pushing for his signature.

The Latest: Kudus-like player is what Everton need

Despite his scintillating form for Ajax this season, O’Keeffe name-dropped Kudus on the All Together Now podcast as the player Everton could target and if not him, then someone of a similar mould, despite Ellis Simms’ latest heroics.

He said: (19:00) “It’s dead interesting because I think he’s [Ellis Simms] not the kind of striker if we all, well I can’t speak for everyone, but if I had my choice, I’d want Everton to be in the market for like Mohammed Kudus. I know he’s not a striker but I’m sure he could [play there], a Richarlison or those sorts of players.”

The Verdict: Everton are desperate for a proven goal scorer

While O’Keeffe and many other Evertonians would likely love to have someone such as Kudus in their squad, after his stunning season for Ajax, coupled with the fact he starred for Ghana out in Qatar last winter, he will probably have loftier ambitions having proven himself to be a ‘goal threat’.

Last summer was the chance for Everton to go all out, back Frank Lampard and land a proven goal scorer, but they decided to save their cash and instead brought in Neal Maupay who’s netted just once in the league this term.

Everton managed to get £60 million for last season’s hero Richarlison from Tottenham Hotspur over the summer and at no point did they replace him or even bring in a player similar to him and the qualities he brought to the side, which is simply negligent on Everton’s behalf.

Dick Advocaat’s reign at Glasgow Rangers was anything but eventful. Sir David Murray was looking for a manager who could return the Ibrox side to the summit of Scottish football following a lacklustre 1997/98 season in which the club finished trophyless for the first time since 1986.

The Dutchman guided the Gers to five domestic trophies from six during his first two seasons, yet the 2000/01 campaign would go on to be a major disappointment, with Advocaat splashing money to try and salvage some success in a faltering period.

The £12m spent on Norwegian striker Tore Andre Flo in November 2000 would surely go on to be regarded as his biggest blunder, despite some early promise.

Was Tore Andre Flo a success at Rangers?

Spending £12m on a player was seen as an extravagant purchase for teams in the Premier League and Serie A during that time period, but a Scottish club? It was unheard of.

Flo had vast experience in England, scoring 50 goals in 162 appearances for Chelsea while winning both the FA Cup and League Cup during his spell in London. Having also represented Norway at the 1998 World Cup – scoring against Brazil – and Euro 2000, he had a wealth of international experience and although the fee was a major talking point, his credentials perhaps backed it up.

Scoring on your debut against Celtic is one way to introduce yourself and Flo did exactly that in a 5-1 win, before scoring another 12 goals that season, and it looked like money well spent by Advocaat.

New heights were reached in 2001/02, with the lanky striker netting 25 goals across all competitions as Rangers won the Scottish Cup and League Cup yet finished behind their cross-city rivals in the chase for the title.

That was as good as it got for Flo, with Alex McLeish moving him on to Sunderland in the summer of 2002 for a fee of £6.75m, which represented a major loss.

Peter Reid claimed the striker had “excellent finishing skills” and although he did show a glimpse of his talent at Ibrox, his massively inflated fee was a poor indicator of his actual performances with the player himself admitting it was "difficult" in Scotland.

He scored 36 times during his stay in Glasgow, which worked out at around £333k-per-goal with the club well and truly enduring a nightmare on the player who was earmarked to dominate Scottish football upon his arrival at the turn of the century.

Advocaat didn’t make many mistakes as manager, but when he did, they were catastrophic.

Chelsea have distanced themselves from the reputation they had a few years ago of having a seemingly endless number of young players out on loan.

The likes of Matt Miazga, Lucas Piazon and Marco van Ginkel would all spend a number of years at Chelsea without ever really featuring for the first team but have all finally left Stamford Bridge on permanent deals.

However, one forgotten man from Chelsea's loan army is still contracted by the club, with Baba Rahman currently on loan with Reading in the Championship in what is remarkably the 28-year-old's seventh separate spell away from the west London club.

How long has Rahman rinsed Chelsea?

Chelsea signed the left-back from Augsburg in 2015 for a fee of £14m, which could have raised to £20m had he made more than 100 appearances for the Blues.

Considering his last appearance for the Stamford Bridge outfit came in the 2015/16 Premier League campaign, it seems unlikely that the Bundesliga side will ever see that £6m.

The Ghana international was expected to be a replacement for Filipe Luis when he made the move to Chelsea and he was something of a regular in his first season at the club, making 23 appearances in all competitions, contributing no goals and two assists. These would be the only showings he would make for the Blues.

He has since spent time with Schalke, Stade Reims, RCD Mallorca, PAOK and finally Reading, with his 49 appearances for the Royals the most of any club he has played for in his career.

A cruciate ligament injury that Rahman suffered at Schalke was seemingly the end of his hopes of making it at Chelsea, and his lack of appearances since then makes it difficult to understand why the £86k-per-week earner is still contracted at Stamford Bridge.

Ahead of his first loan spell with Reading in the summer of 2021, the Blues opted to extend his deal until 2024, perhaps in the hope that some strong performances in England would encourage a club to pay a fee for him, yet they sent him back out to the Berkshire side again last summer.

He has made 18 appearances for Paul Ince's side this season in the Championship, averaging a woeful 6.43 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which well and truly hammers home that the Ghanaian won't ever be playing for Chelsea again.

Although his game time at Reading has allowed him to become a regular for the Ghana national side, it seems as if he hasn't impressed there either, with journalist Ohene-Bampoe Brenya dubbing him "terrible" during the World Cup.

Chelsea surely cannot allow Rahman to go out on loan again this summer, so Graham Potter must finally bring an end to his 2,788-day stay at Stamford Bridge.

Crystal Palace are interested in signing Feyenoord attacker Santiago Gimenez during the summer transfer window, according to a new report.

How is Jimenez playing this season?

The 21-year-old is enjoying a season to remember for the Eredivisie side, standing out as arguably one of the most dangerous players in the division. He has scored nine league goals in just 14 starts over 2022/23, while in the Europa League, he has found the net five times.

Gimenez only moved to Europe last year after impressing for Cruz Azul back in his homeland of Mexico, but he has hit the ground running and looks like an exciting young talent. For that reason, Feyenoord could find it difficult to keep hold of one of their most prized assets at the end of the season, even though his current deal there doesn't expire until the summer of 2026.

With Palace in need of bolstering their attacking options ahead of next season, it looks as though they see the Mexican as a potential transfer target.

Could attacker be off to Crystal Palace?

Speaking to FR12.nl [via Sport Witness], Arne Slot has tried to persuade Gimenez to remain with Feyenoord, even though Palace's interest is noted in the report, along with rivals Brighton, and they could both battle it out for the player this summer.

Slot said this on Gimenez amid both Palace and Brighton's interest.:

"I would very much like to see Santiago stay with Feyenoord even longer. It would be very good for him to stay an extra year and I will give him that advice, but it is difficult for me to assess what his will is and what opportunities he can get.

"Gimenez can do much better. He is 21 years old and has only been with us for six months in another competition and in another continent. It would be special if a player of 21 years old were already at his peak, I don’t think that is likely.

"We are working on making him as complete as possible. We first tried to get him fitter, which worked out quite well. He is getting better and better. He already had the qualities he had in the beginning. Now we are not only trying to make him an all-rounder, but also to use him better."

Gimenez could be exactly what Palace are looking for in the summer window, with the Eagles profligate in front of goal this season and scoring just 24 goals in 29 Premier League outings.

He could lead the line impressively at Selhurst Park, with his goalscoring record in 2022/23 so superior to the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Jean-Philippe Mateta, who have netted just five league goals between them.

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan is set to leave the Etihad this summer, with his mind made up on a move to Barcelona, Football Insider report.

What’s the latest Man City news on Gundogan?

Gundogan, hailed as "magnificent" by Phil McNulty, has been on the books in Manchester since 2016 and has been a regular ever since arriving from Borussia Dortmund.

In total, the 32-year-old has made 293 appearances for the club, captaining the side on a number of occasions during the current campaign, although he didn’t feature in Saturday’s 3-1 Premier League win over Leicester City.

The midfielder has contributed to an impressive 92 goals in Sky Blue, however, he is out of contract in a matter of months, and an exit is on the cards.

Football Insider reporter Pete O’Rourke shared a story he’s heard from City regarding Gundogan in the last 48 hours. He stated that talks with the German over a new Etihad contract have made very little progress and that an exit on a free transfer seems inevitable, with the player making up his mind to join Barcelona.

The report adds how Pep Guardiola is a big fan of the midfielder and City in an ideal world, City do not want to lose his services, however, the club also do not want to stand in his way.

Will City need a replacement?

With Gundogan set to depart, Guardiola will be left with no out-and-out central midfielders in his side, with the rest of his options either holding or central midfielders, as per Transfermarkt.

Therefore, you’d like to think that the club will be in the market for a new central midfielder over the coming months, something club officials can be working on behind the scenes right now after hearing Gundogan’s decision, with Guardiola's full focus on a possible treble in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.

Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham has been earmarked as a potential replacement, and City are thought to be leading the likes of Real Madrid in the race for his services. A transfer could set City back a club-record fee of £130m+ for Bellingham, however, the teenager could well offer a long-term solution in midfield, possibly reuniting with former teammate Erling Haaland in the process.

Journalist Chris Wheatley has revealed that Arsenal believe Declan Rice is keen to join amid his friendship with Bukayo Saka.

What are the latest Declan Rice and Arsenal rumours?

While the Gunners will primarily be focused on fighting for the Premier League title in the remaining weeks of the season, moves will no doubt be being made behind the scenes ahead of what could be a busy summer market.

Indeed, with Champions League football almost certain to be played at the Emirates Stadium next term, Mikel Arteta will be looking to upgrade some aspects of his squad.

One player to have been linked strongly in the media in recent times has been West Ham United captain Rice. After all, the player has even gone on the record about wanting to play European football soon.

And while talking about the player on The Chris Wheatley Show, the host claimed that there could be another reason the Englishman wants to move to north London too.

The insider explained (18:57): “I think Rice is certainly the one who is likely to come in the summer.

"We know that he'd be very keen on making the move. He's got players and friends in the Arsenal team.

"Very close with Jack Wilshere, of course, who's the Arsenal under 18s coach. He's very close with Bukayo Saka as well in the England setup.

"So yep, to answer in short, Arsenal do like [Moises] Caicedo, they want to sign two central midfielders in the summer. But Declan Rice is the one that they really want. And there is an increasingly strong feeling that he wants to come as well.”

Who does Rice know at Arsenal?

It will no doubt excite fans to learn that the Gunners are supposedly keen on landing multiple midfielders this summer with Wheatley name-dropping Brighton ace Moises Caicedo too.

For now, though, it seems as though £60k-p/w Rice is the biggest priority. Of course, he knows Wilshere from when the two played at West Ham together.

The current Arsenal youth coach has even urged a transfer, telling PA (via Daily Mail): "He's a midfielder who can do anything. Anyone who supports any club would want Dec to join.

"If I'm talking from a selfish point of view, in north London, I think he would be very good under Mikel's watch."

What's more, he plays at international level with Saka for England, while he also knows Eddie Nketiah with the Arsenal striker even sharing his food with Rice back when they were both youngsters in the Chelsea academy.

All in all, everything seems to be pointing towards a summer move.

Sky Sports pundit Tim Sherwood has slammed Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa after he gave away a penalty in the club's most recent game.

What's the latest on Wolves and Jose Sa?

The Molineux outfit had to travel away from home to take on Leicester City in a big clash towards the bottom of the Premier League on Saturday afternoon.

Indeed, the threat of relegation is very real for both teams, although the Foxes are in a bit more trouble, coming onto the match stuck inside the bottom three.

Perhaps with that in mind, Wolves – who came into the game five places above the relegation zone – started the game with more confidence and took an early lead thanks to a fine finish from Matheus Cunha.

However, despite dominating the early stages of the game. Julen Lopetegui's men found themselves pegged back in the 37th minute.

Jamie Vardy latched onto a good through-ball, and after his touch took him past Sa, the goalkeeper clattered into the striker.

Referee Andy Madley pointed to the spot and there could be no complaints as Kelechi Iheanacho put the resulting penalty kick away to make it 1-1.

Evidently unimpressed with what he'd just witnessed, pundit Sherwood was far from kind when dropping his verdict on Sa.

Indeed, he told Sky Sports: "Vardy looks like he is hurt. He looks to be in agony.

"He was going away from the goal, l have no idea what Sa was thinking."

Could Jose Sa be dropped after this mistake?

Sherwood certainly was right about Vardy, who had to be replaced by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall at half-time after being fouled by Sa.

And it seems as though he was also fair when questioning the £25k-per-week goalkeeper for rushing out of position and bringing the Englishman down.

For example, journalist Liam Keen also slammed the actions of Sa. He wrote on Twitter: "Sa makes a call to come and makes a big error, taking Vardy out. He's booked too."

What's more, according to journalist Alan Nixon of The Sun, Wolves are potentially looking to sign Sunderland shot-stopper Anthony Patterson next summer.

That could mean Lopetegui has some doubts about Sa in the long term and he certainly wouldn't have done his reputation any favours with this major error in judgement.

For now, at least, he has until the rest of the season to prove his quality between the sticks as Wolves fight to avoid the drop.

Aston Villa right-back Matty Cash won’t return from injury in time for this afternoon’s clash with Manchester United, Ashley Preece reports.

What’s the latest Aston Villa injury update involving Cash?

Cash has been out of action for the entirety of April, with his last Premier League appearance coming in the 3-0 win over Bournemouth prior to the international break.

The Poland international suffered a calf injury in a European Championship qualifier against the Czech Republic, with Unai Emery using Ashley Young at right-back in his place. There was hope that he would be available for the meeting with Manchester United this weekend, but it looks as if he is set to miss out once again.

Preece took to Twitter to share the latest Villa “team news” ahead of the trip to Old Trafford. The Villa correspondent said that Cash “was close to making it but won't be risked”, adding that the full-back “wants to be back for Wolves next week”.

Meanwhile, Philippe Coutinho, Boubacar Kamara and Leon Bailey may all return to training next week, whereas Jed Steer has been ruled out for the season.

Young to continue…

Having Cash available would have been a nice boost for Villa and Emery, with the 25-year-old a “real threat” going forward, according to former Villa manager Alex McLeish.

However, Emery has placed his trust in Young as a result of Cash’s absence, with the 37-year-old playing his part in Villa’s late push for European football. In fact, Young has actually outperformed Cash this season, as per WhoScored, so the latter may find it difficult to get his spot back if Villa and Young continue their fine form.

They are looking to make it 11 unbeaten in the Premier League this afternoon, and really, Villa may need to look at Young’s contract situation relatively soon, with the versatile full-back out of contract in a matter of months.