Graham Potter needs a West Ham response.Graham Potter needs a West Ham response.
Graham Potter needs a West Ham response. | Getty Images
It’s AFC Bournemouth up next before a trip to Liverpool as West Ham look to bounce back from defeat against Wolves.
West Ham must find a response following a thoroughly disappointing 1-0 defeat to Wolves at Molineux on Tuesday night but tricky tests against AFC Bournemouth and Liverpool are up next for Graham Potter.
Wolves closed the gap between themselves in 17th and the Hammers in 16th to just five points. West Ham remain comfortable above the drop zone but Potter will be desperate to finish the campaign strong ahead of a big summer rebuild.
Andoni Iraola’s Cherries side visit the London Stadium this weekend as they look to reignite what has been an impressive Premier League campaign. The Cherries are now winless in their last five league fixtures and were beaten 2-1 by strugglers Ipswich Town in midweek. Then, it’s a trip to Champions elect Liverpool later this month.
West Ham hope for double injury boost against Bournemouth
Potter has confirmed good news for the Hammers this week in his pre-match press conference. The head coach hopes to have key first team stars Jean-Clair Todibo and Mohammed Kudus available against Bournemouth and almost certainly against Liverpool.
The duo missed out against Wolves but Potter said: "J-C Todibo trained this morning and felt a lot better. We'll see how he reacts today - we've got another training session on Friday so there's a chance he'll be involved, which would be good for us.
"On Tuesday, he just felt worse and worse as the day went on. We thought that he might be able to help us off the bench, but he just started to feel worse so in the end he couldn't come on. In the end he was just too poorly to play.
"Mo has done very light training today, so again we'll see how he reacts to that, and whether he can go in on Friday. Again he's got a chance for the weekend.
"For him it's an overload in the hip area. It's not really an injury, more of a fatigue thing. He felt some discomfort earlier on in the week, which ruled him out. We felt it was just too soon after his international break to be involved. But it's calmed down a lot, and if he trains well on Friday. then we've got a chance."
Mohammed Kudus release clause update emerges
West Ham welcomed back £27 million man Niclas Fullkrug following the international break but are short of striking options with Michail Antonio and Crysencio Summerville long-term absentees. Kudus is without a Premier League goal in his last 12 matches and has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia this summer in recent weeks.
Al Nassr are said to be leading the race but according to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, West Ham have already protected themselves against interest from the high-paying Saudi side, inserting a specific release clause that applies for clubs from the Middle-East.
Plettenberg tweeted: “Understand that Mohammed #Kudus’ release clause for Saudi clubs is even higher than the £85 million set for European teams. Saudi clubs are interested in Kudus, but at this stage, his main plan is not to move to Saudi Arabia this summer. Enquiries have been made, but nothing is concrete yet. The 24-y/o right winger is now represented by ROOF agency. Contract until 2028. #WHUFC”
In other news, West Ham won’t be happy with the Premier League announcement for the AFC Bournemouth clash.
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