David Moyes is interested in signing Armando Broja after the Chelsea ace’s impressive loan spell with Southampton, but only three players have ever joined West Ham from the Saints.
The Hammers have rarely successfully struck deals for targets based on their performances on the south coast the season prior. A road heading from east London to Southampton has also been one few have trod, with just three deals agreed in the Premier League-era so far.
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Jose Fonte was involved in the last transfer directly between West Ham and Southampton when joining the Irons in 2017. Slaven Bilic raided St Mary’s for the Portuguese centre-half in the January market for £8m, which included a £1m bonus payment if he met all add-ons.
West Ham interested in Broja transfer after successful Southampton loan spell
Broja, then, may join an exclusive group of players by joining West Ham after impressing at Southampton, with Moyes interested in the Chelsea-owned striker. That’s according to the Daily Mail, who report the Irons have placed the Albanian high on their summer shortlist.
Moyes admires the 20-year-old and would welcome him to the London Stadium with open arms this year. The Hammers accept not having a natural alternative to Michail Antonio is leaving them short, and proved costly in their efforts to qualify for the Champions League.
Broja impressing at Southampton has now piqued Moyes’ interest, who placed the Chelsea prospect among West Ham’s striker targets. But Thomas Tuchel will have the final say on if the 20-year-old leaves the Blues once the Premier League have authorised their takeover.
Moyes also faces a high asking price amid West Ham being interested in signing Broja after his Southampton loan. TuttoMercatoWEB have previously reported Chelsea value the 12-cap forward – who Anton Ferdinand lauds for his ‘powerful’ presence – at €70m (£60m).
Sebastien Haller is currently West Ham’s all-time record purchase after they paid Eintracht Frankfurt £45m in July 2019. But Haller did not suit Moyes’ system after replacing Manuel Pellegri. So, how have West Ham’s previous transfers from Southampton gone on to fare?
Jose Fonte last West Ham transfer from Southampton amid Broja interest
Fonte arrived at West Ham after seven years with Southampton but only spent one year in east London. The Irons agreed to sell the Portuguese to Dalian Yifang for €5.5m (£5m) only 12 months after his arrival following 24 Hammers appearances, all in the Premier League.
The centre-half was a fixture of Bilic’s backline, but suffered a foot injury in October 2017 against Crystal Palace. It proved to be his final appearance in claret-and-blue, with Moyes happy to overlook the defender upon replacing Bilic and Fonte’s January return to fitness.
West Ham’s raid deprived Southampton of not only a key player at the time, but also their captain. He had worn the armband from the start of the 2014/15 season and enjoyed 288 appearances across all competitions. Far more than the nine he made with Dalian Yifang.
Fonte’s Chinese Super League spell ended after five months when they agreed to mutually terminate his contract. He would return to Europe with LOSC Lille, and helped Les Dogues win the Ligue 1 title in 2020/21. He is also their captain, but is out of contract this summer.
Richard Wright last West Ham player to directly join Southampton in 2008
While Fonte was the last Southampton star to join West Ham, Richard Wright was the last Hammers man to join the Saints nine years earlier. The goalkeeper left the Boleyn Ground in March 2008 in a short-term loan move before then joining Ipswich Town in the summer.
Wright only spent one season at West Ham after joining at the end of his Everton contract in the summer of 2007. That season featured just three appearances, in which the Ipswich-born goalie conceded two goals. He kept two clean sheets over seven Saints games.
Wright’s return to Ipswich lasted two years before stints at Sheffield United, another spell with the Tractor Boys, Preston North End then Manchester City. He retired at the Citizens in 2016 before taking goalkeeper coaching positions in their youth and then senior folds.
Saints seal Christian Dailly swoop from Irons in 2007 move
Harry Redknapp signed Christian Dailly from Blackburn Rovers for West Ham in January 2001 and he would spend six years in claret-and-blue. His Upton Park career would end after a short-term loan move with Southampton in 2007, before he then joined Rangers.
Dailly played more games for the Irons with 188 appearances than any other club in his career. His Saints tally pales in comparison with 11 outings, before playing 29 games at Rangers, then joining Charlton, Portsmouth and lastly Southend before retiring in 2012.
Hammers raided Saints for Richard Hall transfer in 1996
Fonte’s arrival at West Ham ended a 21-year gap for players to join the Hammers from Southampton. Richard Hall was the last to make the move before the Portuguese, as he completed the switch in 1996 after the defender’s five-year career on the south coast.
Hall only played for four clubs in his career in Ipswich, Scunthorpe, Southampton and West Ham until retiring in 1999. But his Hammers record is almost obsolete in comparison to his Saints spell having suffered an injury-plagued few years in east London before calling time.
Southampton complete Robbie Slater transfer with West Ham in 1996
Robbie Slater became the first to transfer from West Ham to Southampton in the Premier League-era in 1996. Iain Dowie in 1991, Vic Watson in 1935 and Albert Barrett in 1925 had previously taken the path the midfielder took before the top-flight was reformed in 1992.
West Ham and Southampton were the middle two of Slater’s four Premier League clubs in-between Blackburn and Wolves. He spent just one year at each club and never established a key role before joining Australian side Northern Spirit for the last four years of his career.
Irons completed south coast swoop for David Speedie loan in 1993
David Speedie became the first-ever player to transfer directly from Southampton to West Ham in March 1993. The Irons completed a south coast swoop to sign the Scot on loan for the tail end of the season, before he left the Saints for good and joined Leicester that year.
The 10-cap international had only joined Southampton in 1992 but failed to establish his presence on the south coast. A similar fate would follow at West Ham and Leicester, with Speedie going on to play for Crawley and a raft of non-league sides before retiring in 2007.
Moyes, then, will have to hope Broja breaks from tradition and thrives if West Ham seal his transfer with Chelsea after his form at Southampton on loan has them interested. It is not his Blues form, after all, to catch Moyes’ attention, having only played in one senior match.
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