New Wolfsburg manager Mark van Bommel is already looking at potential replacements for reported West Ham United target Wout Weghorst with Liverpool-linked Donyell Malen one option, as reported by Goal.
It appeared the former Netherlands captain had landed on his feet after being handed the reins to a talented Wolfsburg side who, just last week, secured qualification for the Champions League after six years away from Europe’s premier club competition.
Look a little closer, however, and Van Bommel has a difficult summer ahead of him – and not just because the man he replaced, Frankfurt-bound Oliver Glasner, was a hugely popular figure at the Volkswagen Arena.
Finding a replacement for 6ft 6in centre-forward Weghorst won’t be easy.
The third-highest goalscorer in Wolfsburg’s Bundesliga history, the giant Dutchman has broken the 20-goal barrier in each of the past two seasons and finished 2020/21 with 25 to his name.
Weghorst would suit West Ham
Calciomercato reports David Moyes’ West Ham and Jose Mourinho’s Roma are both keen on the £32 million former AZ Alkmaar striker.
And while Hammers fans may be concerned Weghorst could be Sebastien Haller 2.0, fear not. A fierce competitor with a magnetic personality and insatiable will to win, Wolfsburg’s number nine is far better suited to Moyes’ old-school blood-and-thunder tactics.
Weghorst has never hidden his interest in a move to the Premier League either, having been linked with both Tottenham and Arsenal in 2020.
And Van Bommel is already preparing for a worst-case scenario. Goal believes the former PSV Eindhoven boss has held talks with his Wolfsburg bosses, identifying strikers capable of taking Weghorst’s place.
The Liverpool-linked Donyell Malen, who Van Bommel worked with at PSV, is one of the leading candidates.
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