HITC Sport takes a look at the good, the bad and the ugly transfer rumours and speculation surrounding West Ham this January.
With the January transfer window now open, West Ham have unsurprisingly been linked with a number of moves already.
As the club battle to turn their poor start to the Premier League season around, many West Ham fans are hoping that Slaven Bilic will look to strengthen his side, and splash the kind of cash which West Ham fans have gotten used to seeing spent over the last year under their Croatian manager.
With this in mind, we’ve decided to take a look at some of the realistic, speculative and ridiculous names being linked with a move to the London Stadium this month.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
The Realistic
The one position that will be at the forefront of West Ham fans this month is centre-forward, as the club looks set to bring in a new striker. West Ham have lacked consistent goals this season, and are in desperate need of a new number 9 to come in and start firing them in the right direction up the league. So far, West Ham have been linked with a number of moves for forwards, such as Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe (The Guardian), Brentford’s Scott Hogan (Daily Mail), and Celtic’s Moussa Dembele (The Daily Record). With so many targets already reported, West Ham are very likely to bring in a striker in this window.
Sunderland’s Jermain Defoe
The Speculative
West Ham aren’t light on bodies at the moment, and are unlikely to add players to their squad if they don’t improve the current playing squad. Therefore, the recent link to Marseille midfielder Lassana Diarra (The Guardian) has been a puzzling one. The deal in question suggested that, should West Ham let their star man Dimitri Payet return to France, Marseille would be happy to send their Captain and former Chelsea and Real Madrid midiflder, Diarra, in the other direction, along with a hefty fee. With West Ham unlikely to listen to offers for Payet, and Diarra struggling for fitness a lot of the time in France, this deal would be a big surprise.
France’s Lassana Diarra after the match
The Ridiculous
Perhaps the most confusing link to West Ham so far in this transfer window has been their reported move in The Guardian for Juventus and former Manchester United left-back, Patrice Evra. The French defender, who is apparently keen on a return to his former side in Manchester, would be a very surprising transfer indeed, especially seeing as the Hammers currently have one of the better young defenders in the league in Aaron Cresswell.
France’s Patrice Evra
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