There is an exciting few weeks to come for fans of the transfer window as West Ham United will make at least five more signings before the end of the month. Lopetegui and Steidten want to sign a right-back, left-winger, striker, central midfielder and a central defender.
It is public knowledge that West Ham United are closing in on the signing of Leeds United winger Crysensio Summerville for a price of £25m + some unrealistic add-ons, a brilliant deal for West Ham. The club are also in advanced talks to bring Man United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka to club, as well as Borussia Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug.
However, unlike Summerville and AWB which seems almost certain to happen. The Fullkrug deal could still fall through as Julen Lopetegui is still desperate to bring Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran to the London Stadium. However, Villa would need to lower their demands for the Colombian to make a deal happen, but this is very unlikely, meaning Fullkrug is a lot more likely to sign at this stage despite a gap in valuation. If a big sale can be made, both strikers COULD still join the club this summer, but that remains very UNLIKELY.
This leaves central midfield and central defence as positions to fill for Steidten and Lopetegui in the closing couple of weeks of the window. A huge €35m offer is in for Monaco midfielder Yossouf Fofana. The midfielder who was away at the Euros would France is seen as the perfect man to fill the gap in midfield between Paqueta and Alvarez due to his abilities in both defence and attack. However, as we’ve heard plenty of times this window, the player would prefer to move elsewhere. In this case it’s AC Milan, who can offer him Champions League football after finishing second in Serie A.
However, the Rossoneri are unable to get near West Ham’s offer for the former Strasbourg man, which is understandable with only a year remaining on his deal. His club would much rather him move to West Ham, who are offering almost double Milan. However, they won’t want to risk losing him on a free. So they may have to sell to Milan if he refuses a move to the Hammers, meaning Lopetegui will have to find an alternative.
Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo seems to be the most like-for-like alternative to Fofana, however, there haven’t really been many rumours about any other holding/box-to-box midfielders. Endo is reportedly available this summer as new manager Arne Slot doesn’t see him as an important player. The 30-year-old could be available for £15-20m which would be a solid signing, however, if a deal can be done for Fofana, the Hammers would have an almost perfect midfield on paper. PSG midfielder Carlos Soler is also a target, however, it is unlikely he is seen as someone to play that role next to Alvarez.
Richard Rios is another player the club are interested. The Colombian midfielder impressed as his country reached the Copa America final. His club Palmeiras are looking for a fee of around €15-20m according to reports. Rios could be a brilliant option for West Ham as he can play in both defensive and central midfield like Fofana. This means he can play alongside Alvarez with Paqueta in the 10, or Alvarez can side behind both of them as 8’s. This would fit into the fluid possession system Julen Lopetegui loves to play with. Rios is very likely to be headed to the Premier League this summer with Everton and Manchester United also interested. However, West Ham have a slight advantage in the race for his signature. Tim Steidten has already dealt with Palmeiras this summer as Luis Guilherme joined the Hammers in June.
The Irons have been after a central defender since the beginning of the transfer window, fans must’ve thought the chase was over after signing Max Kilman from Wolves. However, attention quickly switched to signing someone to play on the right side next to the Englishman. While Lopetegui likes Mavropanos, he wants to partner Kilman up with someone he trusts fully to sort out the clubs defensive woes of last season. Both Lopetegui and Steidten believe that man to be Jean-Clair Todibo. But like Fofana, Todibo fancies a move to Serie A, this time Juventus are competing with the Hammers.
West Ham had a bid accepted for Todibo almost two weeks ago, however, it hasn’t progressed any further as the former Barcelona player is holding out for Juventus. However, the Old Lady cannot finance a move for the Frenchman at the moment. Reports have also suggested that West Ham have upped their already accepted offer in a way to speed up Juventus to decide if they can sign the player or not. This deal is a lot more likely than the Fofana deal, but still, a shortlist of alternatives has been drawn up by technical director Tim Steidten.
At the top of that list, seems to be RB Salzburg defender Oumar Solet. Also from France, the Lyon Academy graduate is available for a cut price fee of under €10m this summer. He has the pace Todibo has, if not more, which is crucial if you are going to play a high defensive line, which Lopetegui could. However, despite being slightly taller than Todibo, he doesn’t quite have the same presence in defence. Todibo would walk straight into the defence, whereas Solet would likely start behind Mavropanos in the pecking order. Another defender the club has been linked with is Fikayo Tomori, who would be an excellent homegrown signing. However, the fee is likely to be too much with Milan demanding more than €40m for the England International.
With two players all-but guaranteed to sign, a striker decision to make and dilemmas at the heart of the team. West Ham fans are going to be very entertained by the rest of the transfer window after a very convincing start. If Steidten and Lopetegui manage to get their main targets, the team could be in for a very exciting campaign. However, it is highly unlikely that all will go to plan, which is why us football fans all love the silly season that is the transfer window.
Prediction: West Ham will sign Summerville, Wan-Bissaka, Duran, Todibo and Richard Rios.
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