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Chicharito ready to leave West Ham this summer

By Joe Prince-WrightApr 10, 2018, 8:45 AM EDT
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Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez seems to be keen on leaving West Ham United this summer.

Mexico’s all-time leading goalscorer, 29, jumped off the bench to score the equalizer at Chelsea on Sunday as the Hammers grabbed a vital point as they continue to climb clear of the relegation zone.

However, Hernandez spoke after the 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge and it seems like he would prefer to be elsewhere next season.

“I am looking to play 90 minutes every game. I want to give a headache to the manager like he has all over the squad. Some players are injured and coming back. We all want to play more than 20 minutes. Everybody wants to give everything to be in the team,” Hernandez said. “I say thank you to the fans. Since my first day here, they have supported me well. They shout my name and sing my songs. It was a good weekend for us because they were singing my name, then I scored and I could celebrate with them. It was a very good point. We are all very happy.”

Earlier this season the predatory striker said something similar as injuries and Moyes’ arrival impacted his minutes significantly.

That said, Hernandez has scored eight goals in the Premier League this season and has four in limited minutes since Moyes took charge in November. The El Tri star started his first 11 games at West Ham and scored four times and since then he has started just five times in his last 14 appearances, also scoring four times in that stretch with two off the bench.

Hernandez has played in 1,455 minutes this season and has four goals in his last seven games.

Whatever way you slice it up, Marko Arnautovic is the main striker at West Ham and Moyes prefers to play with just one central striker. The fact that Moyes benched Hernandez often when he was in charge of Man United in the past is irrelevant as the attacking talent at his disposal back then was far superior to his options at West Ham.

Should Hernandez play more at West Ham? Probably. Will he? Probably not.

Hernandez needs to find a team where he will be the main central striker or one of two up front and play regularly. He left Bayer Leverkusen to come back to the PL and it will be intriguing to see where he wants to go in the summer after the World Cup with Mexico. It seems like plenty of Premier League clubs will want to snap him up and despite limited minutes at West Ham this season his stock hasn’t dropped.

“Sorry to Chelsea fans” – Chicharito the villain again

By Nicholas MendolaApr 8, 2018, 2:09 PM EDT
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Javier Hernandez came off the bench to score against Chelsea.

That’s something the Blues have seen before, now four times in the Mexican’s fine career. It’s the first time they’ve seen it in the maroon shirt of West Ham United, but still a similar sight.

[ RECAP: Chelsea 1-1 West Ham ]

“Sorry to Chelsea fans,” Hernandez said with a laugh. “Sometimes you get things like that in football. I cannot score against one team, I keep scoring against Chelsea. We get a point, that is the important thing. It’s not a decision of mine to start or not, but I make it difficult for him now.”

The 29-year-old has eight goals this season in 1,455 Premier League minutes, including four in his last seven outings.

His goal had goalkeeper Joe Hart, himself a star on Sunday, praising the diminutive striker for his desire following an international call-up on the other side of the ocean.

“We looked dangerous in the second half,” said Hart. “It’s nice to stay in the game. ‘Chich’ has come back from the other side of the world last week. I’m so glad he got fit for us and got the decisive goal.”

Chicharito wasn’t too happy, though, saying he felt he should’ve found a winner, too.

“Definitely,” Hernandez said. “It was one cross from Marko where if I make the move I can just tap in but these type of games are very difficult. (Against Chelsea) we had to be very clever, very focused. We have our next final against Stoke next weekend.”

The Hammers are now six points clear of the drop zone.

Chelsea 1-1 West Ham United: Super sub Chicharito

By Nicholas MendolaApr 8, 2018, 1:24 PM EDT
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  • Chicharito saves point
  • Azpilicueta scores
  • Hart stars for West Ham
  • Morata twice denied for offside

Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored moments after subbing into the match as West Ham United came back to draw Chelsea 1-1 at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Cesar Azpilicueta scored for Chelsea, who saw a pair of razor-thin offside calls deprive Alvaro Morata of goals. The Blues sit 10 points back of the Top Four and three ahead of sixth-place Arsenal.

West Ham is six points clear of the drop after added its point to the table.

[ MORE: Watch full PL match replays ]

West Ham started on the front foot, and Marko Arnautovic won a corner kick when he dribbled into the 18 for a rip toward Thibaut Courtois.

Willian made a dazzling run at the other end, cutting across the center of the park and down the right flank for a cross that Angelo Ogbonna diverted with a terrific slide.

Alvaro Morata had the ball in the net via a nutmeg of Joe Hart, but was offside when he started his run onto Eden Hazard‘s through ball.

Chelsea was feeling its finesse with combination play, and Hart made an outstanding save on Morata only to see Azpilicueta net on the ensuing corner kick.

There were several chances to win the ball off a short corner that Morata put back into the mixer for Azpilicueta to finish.

[ MORE: Latest Premier League standings ]

[ MORE: Full lineups, stats, box score ]

More Willian wizardry saw him drag a shot wide of the far corner inside the 46th minute.

The Brazilian played a cross for Morata to score, but the offside flag was raised against the Spaniard for a second time.

It was West Ham who’d find their equalizer when Chicharito darted into space to belt one past Courtois, and that led to a thrilling finish with chances at both ends.

Premier League Preview: Liverpool vs. West Ham United

Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaFeb 23, 2018, 11:05 AM EDT
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  • West Ham one loss in last 8 PL matches
  • Reds won 4-1 in London on Nov. 4
  • Liverpool leads all-time 70W-37D-28L

Liverpool can move second in the Premier League if it handles its business against West Ham United at Anfield on Saturday (Watch live at 10 a.m. ET on CNBC and online via NBCSports.com).

The Reds enter the day two points and two goals of differential behind Manchester United, and are a point ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea. The Red Devils and Blues meet on Sunday.

WATCH LIVE, ONLINE, HERE

A Mohamed Salah double led the Reds past the Irons in a London Stadium meeting earlier this season, but West Ham is a much different team under David Moyes.

Part of that is a firing Marko Arnautovic, who has seven goals and three assists in his last nine matches for West Ham.

The Irons announced the sale of Jose Fonte to Chinese Super League club Dalian Yifang on Friday.

What they’re saying

Jurgen Klopp on Liverpool’s Spanish training camp: “As always with a training camp, you want the boys to be together the whole day. We are a lot together but not when we have time off so we had that time as well.  The weather was brilliant and everything was easier – if you have to do hard work, which we did there, it is easier if the weather plays in your cards and that was a change of circumstance after a long winter. ”

West Ham’s Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez on the Irons renewed season: “We had our targets, but they changed. At the beginning of the season, we were aiming to qualify for European competition, but now we are fighting against relegation, but that is sport, that is football and part of life, so we need to accept it and try to be better and get out and see what’s going to happen next year. If we have all these players recovered, probably next year we are going to be fighting for a European position, you never know.”

Prediction

The Reds are hard to predict, but the lay-off between their Porto triumph in the Champions League and Saturday’s match should benefit Liverpool. 2-1 to the hosts.

Chicharito praised as West Ham striker hits form

By Joe Prince-WrightFeb 14, 2018, 12:50 PM EDT
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Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is becoming quite the cult hero at West Ham United, just a few weeks after admitting he wanted to leave the east London club in January.

Hernandez, 29, scored West Ham’s opening goal in their 2-0 win against Watford last weekend, had another disallowed and was a constant pest as the Hammers continued to ease their relegation fears considerably since David Moyes arrived to take charge in November.

The all-time leading goalscorer for Mexico’s national team has now scored three goals in his last four games in the Premier League, which is his best run of form since returning to England last summer following two years in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen.

Many fans of El Tri feared that Moyes’ arrival at West Ham (he benched Hernandez often during his time in charge of Manchester United) would spark a sharp downturn in playing time for Hernandez and although initially that seemed to be the case due to an injury of his own, injuries and outgoings involving other strikers in January suddenly handed him the chance to stake his claim as their first-choice striker.

He’s taken it with both hands and is a real handful up top with Michail Antonio, Joao Mario and Marko Arnautovic supporting him in attack.

“Chicharito is a top striker. I’ve got a great relationship with him and he deserves his goals because he is a hard worker. I’m really happy for him and for the team,” West Ham’s goalkeeper Adrian said after the game.

Hernandez has turned things around very quickly with the Hammers and although the fans have always appreciated his predatory instincts, it appeared he may not fit into their system under Slaven Bilic and then his successor Moyes.

With seven goals in 15 PL starts (plus six appearances off the bench) in his debut season at the London Stadium, Hernandez is West Ham’s second top goalscorer and the move has done his reputation as a serial scorer no harm at all.

Whether or not he remains at West Ham beyond this season remains to be seen but he will have plenty of suitors and, more importantly for Mexico, he is in form and scoring goals ahead of the 2018 World Cup this summer.