West Ham United want to sign Burnley captain Josh Brownhill on a free transfer this summer, despite their promotion to the Premier League. 

The Hammers are set for a huge reshuffle of the squad under Graham Potter this summer with the majority of that set to come in the midfield. We are reportedly open to selling every single one of our central midfielders this summer and the Carlos Soler deal will not be made permanent.

While there is no chance we sell all of our midfielders, it looks very likely that at least Tomas Soucek, Edson Alvarez, Guido Rodriguez and even Lucas Paqueta will leave the club. This means we will likely have to bring three midfielders in at the very least.

We are apparently short of transfer budget this summer and we also need to sign at least one striker, a full-back and a central defender. In order to do that, we may have to make some compromises for some of the players. And one of those compromises would be signing a player like Josh Brownhill.

The 29-year-old may be available on a free this summer as his contract at Burnley is set to expire. He has been a crucial part in Burnley’s promotion-winning season this time out. He has scored 16 goals and provided 5 assists for his teammates in 42 matches so far this season, and he could yet still help Scott Parker’s side win the second tier title.

It remains to be seen whether Brownhill will decide to leave Burnley or not next season with them in the Premier League next season, but if he does, West Ham will be more than in the hat for his signature.

While it’s a far from exciting transfer and goes against the plan of decreasing the average age of the squad by signing younger players. If we are strapped for cash and want to rebuild this summer and Potter sees Brownhill as a player that would improve his squad, it would be a smart signing.

The Hammers are also keeping tabs on Burnley defender CJ Egan-Riley, who’s contract is also up. The 22-year-old has been part of the meanest defence in the Championship this season and would make an excellent signing with Potter in need of some more defensive depth.