Jonathan Tah is refusing to rule out a potential move to West Ham United after the Premier League outfit were offered the chance to sign the Bayer Leverkusen defender.
With Harry Maguire opting to stay and fight for his place at Manchester United – albeit a fight he looks destined to lose – West Ham’s pursuit of an alternative centre-half has lead them to the Bundesliga.
And it seems unlikely to be a coincidence that three of the players the Hammers are reportedly considering are well known to the club’s new technical director, Tim Steidten.
Talks with Stuttgart’s former Arsenal colossus Konstantinos Mavropanos are underway (talkSPORT). Odilon Kossounou and Jonathan Tah – both of Steidten’s former employers Bayer Leverkusen – are also in contention.
According to The Guardian, Tah has even been ‘offered’ to West Ham in the wake of that Maguire collapse.
West Ham could go for Jonathan Tah
The Hamburg-born 27-year-old, who may be available for around £15 million, has made no secret of his desire to play in England’s top flight. A division he describes as ‘the best in the world’.
And, in new quotes reported by Kicker, the Germany international once again refused to rule out a late-summer change of scenery.
“The fact is, as of now, I’m here. And that’s my full focus,” Tah explains. “But I’ve said the whole time that anything can happen as long as the transfer window is open.”
Tah, like Maguire, is a major presence at 6ft 5ins. He is, however, equally comfortable bringing the ball out from the back as he is defending the limits of his own penalty area; putting his height and physical prowess to very good use.
“If he doesn’t sense the right opportunity (to leave), there’s always a chance that he’ll stay,” Leverkusen director Simon Rolfes told BILD earlier in the window.
“(But) he always had the goal of playing in the Premier League. We set up his current deal so that he could do so. If he has a chance to realise that now, it’s okay.”
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