West Ham United are now reportedly "ready to buy" a £25m "soldier" for manager David Moyes in January, after telling his club they're very interested.
Who will West Ham sign in January?
The Hammers, as highlighted by their dismal 4-1 defeat away to Aston Villa on Sunday, could be in need of some fresh faces to bolster Moyes' squad. While West Ham's start to the Premier League campaign has been promising overall, remaining unbeaten in Europe on a record-breaking 17-game run, they're lacking significant depth in certain areas; namely the striker, full-back central defensive positions.
Doubts surrounding the futures of both Nayed Aguerd and Kurt Zouma hints that West Ham could be left even more short at centre-back, as the defensive duo allegedly attract interest from the Middle East. A plethora of Moyes' squad will also be out of contract next summer, including full-back aces Vladimir Coufal, Ben Johnson and Aaron Cresswell; making the signing of a new one pretty high up on the priority list.
Striker Danny Ings appears to have done little to earn Moyes' trust, so Michail Antonio is currently being heavily relied upon going forward. This has lead to reports that West Ham are eyeing up new options for 2024, including Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy.
West Ham – Trevoh Chalobah transfer update
The east Londoners can be fragile at the back on occasion; displaying carelessness during their 4-1 humiliation at the hands of Villa. Moyes, as per recent reports, is eager to sign a new centre-back for West Ham if one of Aguerd or Zouma leave – and Chelsea star Trevoh Chalobah is now seemingly attracting his attention.
Fabrizio Romano recently reported that the defender is now "90%" likely to leave in the winter window, saying this on a recent Daily Briefing.
"I can confirm now that my information is that he will leave Chelsea in January," wrote Romano.
"You may remember that Chelsea were prepared to let him go to Nottingham Forest in the final hours of the transfer window, only for the player to say no. Bayern Munich were also interested in Chalobah and their interest remains, while there are now other clubs as well. Chalobah loves Chelsea but he wants to play, so he is prepared to go. A January exit now looks 90% guaranteed."
Now, following these rumours, an interesting report from Calciomercato.it claims West Ham are "ready to buy" the 25-year-old in January and have already informed Chelsea that they're "strongly interested" along with Tottenham. Sharing a Chalobah transfer update, the outlet reports he has a host of other sides on his trail; including the likes of Bayern Munich, Roma and Juventus.
Holding on to the ball
Passing
Tackling
The Englishman, who Romano says could cost around £25 million, has been praised by the likes of Graham Potter at Stamford Bridge in past seasons.
"Very professional, very determined. He’s an impressive character, very focused on his football," said Potter last year to the Chelsea website.
"He’s a bit of a soldier. He’s played in all the games, we’re having some problems in terms of availability for players, but he’s stood up, stood in and he’s performing at a really good level."