WestHamFirm

Sam1 · Sun Apr 20, 2008 9:55 am Dean Ashton

Dean Ashton is an £8million target for Sunderland boss Roy Keane - with West Ham willing to listen to offers for the striker.

And Keano wants winger Damien Duff to provide Ashton with the ammunition.

Keane is determined to spend big on improving the quality of his squad this summer and has identified Ashton and Duff as his leading targets.

Ashton was a £7.25m clubrecord signing from Norwich in 2006 but his Hammers career has been hampered by injuries.

West Ham boss Alan Curbishley has been told to slash his wage bill by chairman Bjorgolfur Gudmundsson and Ashton is one of the players he is willing to sacrifice.

The emergence of teenager Freddie Sears has convinced Curbishley he could cash in on Ashton, with fellow striker Bobby Zamora also on the way out.

Ashton, 24, was wanted by Newcastle under the club's previous managers Sam Allardyce and Glenn Roeder, but Kevin Keegan is now happy with his strikeforce, leaving Sunderland in the box seat to snap up the England hopeful.

After establishing Sunderland in the Premier League this season, Keane has been assured that he will have around £40m to spend in the transfer market this summer.

Boss Keane hopes to take compatriot Duff to the Stadium of Light from arch-rivals Newcastle.

The Duffer has had a good run in the side under Keegan but has never recaptured the sizzling form he showed at Stamford Bridge.

But Keane believes he can coax the 29-year-old back to his past levels and is ready with a bid of around £4m.

Meanwhile, West Ham and Sunderland are battling it out to sign Xisco from Deportivo La Coruna. The striker is valued at £10m but the club do not want to sell.

Sunday people

Peter Parka · Mon Apr 21, 2008 4:25 pm

Why the hell would we sell Ashton? :?

Gioseppe · Mon Apr 21, 2008 5:38 pm

He is worth more then eight milion and if we sell him I hope that we'll sell him at a decent price.

ferrit · Mon Apr 21, 2008 8:11 pm

Peter Parka wrote: Why the hell would we sell Ashton? :?
Agreed he's the best striker we have at the mo :cry:

Gioseppe · Mon Apr 21, 2008 10:04 pm

I hope he stays, but we are not exactly the kind of team that can always keep our best players.

HampshireHammer · Mon May 05, 2008 6:13 pm

Give Deano an uninterrupted season and his pure class will shine - maybe not the fastest, but one of the most skillful strikers in the premiership. Surely even the ultra-unambitious Curbs couldn't contemplate selling him. Zamora by all means, and possibly even Cole, but not Ashton - that would be sheer folly.

Gioseppe · Mon May 05, 2008 8:30 pm

It's not Curbs' fault that Deano hasn't had an uninterrupted season. I don't really know the financial plans of the club just yet and I'm afraid Curbs doesn't either.

HampshireHammer · Mon May 05, 2008 9:11 pm

Not sure that's strictly true; notwithstanding injuries, there have been occasions when Deano has sat on the bench, obviously fit, but Curbs has elected not to play him or to bring him on very late in matches. Irrespective of that, it is to be hoped we can hang on to him, because just at the moment Sears is nowhere near the finished article.

Gioseppe · Tue May 06, 2008 4:04 pm

I've just read that if Deano leaves his replacement could be Benny McCarthy. Deano is twice as good as McCarthy and we all know it. I hope Curbs realises that too.

Peter Parka · Wed May 07, 2008 7:18 am

Gioseppe wrote: I've just read that if Deano leaves his replacement could be Benny McCarthy. Deano is twice as good as McCarthy and we all know it. I hope Curbs realises that too.

Not to mention an up and comer as apposed to a has been! :?

Sam1 · Sun May 11, 2008 12:07 pm

West Ham United manager Alan Curbishley has rubbished rumours suggesting that striker Dean Ashton could be allowed to leave the club in the summer.

The 25-year-old has been linked with interest from Manchester United, but Curbishley is desperate to keep hold of Ashton, who has suffered a series of injury problems since moving to Upton Park in early 2006.

"Every club outside the top four has this problem every summer," Curbishley admitted. "Even Spurs and people like that are going to come under pressure.

"But since the new group took over West Ham we have tried to push forward and I don't see selling players as a way of pushing forward.

"The people who left last summer asked to go and we wanted to have a change around.

"I want to see certain combinations of players that I haven't had a chance to see. I want to play Craig Bellamy with Dean Ashton." Ashton has scored 16 goals in 50 appearances for the Irons to date.

Sportbox

hemelhammer · Tue May 13, 2008 6:44 pm

West Ham want to keep star striker Dean Ashton at the club, despite speculation linking him with a move away.

The Hammers have confirmed they will sit down with the striker and his representatives on Friday to try and tie him to a new long-term deal.

The news comes as Ashton, who has two years left on his current deal, has been linked with clubs such as Manchester Untied, Portsmouth and Newcastle.

But Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury has spoken of the club's desire to keep him at Upton Park.

Appropriate time

He said: "The end of the season was the appropriate time to discuss such matters and to meet Dean Ashton and his representatives.

"We will sit down on Friday with a view to agreeing a new long-term contract to keep Dean Ashton at Upton Park."

Ashton is not among the club's high earners after signing from Norwich two years ago.

He missed last season after breaking an ankle on international duty when he was poised to earn a first cap.

But found the net on 11 occasions this season, including three in his last three matches.

This good form has earned him a call-up to the England squad and he could make his debut in the end-of-season friendlies against the USA or Trinidad and Tobago.

www.skysports.com

Sam1 · Tue May 13, 2008 7:12 pm

West Ham want to keep star striker Dean Ashton at the club, despite speculation linking him with a move away.

The Hammers have confirmed they will sit down with the striker and his representatives on Friday to try and tie him to a new long-term deal.

The news comes as Ashton, who has two years left on his current deal, has been linked with clubs such as Manchester Untied, Portsmouth and Newcastle.

But Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury has spoken of the club's desire to keep him at Upton Park.

Appropriate time

He said: "The end of the season was the appropriate time to discuss such matters and to meet Dean Ashton and his representatives.

"We will sit down on Friday with a view to agreeing a new long-term contract to keep Dean Ashton at Upton Park."

Ashton is not among the club's high earners after signing from Norwich two years ago.

He missed last season after breaking an ankle on international duty when he was poised to earn a first cap.

But found the net on 11 occasions this season, including three in his last three matches.

This good form has earned him a call-up to the England squad and he could make his debut in the end-of-season friendlies against the USA or Trinidad and Tobago.

Skysports

Brilliant news!!!

hemelhammer · Wed May 14, 2008 9:48 am

Sam1 wrote: West Ham want to keep star striker Dean Ashton at the club, despite speculation linking him with a move away.

The Hammers have confirmed they will sit down with the striker and his representatives on Friday to try and tie him to a new long-term deal.

The news comes as Ashton, who has two years left on his current deal, has been linked with clubs such as Manchester Untied, Portsmouth and Newcastle.

But Hammers chief executive Scott Duxbury has spoken of the club's desire to keep him at Upton Park.

Appropriate time

He said: "The end of the season was the appropriate time to discuss such matters and to meet Dean Ashton and his representatives.

"We will sit down on Friday with a view to agreeing a new long-term contract to keep Dean Ashton at Upton Park."

Ashton is not among the club's high earners after signing from Norwich two years ago.

He missed last season after breaking an ankle on international duty when he was poised to earn a first cap.

But found the net on 11 occasions this season, including three in his last three matches.

This good form has earned him a call-up to the England squad and he could make his debut in the end-of-season friendlies against the USA or Trinidad and Tobago.

Skysports

Brilliant news!!!

sounds familiar :lol:

Gioseppe · Sat May 17, 2008 7:01 pm

Any news on his contract extension?