Who is Luc Constaignos?

We've been linked with Internazionale striker Luc Constaignos in recent weeks and a lot of people are thinking the same thing. Who is he!?


The young Dutchman is the all-time top scorer for the Netherlands' u17's and is very highly rated throughout Europe. He's currently 19 and is regarded as a prospect for the future but with the likes of Diego Forlan and Wesley Sneijder currently occupying the starting places in attack for the Italians, the teenager may move on in search of first team football.


The striker - who has been compared to Arsenal and France legend Thierry Henry despite his tender age - has been linked with English clubs in the past following a fine season for Feyenoord in 2009. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United have been linked with him in the past as well as Spanish Champions Real Madrid and Champions League runners-up Bayern Munich. Chances are very few of us - if any - would have seen him play but no player attracts attention from that many top quality clubs without having real talent. 


Is he a realistic target, then? It seems as though some sort of contact has been made as Allardyce is reported to have been in Italy meeting with representatives from Juventus regarding seperate deals and it is thought that he has inquired about this lad while he was in Italy, too.


A price tag of £7m seems to be the rumour going around at the moment and while that sounds like a lot of money for a player without a proven record at senior level, if he can live up to the hype that had him linked with moves to some of Europe's top clubs then who knows, he could just about be the best signing we make in years.


It seems any deal is far from completion yet but this does sound like an exciting rumour and if he's as good as some of his critics have suggested, he'll be worth every penny.


WHUT&T 

Decisions for Roy!

What a match. England are on the verge of qualifying for the quarter finals of the European Championships after a thrilling 3-2 win over Sweden, beating the Swedes in a competitive match for the first time.

Andy Carroll put England ahead with a powerful header midway through the first half meaning we went in ahead at the break with everything going to plan.

The plan then went out the window and Glen Johnson will not want to see a replay of what happened next. The ball was cleared yet he was the only defender who failed to follow the ball out, playing a handful of Swedish players onside. Joe Hart then parried the ball onto the inside of the post and despite his best efforts to make up for his earlier mistake, the Liverpool defender could only put the ball into his own net.

Things got worse 5 minutes later as England were caught sleeping at the back post allowing former Villa defender Olof Mellberg to head home and put Sweden ahead for the first time on the night.

Roy Hodgson then decided to make a change withdrawing the disappointing James Milner for Theo Walcott and Roy's faith in the Arsenal winger was rewarded shortly after when Theo fired home from all of 25 yards after a corner was cleared.

Theo then turned provider as his cross was flicked home in a very cheeky fashion by Danny Welbeck restoring England's lead, a lead they weren't going to surrender again!

With Rooney available for selection for the first time in the finals after serving a 2 match ban, Roy now has a decision to make with who will partner Rooney up front or if he starts him at all.

I feel that most people will vote in favour of Danny Welbeck and I would have to agree. I think his runs, pace and unpredictability will complement Rooney's presence, not to mention the fact that they play together at Man United and will know all about each other.

Dare we dream? Expectations were low coming into the tournament and we may have even exceeded them already. Could this be our year?

Let me know what you're feeling after that rollercoaster of a game!

WHUT&T

Shall we do a Spurs?

Spurs and Daniel Levy have a nack for swooping in at the last minute and stealing signings from under the nose of West Ham, and I think we should play them at their own game by swooping in for Adebayor.

He's currently one of many strikers that City want to get rid of along with Carlos Tevez, Edin Dzeko and Roque Santa Cruz, reports suggest.

He won't be cheap, obviously but he'll want first team football and we could surely offer him that as I think he's the best striker we could realistically sign this summer.

I'm not sure what he's on a week, though it wouldn't be surprising if it was nearing 6 digits but he's not getting any younger and I think the fact that he played for Spurs given his history with Arsenal suggests he's not too bothered about crossing enemy lines!

Is it ambitious? Yes. Will it be the Davids' most ambitious move this summer? I doubt it! I can't see any harm in enquiring because if we do get lucky and grab him, our strike force with him, Yakubu's signature looking imminent, Carlton Cole and Ricardo Vaz Te will surely be capable of scoring the goals to keep us in the premier league and we can sufficiently strengthen at the back!

Let me know what you think!

WHUT&T

Welcome aboard Jussi!

So you may have heard that West Ham United have confirmed the signing of Jussi Jaaskelainen on a free transfer which will go through when his contract expires at the end of the month.

Well, what do we think then? I'm not sure. He's struggled to hold his place between the sticks in a team that was relegated on the final day of the season and many are suggesting that Henderson should be given a chance.

If these two stoppers are to be our first and second choice next season you feel that either one will get their chance. If you cast your mind back to the season of 2004-05, Stephen Bywater was our first choice keeper but some fine performances in cup competitions from Jimmy Walker - most notably his performance and penalty save from Lampard at Stamford Bridge - gave Alan Pardew a bit of a selection headache and Walker finished the season as his first choice as he started in our play-off final defeat of Preston in Cardiff before his horrendous injury in the same game.

Personally I'd start with Jussi in our first couple league games and give Hendo the nod in our first League Cup game then assess them from there. Obviously we don't see them in training and there will be pre-season friendlies which would surely see them both get a start each at least, too.

Let me know what you think, leave a comment or tweet me @WHUThruAndThru

COME ON YOU IRONS!

Shall we try to get this youngster on loan?

Following his big money move from the South Coast to North London last summer, Alex Oxlaide-Chamberlaine hasn't seen as much first team football as maybe be anticipated and although he's already got a competitive England start under his belt, I wonder if he'll play week in week out for the gunners next season.

The lad is still in his teens and a loan move to a newly promoted side may just be a good way of him establishing himself in the Premier League before he bids to become a regular in Arsene's side.

I know many will laugh this suggestion off and brand it as over ambitious but considering we've been linked with Beckham, Henry, Tevez and Torres under the Davids' ownership, this would be far from their most ambitious move yet!

I do believe that he will be a first team player for Arsenal next season as he didn't look out of his depth against a strong French team but on the off chance Wenger feels he needs more time to develop, I think we should be lurking in the background prepared to make a bid!

COME ON YOU IRONS!

Time to splash the cash?

It was announced yesterday that Burnley's Jay Rodriguez has signed for Southampton for a club record fee in the region of £7m which suggests they mean serious business both in the transfer market and the Premier League!

Is it time Big Sam started flashing the £25m that's reportedly available to him? I'm on the fence. We all want to grab a few bargains with a cheap, underrated player but sometimes big names are worth the big price tag. We got very lucky in January with Vaz Te as he only had 6 months left on his contract and Barnsley decided the smart option would be to gain £500k than to have him leave on a free in the summer. On the other hand, when we signed Dean Ashton he soon lived up to his price tag with some vital goals in our debut season back in the Premiership along with a goal in the FA Cup final defeat to Liverpool. So, while occasionally you'll get lucky with a bargain as we did with our play-off final match winner, you usually get what you paid for and I have faith in Sam this summer.

We look set to sign Yakubu from the relegated Blackburn any day now in a deal worth no more than £2m and we've also been linked with a few players who could seriously dent the transfer fund with Zaha's valuation from his current chairman exceeding £10m.

It's very early days and rumour has it that our first summer signing - aside from the permanent signing of Stephen Henderson that is - is to be announced in the next 48 hours so it would appear that Big Sam, the Davids and all involved are busy as ever as we bid to stay in the Premier League!

COME ON YOU IRONS!

Are you watching, Sam?

So the Euro has started in Poland and Ukraine and I hope Sam is watching because already there have been some exciting talent on show.

Young Dzagoev turned a few heads with his brace against Czech Republic, Oliveira was impressive in Portugal's defeat to Germany and Varela weren't bad as well.

Okay the examples I've used may not be realistic targets but you see what I mean, there is a lot of previously unseen talent in Europe and major tournaments like this are a great opportunity for these players to showcase their talent and impress Europe's elite clubs. 

We managed to pick up a few players who impressed during the world cup 2 years ago with Winston Reid impressing as the Kiwis went unbeaten in South Africa and Barrera catching the eye for Mexico. Although Barrera has been a forgotten man, Reid has proved to be a good signing. His debut season in English football wasn't exactly one to remember, aside from his goal in the FA Cup against Burnley but I think it's fair to say given his contribution this season he's been a very good signing and lets not forget he's still young. 

Now I'm not saying we should instantly snap up anyone who has a good game but it has to be worth keeping an eye out for young talent because you never know who might step up to the plate in a tournament like this.

It also appears that a deal for Yakubu is close to being finalised subject to the forward passing a medical and it appears that the signing of Jaaskelainen is imminent and it's just a case of when it's announced officially!

COME ON YOU IRONS!

Baldock linked with Town

With Sam Baldock falling further and further down the pecking order behind Carlton Cole, Nicky Maynard and Ricardo Vaz Te toward the end of the season and over half of Big Sam's targets being strikers, little Sam is being linked with a move away from Upton Park this summer.

He's been linked with a loan switch to Ipswich in recent weeks which could be a very good move to aid his development. When I first heard about this I was disappointed as you may have figured out by now, I'm a massive fan of Baldock. When he first started scoring with two braces against Blackpool then Leicester he was being compared to Michael Owen and even the legend that is Tony Cottee. And to be quite honest, considering his level of performance against Blackpool when he scored his first, and subsequently second goal for us I don't think them comparisons were too exaggerated. His first against Blackpool showed composure that can't be coached or learned, but comes naturally to those lucky enough to possess such a skill. His second had Michael Owen written all over it; he seemed to sneak in out of nowhere in the six yard box and poke it over the line. But when it occurred to me that he is still in his early 20's and he was high Big Sam's transfer wish list last summer, he must be one for the future and so I think, as long as he gets into the Blues' squad often enough, another season in the Championship will do him good.

Despite this, a winning brace against Leicester and a pivotal goal against Hull at the KC Stadium, Big Sam often opted for Carlton Cole as a lone striker and so he was resigned to the odd substitute appearance. Maybe if he could have grabbed one or two goals from the bench he would have staked a claim but it wasn't to be. Then came the January transfer window and as a result of the arrivals of Vaz Te and Nicky Maynard he was almost a forgotten man.

It's obvious he's not going to play often - if at all - in the Premiership next year with the likes of Anelka, Yakubu and even Michael Owen being linked with moves to East London and with no disrespect to them, he's just as good as Ipswich's best forwards in my opinion.

As long as this is purely a loan deal to further his development and not another promising player that's fallen by the wayside I would be happy for this to happen. As much as I'd like to see him get his chance in the big boys' league, I'd much prefer him to be shipped out on loan and gain some first team experience than have him wasted in the reserves league!

Let me know what you think by following me on Twitter: @WHUThruAndThru or leaving a comment!

COME ON YOU IRONS!