According to reports in The Sun, Premier League duo West Ham United and Bournemouth are ready to go head-to-head in the race to sign £2m-rated Reading winger Paolo Hurtado this summer.

Following the departure of the unsettled Dimitri Payet during the January transfer window, Robert Snodgrass failing to impress after his arrival from Hull City during the same month and Michail Antonio’s future looking to be in doubt as new contract talks continue to stall, Irons manager Slaven Bilic is looking to strengthen in wide areas at the end of the campaign.

Even though the wide man, who can also play in the centre, has made just six appearances in all competitions for the Royals after moving to the Madejski Stadium from Pacos de Ferreira in August 2015, the Croatian is said to have been impressed with his performances during a loan spell with Portuguese outfit Vitoria Guimaraes this term.

Here are three things West Ham fans need to know about the 26-year-old…

He has enjoyed an impressive season

After initially joining Vitoria Guimaraes on a six-month loan deal in January 2016, the Portuguese club were impressed and decided to take him on loan for the full 2016/17 campaign too.

The winger has scored an impressive nine goals in 35 appearances in all competitions, as well as providing a further three assists, and the side looks set to secure a Europa League football for next season as they currently sit fourth in the Primeira Liga standings.

His strengths

According to WhoScored.com Hurtado, who has often been deployed as a central attacking midfielder by Vitora Guimaraes this season despite being able to play on either wing, has many strengths to his game.

These include his finishing – shown by the nine goals he has in 35 appearances in all competitions this term – his crossing, his ability to hold on to the ball and the key passes he is able to make.

These are attributes that are sure to have caught the attention of Irons boss Slaven Bilic, and he could make his move this summer.

He is a Peru international

Hurtado is a Peru international and has scored two goals in 28 appearances for his country.

He helped keep his nation’s chances of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia alive when he came on as a half-time substitute in the 2-1 win against Luis Suarez’s Uruguay in March, but they still look set to miss out as they lie five points behind an automatic qualification spot and four behind the play-off spot that Argentina currently occupy.

If he did move to the London Stadium, he would become just the fifth Peruvian player to feature in the Premier League.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.

According to reports from Marca, Liverpool have seen a €75million (£64.48million) transfer bid for Kylian Mbappe rejected by Monaco.

The prodigious forward is coming to the end of a sensational season that has seen him net 24 times across all competitions to fire Monaco to the Ligue 1 title and the semi-finals of the Champions League at just 18 years of age.

Accordingly, Mbappe will enter the summer transfer window as European football’s most in-demand teenager and Marca believe the Reds have already tabled a club-record offer – albeit, one that has been rejected by the French champions.

Indeed, the Spanish publication further claim Monaco value Mbappe at in excess of €100million (£85.97million), which would be some outlay for a player with just 18 months of senior football under his belt.

So, Liverpool fans, should your club give up their pursuit of the France international, or should they up the ante to meet Monaco’s valuation? Let us know by voting below…

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger lead his beloved club to a 13th FA Cup win under the arch at Wembley yesterday, more than any club in the history of the competition, and a seventh under his stewardship, making the Frenchman the most successful manager in FA Cup history.

The win was a silver lining in what has otherwise been a season of chaos and uncertainty with fans split over where the club is going and who should be in charge.

The loudest of fans on social media and in the stands will always be those who are discontent with the way things stand at the club and in north London their numbers have swelled substantially over the last season. The ‘Wenger Out Brigade, have made banners, protested and even hired planes and vans to get their message across.

However, whilst they bemoan the results on the pitch, the Gunners have picked up a third FA Cup in four years and, having been poor earlier in the season, have beaten Manchester City and Chelsea on the way to doing so.

That was a sentiment not lost on the Daily Mail’s Oliver Holt who, from Wembley, sent out this rather tongue in cheek Tweet…

And, as you can imagine, it didn’t go down too well with many Arsenal fans…

Manchester United defender Chris Smalling looks set to move onto pastures new this summer, with The Daily Star reporting that the Red Devils are looking to cash in on the defender for around £15million.

The news comes following a campaign in which the 27-year-old managed just 13 Premier League starts, seemingly falling out of favour with Jose Mourinho.

There are already some clubs in the mix to sign the England international according to The Star, namely West Ham, West Brom and Everton.

The Toffees appear to be particularly in need of a new option at centre-half for next season, with Ashley Williams and Phil Jagielka both the wrong side of 30, so we asked Everton fans earlier this week whether they’d back a transfer swoop for the 6 foot 4 defender.

And according to our poll, the majority of Everton fans – 69% – would welcome a deal that sees Smalling move to Goodison Park this summer.

The champions of England will be looking to bolster their already amazing squad of players this summer.

You’d expect they’ll be bringing in top quality personnel to help them cope with Champions League football returning to the Bridge as well as an attempt to retain the their Premier League crown.

The additional games will see manager Antonio Conte spend big on names like Romelu Lukaku who is strongly linked with a return to the blues.

The Belgium forward left for Goodison Park for a fee in the region of £28m but bringing him back would cost in excess of £80m as reported by The Independent. This would see the west Londoners beat rivals Manchester United to his signature, and smashing their current transfer record  in the process.

Chelsea have been well known for spending big since Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich took full ownership of the club back in 2003 and saw Chelsea become a Premier League powerhouse, but the reported fees in the Lukaku deal would outdo anything else the Blues have done since then.

Can you name Chelsea’s top 10 most expensive transfers in history in under three minutes? Try our quiz below and find out…

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As reported by The Sun, Everton are planning an audacious £20m move for Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud this summer.

What’s the story?

With speculation mounting that Romelu Lukaku could leave the club to head to the likes of Manchester United this summer, Everton would require an elite replacement that can fill the hole left in the Belgian’s wake.

One man said to be interesting Ronald Koeman massively is Arsenal forward Olivier Giroud. That’s what The Sun reckon anyway, who say that he will become the Toffees’ number one target should Lukaku end up leaving.

Having spent more this summer than any Everton manager in history, the paper say £20m more is on the table to bring Giroud to Merseyside.

A capable replacement?

Olivier Giroud made just 17 starts for Arsene Wenger last season, the veteran manager much preferring playing Alexis Sanchez through the middle and often opting to play just one striker.

However, Giroud still weighed in with a fair contribution, netting 16 times this season for the club despite limited minutes on the pitch.

With a futher 11 goals for his country over the last 12 months, it’s clear that he is an elite striker, potentially at the peak of his game at the age of 30.

That goal threat could be vital at Everton, especially if Lukaku leaves. He could soften the blow, at least in the short-term, if the Belgian ends up leaving Goodison Park this summer. With a regular game week-to-week we may just see the best of what he has to offer and could be the perfect fit for an ambitious outfit like Everton.

Tottenham Hotspur probably wanted to get fans excited about the new season when they posted pictures of manager Mauricio Pochettino and his staff back conducting training.

However, when the images were uploaded on social media, the overwhelming reaction was not quite what they would have expected.

Spurs are yet to bring in a new player during this transfer window, but they have been linked to numerous talents in the media.

The club finished second in the Premier League last season, so they need to make sure that they keep up with their competitors in the transfer market in order to push for the title.

Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United, Everton and Spurs’ arch rivals Arsenal have all brought in new recruits.

It seems that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy appears to be taking his time with regards to incomings.

Fans used a tweet showing Pochettino and his staff on the training pitch to flood the feed with queries over the club’s quiet transfer activity.

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According to De Morgan, Manchester Unted are interested in Leander Dendoncker and will watch the young midfielder in Anderlecht’s first league game this weekend.

What’s the Story?

Reports in Germany are suggesting that Manchester United are keen on 22-year-old Leander Dendoncker and will watch the midfielder when Anderlecht start their domestic season this Saturday.

The Belgian impressed when Anderlecht faced Manchester United during last season’s Europa League and is now thought to be a target of Jose Mourinho’s, potentially as a long-term replacement for Michael Carrick.

However, it is thought that United are not the only team interested in the young star. AC Milan and RB Leipzig are also sending scouts to watch Anderlecht this weekend, all with an eye on Dendoncker.

How good was Dendoncker last season?

An ever present for Anderlecht last season, Dendoncker featured 53 times for the Belgian Champions, scoring six goals in the process.

However, it was exceptionally mature performances and marshalling of the midfield that seems to have raised a number of interested eyebrows around Europe. The 22-year-old, who is valued at £12.75million by Transfermarkt, has the makings of a captain already and could flourish on an even bigger stage.

Would Dendoncker be a good signing for Manchester United?

Considering he is just 22-years-old, Dendoncker could be the genuine long-term answer to the imminent retirement of Michael Carrick. The current United captain turns 36 today and is unlikely to be playing regularly at Old Trafford for much longer.

The Belgian plays in a similar vein to the United legend and has his best years ahead of him. This should be considered an essential signing for Mourinho.

Premier League holders Chelsea suffered a shock 3-2 home defeat by Burnley at Stamford Bridge on the opening day of the new campaign, and Blues fans were not pleased with the performance of midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

Antonio Conte would have wanted his team to get their title defence off to a positive start against the Clarets even though the likes of Eden Hazard, Pedro and new boy Tiemoue Bakayoko were missing from the starting line-up through injury.

Fabregas started alongside N’Golo Kante in the middle of the park following Nemanja Matic’s summer exit to Manchester United, but Gary Cahill’s 14th-minute red card saw the hosts spiral out of control and they trailed 3-0 at the break.

Substitute Alvaro Morata gave them hope of an unlikely comeback in the second-half but then Fabregas picked up a second yellow for a challenge on Jack Cork having earlier been booked for sarcastically clapping the referee, which all but ended their hopes of securing a point even though David Luiz did score a second late on.

Chelsea supporters were quick to have their say on the showing of the Spaniard via social media, and they slammed his performance with some even describing him as “the worst player on the pitch”.

Here is just a selection of the Twitter reaction…

Romelu Lukaku capped his Premier League debut for Manchester United with a brace in Sunday afternoon’s 4-0 win over West Ham United at Old Trafford.

The summer signing from Everton has now scored three goals in two competitive appearances for the Red Devils after netting in the UEFA Super Cup against Champions League holders Real Madrid in Macedonia last week.

The brace took Lukaku to 120 Premier League goals since moving to England from Anderlecht in 2011, and the Belgian will be looking to continue his fine start to the season when Man United travel to Wales to face Swansea City on Saturday afternoon.

Man United’s official Twitter account posted a video of Lukaku’s first Man United goal on Wednesday, and as expected, the response section brought a host of praise for the forward.

Many have doubted whether the 24-year-old has the credentials to make his mark against the so-called bigger teams in the league, and indeed in Europe, but Man United supporters are certain that their new number nine will prove to be an overwhelming success.