Here are your West Ham afternoon headlines on Saturday, May 31.
Hammers to oppose PPG at next Premier League meeting
Baroness Karren Brady believes that there will be detailed discussions next week about what will happen if the Premier League season is curtailed.
It was announced earlier this week that the Premier League will return on June 17 but the league reiterated that games will only go ahead if all safety precautions are carried out.
If the season cannot be carried out, the Premier League’s recommended method of points per game (PPG) has been opposed by West Ham’s chief executive.
In a weekly column, she said: “What if the Government declares the games cannot restart or continue to be played due to a second wave of the virus requiring a new lockdown?
“Well at that point the season will be curtailed, and the Premier League are recommending a points-per-game formula to decide the award of places.
“This is a straightforward model whereby a team’s number of points is simply divided by the number of matches they have played.
“The resulting figure is the average number of points each team has earned in each match of the season so far and on this calculation three teams will be relegated — what a heartbreaking end to the most unfortunate season in history.”
West Ham enquire AC Milan over midfielder’s availability
West Ham have made an enquiry into the availability of AC Milan midfielder Marco Brescianini.
The 20-year-old is yet to make his senior debut for the Serie A side despite impressing at youth level and the Hammers have registered their interest in the youngster, according to Calciomercato.
Spending is likely to be limited in the upcoming transfer window as a result of an unprecedented time for elite sport and West Ham could be forced to get imaginative in the transfer market.
Brescianini would be a welcome addition to the Hammers’ midfield as a young midfielder who tends to play a box-to-box role.
Any chance of signing the 20-year-old would hinge on whether AC Milan’s willingness to sell a player who still has four years remaining on his contract.
Snodgrass opens up mental health discussion
Robert Snodgrass has been the latest high profile athlete to further the discussion around mental health issues.
The West Ham midfielder has launched a new podcast named ‘The Lockdown Tactics’ which features interviews with other stars in the world of sport, aiming to raise awareness of mental health and encourage more discussion.
In partnership with former Scotland international teammate Kris boyd, the pair’s podcast has already reached a wide audience.
“There has been a great response to Lockdown Tactics… it’s been fantastic for us to get the big names on there and open up in-depth conversations, not only about their achievements in sport, but more importantly about mental health,” Snodgrass told the club website.
“We have been joined by sporting idols who have interesting careers to talk about, but also powerful messages.
“It has really blown up in just four or five weeks and we’ve had a lot of people contacting us, telling us they have been helped through by listening to the podcast.”
