Let’s set the stage here: On July 1, 2010, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is officially unveiled as a Manchester United player. After scoring against the MLS All-Stars, Chivas and the League of Ireland XI in consecutive preseason friendlies, England is abuzz with ChicaGol mania.
If Reiss Nelson played for Monaco, he’d probably be worth $60 million. But Nelson, 17, is on the Arsenal books and hasn’t seen much first-team playing time. Until this preseason.
Nelson impressed during preseason friendlies and sent Emirates Stadium into a frenzy on Thursday during an open training session. The winger scored an absolutely filthy goal that included a nasty nutmeg.
Easy 1-2 pic.twitter.com/72sfwHitf5
I don't know what will become of Portsmouth following its acquisition by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner, but I can't help but hope it turns out exactly like this:
Some players just have a gift. The ability to see a play develop before it happens. The audacity to attempt maneuvers others wouldn’t dare to try. The composure to pull off moves with the weight of the world watching.
Danny Welbeck, as this recent highlight video shows, is one of those supremely talented footballers who just stands above the rest.
Danny Welbeck's vision is in 3074 while we're all in 2017. Unreal assists. pic.twitter.com/RWGfXzO5Bn
No one knows more about parking the bus than Jose Mourinho. Though in England he’s often credited with coining the phrase as a derisory comment about Tottenham playing defensively in 2004, Mourinho is a manager who is not afraid to go all-out defense to get a result.
On Wednesday, someone parked Mourinho’s bus.
Chicharito has finally made an appearance in an actual West Ham game. The Hammers' new number 17 took the field for the last 20 minutes or so of their friendly against German fifth-tier side Altona 93, which ended in a 3-3 draw.
Hopefully Chicharito can gain full fitness before West Ham's first league match, against Manchester United on August 13.
At Chivas, Chicharito wore number 14. At Manchester United, he wore number 14. At Real Madrid, he wore number 14. At Bayer Leverkusen, he wore number seven. For the Mexico National Team, he wears number 14. For West Ham, Pedro Obian wears number 14 and Sofiane Feghouli wears number seven, so Chicharito will wear number 17.
At the very least, it gives West Ham a clever little hashtag they can use.
Cue a thousand corny jokes about swiping right on transfers and Manchester United fans finally getting a decent match: Tinder has reportedly offered a deal to become Manchester United’s sleeve sponsor.
With the start of the 2017-18 European season only days away, we take a look at all three promoted clubs in Europe's top four divisions (EPL, La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga).
Newcastle United