West Ham have now made an approach to sign a Premier League striker with Niclas Füllkrug also agreeing to join AC Milan, according to reports.

West Ham accelerate new striker plans ahead of January

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side are accelerating their search for attacking reinforcements ahead of the January transfer window.

The Hammers currently languish in 18th with just 13 points and sit three points adrift of safety. Their lack of a reliable goalscorer up front has placed enormous pressure on the club’s recruitment team to identify solutions, especially with Fullkrug nearing the exit door.

Fullkrug’s imminent departure will undoubtedly intensify the urgency surrounding West Ham’s striker search.

The German international has endured a nightmare spell since his £27 million arrival last year, managing just three goals in 29 appearances.

West Ham’s results in the Premier League so far

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

West Ham 3-2 Burnley

Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Liverpool

Man United 1-1 West Ham

Brighton 1-1 West Ham

West Ham 2-3 Aston Villa

His agent has also practically confirmed the 32-year-old wants out of London, with Fabrizio Romano sharing this week that Fullkrug has given total priority to Milan despite interest from the Bundesliga.

For West Ham, signing a proven replacement for Fullkrug is imperative as they look to battle their way out of the relegation zone.

A host of strikers have already been linked with moves to the London Stadium, with the Irons holding discussions over a move for ex-Brentford star Ivan Toney, only to be told a Saudi exit for the player is unlikely next month.

Related West Ham hold informal talks for striker who's spoken to Frank about joining Spurs

The Hammers have reached out.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini

West Ham were also believed to be in pole position for Promise David, but the Jupiler Pro League star is now more inclined to remain at Union Saint-Gilloise.

As their striker pool runs low, journalist Graeme Bailey has told TEAMtalk that Nuno could bring his search closer to home.

West Ham make approach for Everton striker Beto

According to his information, Fullkrug has agreed personal terms with Milan already, and West Ham have made an approach for Everton striker Beto.

Bailey reports that West Ham have made contact with Everton regarding Beto’s availability, though any potential deal hinges entirely on the Toffees securing their own forward replacement first.

The Portuguese striker has struggled for consistent opportunities under David Moyes this season, making him receptive to a January move.

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West Ham have also enquired about former Middlesbrough forward Emmanuel Latte-Lath, currently plying his trade with Atlanta United.

The striker apparently harbors ambitions of returning to European football, making him another viable candidate for Nuno’s struggling frontline.

In Beto’s case, the thought of him being an answer for West Ham is very debatable.

The 27-year-old has bagged just 12 goals in 76 total Premier League appearances for Everton, but the number nine could be a cheaper option financially considering his second-string status under Moyes and the fact his contract expires in 2027.

Related West Ham now set to enter talks to sign "unstoppable" former Barcelona star

The Hammers are looking to improve their forward line next month.

Posts ByDominic Lund

Why was the CLT20 culled and what is the most significant impact?
The CLT20 was cancelled because of the lack of viability from a broadcaster’s perspective. An IPL insider revealed that the tournament was worth almost a billion dollars over ten years but the broadcasters failed to recover even a tenth of that.The biggest impact following the cancellation of the CLT20 will be felt by non-Indian domestic teams, who have lost out on a three-way income stream. Non-Indian teams in the tournament received participation fees of US$500,000 per team, prize money and US$150,000 per player who chose to turn out for his IPL team instead of his domestic team, in the event that both qualified.”The CLT20 was a cash cow for international teams,” the source told ESPNcricinfo. “For a team like T&T, when a Samuel Badree or Dwayne Bravo is playing for other teams, the money they receive from them would change things immediately. The CLT20 was a game-changer for other teams around the world given the sheer amount of money.”

Impact on respective boards

BCCI
Of the three stakeholders – the BCCI, CA and CSA – the Indian board and its teams are the best off. The BCCI will receive US$190 million – more than half the $330 million settlement between the three boards and the broadcaster Star India – and the IPL teams will no longer have to spend thousands of dollars for retaining overseas players for the CLT20. “For Indian franchises, most of the amount would be spent towards retaining the services of a Pollard or de Villiers,” the source said.Cricket Australia
CA is the next biggest beneficiary. It will receive US$80 million following the closure of CLT20 and has a television rights deal to cushion it against other loss. Cricket Australia made somewhere in the region of US$25 million in each edition of the Champions League, and in the early seasons of the Big Bash League, it was this money that allowed the BBL project head Mike McKenna to say “domestic Twenty20 operations” were running at a profit.The broadcast networks, Channel Nine and Channel Ten, alleviated CA’s reliance on this revenue in 2013. The deal with Channel Ten for the BBL alone is worth $20 million per season, while Nine’s investment of $500 million over five years also strengthened the board’s position and the funds that could be doled out to the states and their BBL teams.Cricket South Africa
The South African board will receive US$60 million from the settlement but its franchises, who operate as separate companies to the national body, are concerned about their own affairs. CSA will split the participation fees of the two teams who took part in the tournament between all six of their franchises, who received R350,000 (US$28.778) a year.Several franchise CEOs described the funds coming in from CLT20 as “essential”, because the income-earning opportunities for South African franchises are limited. “The participation money from the CLT20 is worth more than we get in prize money for winning a domestic tournament,” Nabeal Dien, CEO of Cobras, said. For turning up in the CLT20, teams receive the equivalent of R2.4 million (US$200,000). In comparison, South Africa’s first-class competition carries a total prize money of R2 million (US 166,666).West Indies Cricket Board
The West Indies Cricket Board loses between $300,000 and 400,000 as a whole from the tournament being cancelled. A major portion, over 65% of the money they would earn from the CLT20 was channelled towards development in the territories with the remainder retained by the board.The WICB was also concerned about the impact on domestic teams. “It’s what funds the region will be devoid of, not the board. Everything does not just go in the WICB coffers as that money has to be shared,” Michael Muirhead, CEO of WICB said. “You can’t just say what money the board will be missing out on.” He estimated that the funds that “the region” would no longer be privy to could be around “a couple hundreds of thousands of US Dollars.”Sri Lanka Cricket
For Sri Lanka, where the board owns all the franchises, the effect will be felt at national level. The SLC received the US$500,000 participation fee plus the amounts from players retained by IPL franchises. Around 5% of this money went into operational costs, another 5% to the players and the remaining 90% into SLC coffers.

Tasmania have picked 18-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Jake Doran and uncapped 21-year-old right-arm pacer Ryan Lees in their squad for next month’s Matador Cup one-day competition. The 14-member squad also includes fast bowler Jackson Bird, who has not played a List A game for Tasmania since December 2012.The side will be captained by George Bailey, with Alex Doolan serving as his deputy. The squad includes left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty and allrounder James Faulkner, who, along with Bailey, were part of Australia’s World Cup-winning squad.Lees, who hails from Flinders Island, has represented Tasmania in the Imparja Cup and earned a rookie contract in the 2013-14 season. He was picked in the squad after strong pre-season performances, according to Michael Farrell, Tasmania’s chairman of selectors.Doran, who is uncapped in List A and first-class cricket and moved from New South Wales to Tasmania recently, has performed consistently in Under-19 cricket. The left-handed batsman is Australia’s highest run-getter in Under-19 cricket with more than 1000 runs in 30 Youth ODIs between 2013 and 2015. He was also the leading run-getter for Australia Under-19s in the 2014 World Cup and made his Twenty20 debut for a Cricket Australia XI against the touring South Africans last November.”Ryan Lees has been rewarded with selection due to strong performances in various games throughout the preseason, and we are delighted with the form of our newly recruited player Jake Doran,” Farrell said.Tasmania, though, will be without the services of fast bowler Andrew Fekete, who has been picked for the Tests against Bangladesh. Batsman Jordan Silk was unavailable for selection due to personal reasons, according to Farrell.Tasmania’s first match of the competition will be against Queensland on October 5.Tasmania squad: George Bailey (c), Alex Doolan (vc), Jackson Bird, Xavier Doherty, Jake Doran, Ben Dunk, James Faulkner, Evan Gulbis, Hamish Kingston, Ryan Lees, Dominic Michael, Tim Paine, Sam Rainbird, Clive Rose

ScorecardJames Hildreth cuts during his unbeaten 118•Getty Images

A James Hildreth century and another key innings from Marcus Trescothick saw Somerset into a strong position at the end of the first day against Warwickshire at Taunton.Needing seven points to guarantee his side’s First Division survival, skipper Trescothick shared valuable partnerships with Tom Cooper and Hildreth, who ended the day unbeaten on 118, as Somerset closed on 360 for 5, collecting four of those precious points in the process.After a slightly delayed start, it was Trescothick who took charge of the first part of the day after opting to bat first. The 39-year-old veteran produced an array of shots, the pick of which was a classic cover drive off Oliver Hannon-Dalby in the eighth over.Along with Tom Abell, the former England man helped to take the total onto 30 when Abell played back to a good ball from Hannon-Dalby and was caught by wicket-keeper Tim Ambrose.Tom Cooper joined Trescothick and it was the new batsman who brought up the fifty when he took two off Patel to square leg. Trescothick looked in fine form and brought up his half-century with a four off Rikki Clarke to third man, his runs coming from 68 balls with nine fours.The second-wicket pair had taken the total to 98 when in the last over before lunch Cooper was bowled by Clarke for 43.Hildreth joined Trescothick and it was the new man who brought up the 100 in the first full over after the interval.In the hour after lunch Hildreth was in full flow and went to his half-century with a single off Mark Adair, having faced 52 balls and hit nine fours.Trescothick took his own score onto 87 when he looked to drive Adair and was caught by Ambrose with the total on 199, his partnership with Hildreth being worth 101.Jim Allenby and Hildreth added 55 together, but after moving to 29 the former was caught by Ambrose off Barker, with the total on 254. Pete Trego made a brisk 24 before he was caught at backward point by Freddy Coleman off Keith Barker.Hildreth brought up the Somerset 300 and secured another crucial point with a square driven boundary and in the next over from Clarke went to his fifth first-class century of the season with a single into the off side, his runs coming off 150 balls with 15 fours.Luke Ronchi was unbeaten on 38 at the end of a day reduced to 84 overs by the weather.

Zimbabwe batsman Mark Vermeulen has been banned from all cricket by Zimbabwe Cricket after it emerged that he had engaged in a racist tirade on social media during which he referred to black Zimbabweans as “apes”.”Racism is abominable and there can be no defence for it,” said a statement released by Zimbabwe Cricket. “Mark Vermeulen has been banned from participating in all cricket activities, after he owned up to repulsive remarks that reflect racism, prejudice and plain ignorance. We find Vermeulen’s Facebook comment distasteful and unacceptable, particularly for a senior sportsman who should have learned from playing in Zimbabwe and abroad that there is no place for racism in sport.”Vermeulen had posted his comment in July, on a thread underneath an article posted on Facebook about Prosper Utseya’s letter to the ZC Board, which alleged that racism persisted in Zimbabwean cricket. Though Vermeulen subsequently deleted the comment, a screenshot eventually made its way into the public sphere, again on social media.ESPNcricinfo has seen the screenshot of the comment, which talked of “white people” having “fxxxd up the apes’ lives”. “If we… had never educated them, Prosper wouldn’t be having these problems,” it said.As the reaction to his comment gathered steam online, it is believed that some members of Vermeulen’s domestic franchise, Mashonaland Eagles, insisted they would boycott any team with Vermeulen in it. The administration of the franchise met today to decide how to respond, and this evening it was confirmed that Vermeulen has been banned from all cricket activities by Zimbabwe Cricket.Vermeulen had issued a public statement, which was reproduced in local newspapers today, and which he called an apology. In it, Vermeulen said that he had apologised personally to Utseya and that “he accepted my apology”.”I know my comments were over the top and I apologise to all that I have offended,” continued Vermeulen’s statement. “But as a cricketer, it’s how our minds work… It was not meant in a menacing way. It was just a chirp that often happens out on the field of play and as men, you take the blow on the chin and get on with the game.”Behavioural and disciplinary issues have long been a problem for Vermeulen, with trouble surfacing as early as his high school days in Harare in the mid-1990s. He was banned from representing his school, Prince Edward High in Harare, for walking off with the stumps after receiving a poor lbw decision and locking himself in the changing room.His fierce desire to succeed as a cricketer led to a Test debut in 2002, but two years later he was struck on the head by a bouncer from Irfan Pathan at the Gabba, during a tri-series in Australia. The injury, which replicated one he had suffered in 2003, when he was struck on the head by fast bowler Travis Friend while batting in the nets, required urgent surgery, and Vermeulen’s behaviour became increasingly erratic. He was banned from playing cricket in England for ten years after an altercation with some spectators during a club game and, most infamously, he burned down Zimbabwe’s cricket academy in 2006 in retaliation for being overlooked by the national side.Vermeulen was acquitted of charges of arson in 2008, on the grounds that he had been suffering psychiatric problems, including partial complex epilepsy and impulsive behaviour disorder, ever since his injury in Australia. Remarkably, Vermeulen returned to international cricket with a one-day half-century against Bangladesh the following year, but his form tailed off and, though he played for every domestic franchise in the country in his efforts to win a national contract, it seemed his days as an international cricketer were over. Yet Vermeulen was called upon once more in 2014, re-selected by coach Steve Mangongo and convener of selectors Givemore Makoni, for a one-off Test against South Africa. There had also been talk that Vermeulen was hoping to win yet another recall for the upcoming series against Bangladesh.

Scoreboard and ball-by-ball detailsNasir Jamshed made the highest score on either side (file photo)•PCB

Dhaka Dynamites made hard work of beating Comilla Victorians by six wickets in the second match of the BPL’s opening day. The match was played in the same pitch as the high-scoring Chittagong-Rangpur fixture, but Comilla’s batsmen simply imploded in the face of mostly disciplined bowling.Dhaka took their time finishing the 111-run chase, as they stretched it to the final over, winning with four balls to spare.Not until the eighth-wicket partnership between Mashrafe Mortaza and Krishmar Santokie did the Comilla innings look to be going anywhere. They lost their top and middle-order in the first 13.3 overs, slipping to 67 for 7. Openers Imrul Kayes and Liton Das were caught at mid-off and mid-on in the first two overs before Shuvagata Hom and Marlon Samuels were undone by good deliveries. The top five didn’t get to double-figures.Darren Stevens’ run out in the eighth over made it 36 for 5 and though Ariful Haque and Mahmudul Hasan stemmed the constant flow of wickets, they could only add 23 runs before Ariful was stumped off Mosharraf Hossain, who also took Mahmudul’s wicket.The best bowler on show was the Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah who, despite going wicketless, played around with the Comilla batsmen with his flight and change of pace. Hasan took three wickets while Mosharraf Hossain picked up two.Santokie struck three fours in one Mustafizur over before Mashrafe smoked sixes off Farhad Reza and Mustafizur, the second one landing in the second tier over midwicket. He top-scored with 25 but a total of 110 for 8 was never going to be enough to challenge a batting line-up like Dhaka’s.Shamsur Rahman made 19 off 17 balls before giving mid-off a catch off Mashrafe but Nasir Jamshed and Dhaka captain Kumar Sangakkara kept the short chase in control. Sangakkara swung but missed to give Abu Hider his first wicket.They added 55 runs for the second wicket, before Jamshed fell for a run-a-ball 44 to Sunil Narine.

Following their great escape in the first unofficial test match the Zimbabwean bowlers have continued where they left off in Kurunegala. Sri Lanka, who won the toss and elected to bat, struggled against the miserly bowling of the visitors on a turning pitch at De Zoysa Stadium and were bowled out for just 212.The Zimbabwean players have immediately responded to the coach’s request for greater discipline in the bowling after the Kurunegala test match. Even the opening bowlers, who have been extremely expensive in the tour so far, acquiesced by bowling a tighter line and shorter length. The spinners – Peacock, Rennie and Price – continued the good work, although initially they bowled a little too flat and fast for this dry, turning wicket.Kumar Sangakkara held the innings together for the Sri Lankans with a fine 90 off 195 balls. The left handed wicket-keeper played a businesslike innings for his team. Unlike the present Sri Lankan wicketkeeper, Romesh Kaluwitharana, he appears a watchful and patient batsmen. Nevertheless he was prepared to attack the bowlers when given the opportunity and hit a total of 12 boundaries. He was though lucky to survive two chances: a catch down the leg-side in the50th over and a run-out chance after he slipped in the middle of the wicket.Apart from Sangakkara and Upeka Fernando (46), who shared a third wicket partnership of 99, the Sri Lankan batsmen failed to apply themselves nor show the kind of intensity and commitment that one has come to expect from Sri Lankan sides during the last few months.When play commenced in the morning session there was still some moisture in the wicket for the faster bowlers to exploit. Bowling straighter and shorter than they have previously in the tour the opening bowlers, Mackay (1-14) and Muntendera (3-28), induced an unusually cautious start by the Sri Lankan openers, Ian Daniels (10) and Shantha Kalavitigoda (5). Having scored just 19 off the first 12 overs Ian Daniels tried to ball a short delivery from Mutendera but only succeeded in hitting it straight up in the air for a returncatch. Three balls later Kalavitigoda followed his partner back to thedressing room after he popped up a catch for Greg Lamb at short leg.Upeka Fernando and Kumar Sagarakkara then set out repairing the early damage. Patiently and slowly they played themselves in before accelerating after the lunch interval. After the break Upeka decided to be more aggressive and started to attack the Zimbabwean bowlers. Immediately the Zimbabwean’s decided on a policy of control. The spinners speared the ball into the legs of the batsmen and packed the leg-side with fielders.However when the partnership was eventually broken, Fernando was caught behind whilst attempting to cut Price, the spinners became more offensive. Now prepared to flight the ball more to the new batsmen they started to extract considerable spin for the first day of a three-day match.Wickets then started to fall at regular intervals. Jehan Mubarak (11) chipped a return catch back to Peacock in the 59th over and Damika Sudharshana (4) was bowled by Price in the 66th. Suresh Perera, making his representative comeback after injury, was caught at short leg, the victim of a well flighted off break from Peacock that turned enough to catch the inside edge. Sangakkara finally perished when he skied a simple catch to Mackay and mid-off.At the end the Sri Lankan tail-enders decided enjoy themselves in the pleasant evening sunshine with a few lusty blows off the spinners. This was promptly put to an end by the Zimbabwean captain who decided to take the new ball. Mutendera finishing off the innings with two quick wickets.

St John’s (Antigua), April 10: Pakistan avenged their defeat ofSaturday against the West Indies Select XI by gaining a marginal14-run victory over the home team at the Antigua Recreation Groundhere on Sunday.Like the Pakistan team in the first match, the West Indies Select XIalso collapsed in a similar fashion while chasing 184 to win in 50overs.Mohammad Akram, who took three for 27 in the first match, was onceagain in good form as he picked four for 28 as the Select XI werebowled out for 169 in the 40th over. Pakistan in their innings hadmade 183 for nine after winning the toss.The Select XI from 135 for four had plummeted to 137 for seven afterRamnaresh Sarwan and Runako Morton seemed to have taken the grip onthe game with a stand of 70 for the fifth wicket. The two had takentheir innings from 65 for four to 135.After Morton was leg before for 25 to Mohammad Akram with the firstball of his second spell, their innings slid quickly.Junior Murray lofted Shoaib Malik to be caught at long-on by ImranNazir and Nehemiah Perry was stumped by Mohammad Wasim who had takenover after Atiq-uz-Zaman was taken to hospital with strained hipligament in an attempt to catch opener Wilden Cornwall.Pakistan had lost three wickets for 60 before Wasim and YousufYouhana, who scored 29, salvaged the innings. Pakistan lost fivewickets for 46 before Shoaib Malik made an unbeaten 22 to enhance thescore.

Kaushik Aphale made a fine century to place Maharashtra in a commanding position against Gujarat on the second day of the Ranji Trophy West Zone league at Shri Shivaji Stadium at Karad. Maharashtra amassed a healthy 476 in 139 overs.Resuming on 318 for five, Aphale (115) and Mandar Sane (32) added 77 runs for the sixth wicket. Aphale’s 191 ball innings had 13 hits to the fence. Lalit Patel (5/73) picked up four of the five wickets to fall in the session.In reply, Gujarat had a disastrous start to their innings, losing both the openers with five runs on the board. Iqbal Siddiqui bagged two of the wickets to fall. Mukund Parmar was struggling to keep the innings together. He toiled around for 104 deliveries and was unbeaten on 35.Gujarat ended the day on 64 for four from 39.1 overs, trailing by 412 runs.

Veteran all rounder Dave Callaghan stopped Eastern Province’s mini-slumpin form by leading them to an emphatic 67 run victory over Griquas in theStandard Bank Cup on Friday night.The victory put EP back on top of the Standard Bank log, on the verge ofqualifying for the semi finals and returned them to winning ways after fivestraight victories had been followed by two losses.Callaghan top scored for the home side with 75 in their imposing totalof 249-7 and Griquas could do no more than muster 182 all out in reply, ascore boosted by some lusty hitting late in the order when the match wasover as a contest.Justin Kemp celebrated his recent call-up to the national one-day squadwith a quickfire 26 from 19 balls, with four boundaries and a six, at thebeginning of the EP innings and laid the platform for an impressive startwhich realised 81-2 in thye first 15 overs.Thereafter Callaghan and James Bryant took over with a third wicketstand of 86 in 19 overs as the innings, and the match, slipped slowly butsurely beyond Griquas grasp.Callaghan’s 75 came from only 86 deliveries and contained fourboundaries and a brace of sixes while Bryant’s 69 was a touch slower, comingfrom 91 balls but containing an impressive 11 boundaries as he unerringlycashed in on the poor deliveries that came his way.Perhaps Griquas should have known it wasn’t going to be their eveningwhen another verteran, swing bowler Meyrick Pringle, shattered PieterKoortzen’s stumps with the first ball of the visitors’ reply.Skipper Martin Gidley (27) and Grant Elliott (31) led a recovery ofsorts with a second wicket stand of 54 but Bryant held a stinging catch, atcover, off the bowling of Kemp to remove Elliott and left arm spinner RobinPetersen struck twice in his first two overs to reduce Griquas to 74-4, anadir from which they never recovered.