West Ham United are reportedly plotting a loan move for Reiss Nelson from Arsenal to further strengthen Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad.

After suffering relegation last season, the Hammers are looking to bounce back and earn promotion at the first time of asking. It’s fair to say they have one of the strongest squads of any EFL Championship club in history, especially with Jarrod Bowen staying put.

Joel Veltman has joined as a free agent after leaving Brighton & Hove Albion and the East Londoners have agreed on a £7 million deal with Tottenham Hotspur for Manor Solomon. But Santo and his transfer chiefs aren’t stopping there as they look to swoop for another Premier League star.

West Ham Interested in Reiss Nelson

Nelson is deemed surplus to requirements at Arsenal after spending last season on loan at Brentford. He has a year left on his contract, is way down Mikel Arteta’s pecking order and has been expected to leave the Gunners permanently.

According to Sky Sports’ Dharmesh Sheth, West Ham are keen on Nelson and have started to explore a potential loan deal. He wrote on X:

Nelson was disappointing during his loan spell at Brentford, spending the majority of it on the substitute’s bench. He failed to convince the Bees to make his stay permanent and headed back to the Emirates as he did after another loan spell at Fulham the season prior.

The 26-year-old could get his career back on track at the London Stadium and fill the void left by Crysencio Summerville, who joined Saudi Pro League giants Al-Hilal for £60 million in July. He’ll be eager for more first-team opportunities at this stage of his career.

Arsenal May Hesitate Over Nelson Loan

Nelson is now at an age where he needs regular football and he could relish the chance to help West Ham battle for promotion. The Hammers still need to reach an agreement with Arsenal to loan the Englishman, and that might prove tricky.

The Gunners have constantly sent him out on loan, and with a year left on his contract, might insist on a permanent departure this time around. It seems unlikely that a buy option would be included given he’ll be a free agent next summer.

Nelson may have faltered while at Brentford but he made a good impression during the early stages of his loan spell. Keith Andrews spoke highly of his mentality: “I thought his attitude was outstanding, the way he approached it, and you could see the quality that he has.”

West Ham could benefit from Nelson’s experience and versatility as he can play on both wings. He’d be another impressive addition to a squad that looks destined for a Championship title race.

More than 2,000 fans packed the streets outside a cathedral on the Portuguese island of Madeira on Saturday, convinced they were about to witness one of the biggest celebrity weddings in World football. Rumours had swirled for weeks that Cristiano Ronaldo was preparing to marry his long-time partner Georgina Rodriguez in his home city, despite his family publicly denying any such plans.

As per ESPN, the speculation was enough to draw huge crowds into the centre of Funchal, all hoping for a glimpse of the happy couple arriving at the Cathedral. What they got instead was a case of mistaken identity that went viral.

Wrong Wedding for Fans

Reuters/Maria Lysaker

Rumours had spread fast that some of the biggest celebrities would take to the streets of Madeira to witness Ronaldo marry Rodriguez over the weekend. Instead, the ceremony taking place inside the Cathedral belonged to a couple called Fabio and Nicole, who live in France but had returned to their home island to get married.

The crowd reportedly erupted as Nicole stepped out of a car, only to quickly realise she was not Georgina Rodriguez. Guests were left stunned by the scale of attention, with some fans choosing to stay for the ceremony, regardless of who it was getting married in the Cathedral.

Some guests had begged crowds to leave the couple to be married in peace, whilst others took the mix-up in lighthearted fashion, joking that they felt like celebrities for the day.

Ronaldo Sees The Funny Side in His Response

The confusion wasn’t confined to the Cathedral. Large crowds were also reportedly outside a five-star hotel in Funchal, which was rumoured to host the reception. Ronaldo’s sister, Elma Aveiro, weighed in publicly, questioning why fans had believed reports that were never officially confirmed by the family, and accusing the media of inventing details.

Ronaldo himself appeared to have found the episode amusing. Responding with a string of cry-laughing emojis to a Jornal da Madeira Instagram post showing footage of the crowds.

The Al Nassr forward has stayed quiet about when he and Rodriguez actually plan to marry. The pair got engaged in August last year, with Ronaldo presenting Rodriguez with a ring rumoured to be worth as much as $5 million. Reports since have suggested a wedding could take place in Madeira later in the year, but for now, the only wedding confirmed in Funchal this weekend belonged to Nicole and Fabio, who got considerably more attention than they bargained for.

Legendary Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic wasted no time trying to recruit reinforcements after his big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2012. With PSG’s Qatari owners bankrolling a rapid rise up Ligue 1, Ibrahimovic set his sights on one iconic English footballer.

At the time, Zlatan was already playing alongside David Beckham in Paris, but he was keen on linking up with another Three Lions’ icon. Indeed, Ibrahimovic felt that Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney, would be a perfect fit in the French capital.

He even went as far as to publicly call on the England striker to join him at Paris Saint-Germain if he ever decided to leave Old Trafford.

Zlatan’s Public Call For Rooney

The approach came amid genuine transfer turbulence around both players. Ibrahimovic himself was reported to be unsettled in Paris, with a potential exit fuelling PSG’s interest in making a move for Rooney, while speculation grew that PSG were prepared to spend big to take Rooney abroad after he was linked with a transfer request following a spell out of United’s team.

As per the Mirror, in April 2013, Ibrahimovic said:

For Ibrahimovic, the logic was simple: PSG already had the financial muscle, and he wanted the squad to match it, with Thiago Silva joining the side in the summer window. PSG’s interest in Rooney was very public, as Club President Nasser Al-Khelaifi even admitted he wanted to sign the striker, but hadn’t yet made official contact with Manchester United.

Unfortunately for Zlatan and PSG, Rooney stayed put at Old Trafford for several more years, becoming the Red Devils’ top goalscorer of all time, whilst Ibrahimovic enjoyed his own success in Paris, but wasn’t able to get his hands on the Champions League trophy.

Ibrahimovic’s Linkup with Beckham

While Rooney stayed away, Ibrahimovic did get to play alongside an England legend at the Parc des Princes — just not the one he’d lobbied for. David Beckham signed for PSG as a free agent in January 2013, and the pair ended up playing together for roughly five months before Beckham retired that summer.

It wasn’t the most memorable part of Beckham’s career, making just 14 appearances for the side, assisting twice and even picking up a red card. Beckham did provide an assist for Ibrahimovic on the final day, squaring the ball to the Swedish striker from a free kick, who slotted home to give the side a 3-1 win, securing their first Ligue 1 trophy in over 19 years.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Ibrahimovic was full of praise for Beckham during their time together.

“Everybody knows him as a footballer. You read a lot about him, you hear a lot about him. When you meet the real person, I have only positive things to say. The person who has negative things to say is either jealous or hates him. Because there are no negative things to say about him — that is my view.

As a footballer, it is important to be yourself and live your life — not to live in a bubble, not to enjoy your life. That is what I admire about Beckham. The attention that follows him is not easy to living out your life. But he did it.”