Reliable West Ham United insider ExWHUemployee has revealed what "concerns" the club have over ex-Liverpool defender Joel Matip, following their decision to open talks to sign the centre-back on a free deal.
West Ham in discussions over signing Matip and John Egan as free agents
The Hammers waved goodbye to both Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma over the summer, as Julen Lopetegui, technical director Tim Steidten and co elected to part company with two of their starting centre-half options from last season.
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Zouma sealed a loan move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Orobah, while Aguerd chose a temporary switch to Real Sociedad in La Liga, leaving Lopetegui with Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo as his only three senior central defenders for the Premier League campaign.
West Ham are now after a fourth option ahead of a long debut season in the dugout for Lopetegui, which could be imperative considering just how prevalent injuries and fitness issues are in the English top flight right now.
West Ham summer signings
From
Fee (Transfermarkt)
Max Kilman
Wolves
€47.5m
Crysencio Summerville
Leeds United
€29.3m
Niclas Fullkrug
Borussia Dortmund
€27m
Luis Guilherme
Palmeiras
€23m
Mohamadou Kante
Paris FC
Undisclosed
Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Man Utd
€18m
Wes Foderingham
Sheffield United
Free transfer
Guido Rodriguez
Real Betis
Free transfer
Jean-Clair Todibo
Nice
Loan transfer
Carlos Soler
PSG
Loan transfer
West Ham summer departures
To
Fee (Transfermarkt)
Flynn Downes
Southampton
€17.85m
James Ward-Prowse
Forest
Loan
Maxwel Cornet
Southampton
Loan
Nayef Aguerd
Real Sociedad
Loan
Kurt Zouma
Al-Orobah
Loan
Said Benrahma
Lyon
€14.4m
Angelo Ogbonna
Watford
Free transfer
Thilo Kehrer
Monaco
€11m
Nathan Trott
FC Copenhagen
€1.5m
Ben Johnson
Ipswich Town
Free transfer
Joseph Anang
St. Patrick's Athletic
Free transfer
With the summer transfer window now closed, the Irons are forced to dip into the free agent market, where they have landed on two top defensive choices in former Liverpool ace Matip and ex-Sheffield United stalwart John Egan.
Funnily enough, West Ham were linked with a swoop for Egan during David Moyes' time in charge, but it now appears they could sign either the Republic of Ireland international at zero cost.
ExWHUemployee shares Joel Matip "concerns"
However, according to Hammers insider Ex, a move for Matip is West Ham's priority rather than Egan, who is seen as an alternative to the Cameroonian.
West Ham are apparently pushing ahead with the signing of Matip as their top target, but it is also believed that Lopetegui's side have "concerns" over the 33-year-old Champions League winner, which could even stop the transfer from going ahead.
“The club appear to be pushing ahead with the Matip signing,” stated Ex on The West Ham Way Patreon (via West Ham Way).
“John Egan is an alternative signing but it appears that the former Liverpool defender is the preferred choice for now as we exclusively revealed two days ago.
“Talks will continue over the next few days. There are concerns over Matip’s previous injuries so these would be investigated before the club decide to go through with it or not."
Matip's most recent injury, a cruciate ligament tear, resulted in him missing 37 games in all competitions under Jurgen Klopp from early December through to the end of 2023/2024, and he has a backlogue of extensive fitness problems before that (Transfermarkt).
While he would arrive for no transfer fee, it will be interesting to see if Steidten and co are willing to grant him a squad space.