West Ham boss David Moyes has been left furious after his side were left without Mo Kudus and Nayef Aguerd for the goalless draw with Brighton.

Kudus and Aguerd are both travelling to the Africa Cup of Nations, but were unable to feature for the Hammers due to FIFA rules. The final day for stars featuring in the tournament to play for their parent club was New Year’s Day.

That meant that Brighton’s trip to the London Stadium was the only one in the latest Premier League matchweek where the 43 top-flight players heading to the Ivory Coast were not allowed to play. That came after the match was moved by Sky Sports to be screened live.

By contrast, Liverpool were able to call on Salah for their win over Newcastle, with the Egyptian scoring twice in his final game before the tournament. That left Moyes furious, as he insisted it was unfair that he was not able to play Kudus or Aguerd.

“For some reason we weren’t allowed to play our players when Salah played for Liverpool last night. It feels a bit strange that we’re playing on January 2. Could we not have played on the first so our African players would be allowed to play as well?” Moyes said.

“I feel that’s something which isn’t correct. I just think why could we have our African players the same as everybody else. I don’t see at this point why you would play a game and be disadvantaged by some of your players not being able to play.

HAVE YOUR SAY! Should West Ham have received special dispensation? Comment below.

“Overall we’ve had a brilliant Christmas period on the points front, I’m thrilled to win three, including Arsenal and Manchester United, and draw one. It’s the first time this season we’ve looked really jaded and tired tonight.

“We acted as if we didn’t want the ball and Brighton put unbelievable pressure on us. So there’s a lot of praise for the players for sticking at it but I want it to be better and I know it has to get better.”

Salah’s two goals proved to be crucial as Liverpool moved three points clear at the top of the Premier League. And the attacker was delighted to end the first-half of his season on a high as he turned his focus to Egypt.

“I want to win this competition, I would love to win it. But without me, I’m sure the [Liverpool] players will manage to win games. We have fantastic players, really good quality, they just need to keep the pressure away and just play their football,” he told Sky Sports.

“We have players who can play in my position, they can do what I am doing. It means a lot to play for the national team, it’s a great feeling. Every time I step on the field with the national team jersey, it’s something I cannot take for granted.

“I’m just happy to play in the tournament and I would love to win it. I missed the pen. At half-time I was like, ‘Do you want to leave for the national team with that performance?’ Not really! So I had to really focus, step up and make the difference and I managed to do so.”

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The £78M star LFC are in “advanced” talks to sign has had an “accelerated learning curve”

Liverpool are reportedly in advanced talks with Lille to sign promising young centre-back Leny Yoro, who has had an “accelerated learning curve” since becoming part of the first team setup.

The 18-year-old defender is attracting interest from Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City.

He could complete a big-money move to the Premier League this month if any of these sides decides to stump up the £78 million (€90M) required to convince club president Olivier Létang to sell.

Latest on Liverpool and Man Utd “advanced” talks to sign Leny Yoro

A report from French news outlet le10Sport claims that Liverpool and the Manchester clubs are in “advanced” discussions with Lille over the possibility of signing the highly-rated Yoro.

 

 

 

 

Liverpool are reportedly prepared to “sign a nice cheque” to make the deal happen although it seems unlikely that they will be prepared to smash the £75 million club transfer record paid to sign Virgil van Dijk in order to make this transfer happen.

That’s not to say the teenager isn’t a top player just that it’s a lot of money to pay for a player that is still yet to prove his talent for an extended period or even in a more challenging division.

That said, I’m not a scout and by all other accounts, Yoro seems to be one of the most promising centre-back talents coming through the ranks in Europe.

What is meant by Yoro has had an “accelerated learning curve”?

This season, Yoro has played 86% of all available minutes for a total of 1,737. By the end of the season, he will comfortably reach the 3,000-minute mark for the first time in his fledgling career.

 

 

 

 

The general manager of the Lille Academy, Jean-Michel Vandamme, had words of praise as well as words of caution for Yoro.

“He’s got a good sense of movement and good timing, but when it comes to defensive aerial play, as he’s more on his back foot, I think he still needs to improve,” he said. “He still needs to work on his strength.

Yoro seems to be a player that relishes the challenge ahead of him and is very keen to do learn the beautiful game.

“He’s had an accelerated learning curve because he only spent two years at the youth academy,” Vandamme explained.

“Leny is a quick learner. He wants to excel and has a real interest in analysing different situations and understanding them, while putting himself under controlled pressure.

“The coach has an extremely precise and rigorous game plan, in which talent is important but respect for instructions is just as important. When the coach and staff give him advice, he listens, absorbs and applies it. The same is true when he receives advice from his team-mates.”