Irons' Lukaku move hangs in balance as Blues chase reinforcements

West Ham's pursuit of Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku is still very much on- but will depend on the West London side's own success in the transfer market. 

The Hammers were told by the Blues in May, when they first inquired about Belgium international Lukaku, that no decision on the player's future would be made until a new permanent manager was installed at the club. 

Jose Mourinho has since returned for a second spell in the Stamford Bridge hotseat, but it is understood that he is unwilling to let the 20 year old leave the club, either on loan or on a permanent basis, until a replacement has been signed. 

Chelsea are currently chasing two strikers; Edinson Cavani of Napoli, and Christian Benteke of Aston Villa. The latter handed in a transfer request at Villa Park on Monday night, but the Blues face a transfer wrangle with Premier League rivals Liverpool and Spurs for the powerful frontman's signature. As both of these deals seem likely to drag on all summer long, it seems unlikely that any deal for the Hammers to bring Lukaku to E13 will materialise until the end of August. 

West Ham are, meanwhile, losing their battle to bring another Chelsea forward in Demba Ba to the club. The former Iron is believed to have rejected both the Hammers and West Brom and now could be set for a lucrative move to Russian side Anzhi Makhachkala. 

By Alex Shilling, News Editor

@alexshilling

Irons to battle Spurs for Belgium star Chadli

Sam Allardyce's quest for a wide player has advanced after the West Ham boss made an inquiry about FC Twente winger Nacer Chadli.

The Belgium international is attracting much interest and Premier League sides Liverpool, Fulham and Tottenham have all joined the Hammers in inquiring about the explosive winger.

Spurs are currently leading the chase for Chadli after reports in Holland this morning that the North London outfit are in talks with Twente about a deal for their prize asset. However, the two clubs are thought to be some way apart in terms of valuation as Spurs have put a deal worth around £7m on the table and the Dutch side want a figure closer to £9m.

Swansea, who are expected to conclude a deal for Ivory Coast striker Wilfried Bony today, are also interested in the player.

By Alex Shilling, News Editor

@alexshilling

We saw him first! Hammers face fight to land City starlet

West Ham will have to battle a whole host of Premier League clubs if they want to sign Manchester City midfielder Abdisalam Ibrahim this summer, according to Sky Sports.

The 21 year old, out of contract in the summer, was linked with the Irons in March, but now Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Everton and Swansea have all also been credited with an interest in the Norwegian U23 international, who has been earning rave reviews for his performances on loan at Stromsgodset in the Eliteserien.

With only one first team appearance to his name in three years at the Etihad Stadium, Ibrahim may well be tempted to move on this summer and definitely won't be short of suitors.

By Alex Shilling, News Editor

@alexshilling

Free Blowing Bubbles Issue#7 NOW online

What a brilliant result we had against Manchester City! I was absolutely delighted after the game and so proud of how our boys played.

I also thought had Nolan’s goal not been disallowed, we could have picked up three points against the reigning champions who I felt thought they would beat us easily and were already thinking about their “must win” Champions League clash against Ajax.

We welcome Stoke to Upton Park on Monday for yet another game in front of the cameras and this surely is a game we must be looking to secure maximum points from.

Don’t get me wrong, Tony Pulis’ side will be hard to beat but compared to the teams we are playing in the coming weeks, you would hope our boys will really push to get all three points and continue our good momentum.

Looking at this week’s issue, our upcoming clashes against London rivals Spurs and Manchester United have got our writers all excited.

We’ve got some brilliant pieces from the likes of Joell Mayoh (pages 14&15), Richard Johnson (pages 20&21), Lucy Woolford (pages 22&23), Andrew Hosie (pages 26&27) and Geoff Hillyer (page 35) on these games and I think they will bring back some good/bad memories. You might also find yourself either agreeing with what they’ve said or completely disagreeing, either way they are worth a read.

Leading the issue is an excellent piece by News Editor Alex Shilling (pages 4&5) on why we’ve got more firepower up top than just Andy Carroll and why people are foolish to think otherwise. Rik Moran puts his case forward on why a move to the Olympic Stadium should be welcomed (page 8) before Dave Clark (page 9) looks past our tough run in to Christmas and explains why our games in January and February will make or break our season.

We’ve also got a piece from the Meagher family (page 10) arguing who are our best wing pairing while Carl Bateson outlines Stoke’s strengths and weaknesses in his piece (page 13).

Finally we've got a cracking article from Neil Chatteron (pages 24&25) on Hurricane Sandy and the destruction it left behind over in NYC and some cracking Opposition View articles this week with Stoke, Spurs and Man Utd fans talking to us about our games against them and their view of the mighty Hammers.
We really hope you like this issue, click here to read it on your mobile, tablet and/or computer.

COME ON YOUR IRONS

DAVID BLACKMORE
Editor
Blowing Bubbles
Website: www.blowing-bubbles.co.uk
Twitter: @Bl0wingBubbles
E-mail: Editor@Blowing-Bubbles.co.uk
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