West Ham United reportedly want to bring Alaves defender Guillermo Maripan to the Premier League.
West Ham United’s deal to bring Alaves defender Guillermo Maripan is in doubt with El Mundo Deportivo reporting that the negotiations have stalled.
A month ago, West Ham appeared to be taking the transfer window by storm. Pablo Fornals, a big-money addition from Villarreal, already looks like one of the most inspired buys of the summer already on the back of his outstanding performances in Spain’s victorious U21 European Championship campaign.
And in Roberto Jimenez and David Martin, The Hammers now have not one but two solid, experienced goalkeepers capable of providing competition for Lukas Fabianski.
But over the last month or so, things have come grinding to a halt at the London Stadium. Try as they might, West Ham’s attempts to bring in a new striker have been hugely frustrating with Maxi Gomez and Aleksandar Mitrovic slipping through their grasp.
And Maripan, a player who looked certain to arrive in the English capital not long ago, appears to be no closer to sealing his move with Mundo Deportivo claiming that West Ham’s talks have hit a wall.
The same publication claimed at the start of the summer that West Ham had made a £10 million bid, though with a £22 million release clause in his contract, Alaves wanted a bit more.
A commanding and aggressive defender who impressed for Chile at the Copa America, Maripan looked like an upgrade on the erratic Angelo Ogbonna and the injury-hit Winston Reid, offering quality in depth for a West Ham side with vast potential. But, like Mitrovic and Gomez, West Ham’s best efforts could come to nothing.
And fans will surely be concerned that the new additions have dried up.
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