Everton centre-back Michael Keane would be interested in joining West Ham United in the January transfer window. David Moyes is currently targeting a deal to improve his defence.
That is according to Pete O’Rourke, who reports Keane would consider a move to the Irons if it offers regular minutes. The 29-year-old has fallen out of favour at Goodison Park under Frank Lampard this season. He is now the fifth-choice option in the Toffees’ pecking order.
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Conor Coady and James Tarkowski joining the Blues in the summer has pushed Keane out of the limelight. He is also behind Yerry Mina and Ben Godfrey for minutes on Merseyside. So much so that Lampard has not used Keane in a Premier League game since August 27.
Keane has been an unused substitute in 14 of Everton’s 19 Premier League matches so far this term. He has also not made their last three matchday squads since the World Cup. But he missed a seat on the bench at Manchester City after suffering an injury in the warm-up.
All in all this term has only returned 22 top-flight minutes for Keane, plus two starts in the EFL Cup. So, the 12-cap England enforcer would consider leaving Everton if West Ham step up their interest in a transfer. But he would likely want Moyes to give promises on his role.
If not, Keane would consider leaving Everton for a rival suitor and reject a transfer to West Ham. He is putting his playing time above all else in the mid-season market after watching Lampard’s squad labour without a look in. The Toffees only have four league clean sheets.
Moyes is a big fan of Keane as West Ham explore the Everton star’s transfer
West Ham are targeting Keane’s transfer from Everton as manager Moyes is a ‘big admirer’ of the defender. That is also according to O’Rourke, while Paul Brown has claimed that the Irons now lead the race for the defender. The Athletic has also cited West Ham’s interest.
Yet The Athletic adds West Ham would rather sign Keane on loan from Everton for the rest of the season. But The Sun reported in November that the Toffees are eager to sell him in January. They also hoped that Nottingham Forest would bid after setting a £15m price tag.
Everton paid Burnley £25m, rising up to £31m, to sign Keane back in 2017. Yet despite his form last term occasionally earning praise, with James McFadden calling his work against Manchester United ‘excellent’, their valuation of the defender had already started to drop.
The Daily Star cited interest from West Ham in Keane’s transfer from Everton back in April 2022. It also noted that Moyes would have bid if the Blues had gone on to suffer relegation to the Championship. The Toffees had slapped a £20m price tag on Keane for last summer.
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