West Ham United appear to have taken one big step closer to completing their next summer signing.
Two weeks after opening talks for a player who will be back in the Premier league next season whatever happens, an agreement is – if not quite imminent – then certainly increasingly likely.
West Ham are in the market for a full-back after losing Ben Johnson to Ipswich Town. The Hammers had hoped to retain the academy graduate on a five-year contract, and were left disappointed when Johnson opted to chase more regular first-team football at Portman Road.
There have been links with Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka, though HITC understands that Kyle Walker-Peters is a leading candidate to take Johnson’s place.
West Ham United closing in on Kyle Walker-Peters swoop
Talks were opened with Southampton at the end of June.
Tottenham Hotspur remain keen on bringing Walker-Peters back to the club where he started his career but West Ham appear to be at the front of the queue. Julen Lopetegui’s side have an ace up their sleeves too.
They are offering Flynn Downes to Southampton as part of the deal.
Downes was outstanding on loan with The Saints during their promotion-winning campaign in 2023/24, manager Russell Martin making no secret of his desire to keep a midfielder he also worked with at Swansea City.
“He’s the best in the league,” Martin told the Daily Echo when asked if he’d like to retain Downes on a full-time basis.
“This team has missed him so much when he hasn’t played. We haven’t been quite able to replace him when he has not played.”
Walker-Peters, however, may be a little more ‘replaceable’. Or, at least, that is the idea.
According to Voetbal International, Yukinari Sugawara could be confirmed as a Southampton player this week. A £6 million deal is expected to be completed in the coming days, with St Mary’s the new home for the AZ Alkmaar ace.
Southampton to land Yukinari Sugawara
Sugawara, an exceptional crosser of the ball from deep positions and a player who looks perfectly suited to Martin’s possession-heavy gameplan, could be an outstanding piece of business at seven million euros.
Whether he proves to be an upgrade on Walker-Peters or even a sidewards step, Sugawara’s tally of four goals and nine assists from the 2023/24 campaign should have Southampton’s centre-forwards licking their lips at the prospect of such silver-coated service.
Though as far as upgrades go, losing Johnson and bringing in Walker-Peters may be the footballing equivalent of losing a five pound note and picking up a tenner.
Capped twice by England, 27-year-old Walker-Peters looked like a man against boys throughout the Championship campaign. And his arrival will add a proven, highly-technical and versatile Premier League operator to Lopetegui’s squad.
By Martin’s own admission, Walker-Peters was simply ‘too good’ for second-tier football.
“He’s just a brilliant, brilliant footballer,” Martin tells the Daily Echo. “(Walker-Peters is an) intelligent footballer. Technically really gifted. He’s really brave with the ball, can do a lot of things with it and I think he’s been really important for us.”
West Ham have already signed the ‘extraordinary’ Luis Guilherme while bringing in Lopetegui’s former Wolves captain Max Kilman in a £40 million deal.
Wolves, HITC understands, now want Red Bull Salzburg’s Strahinja Pavlovic as a potential £25 million replacement.
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