After Villa defeat, Julen Lopetegui now prioritising a move to bring £20m star to West Ham. West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui still needs to make more signings this summer, if his team is to be competitive on all fronts.
Julen Lopetegui has already admitted that he needs more reinforcements at West Ham before the transfer window closes, suggesting that he wants two top-class players in every single position at the London Stadium. The Hammers chief has already brought eight new players to the club this summer, but it’s worth remembering that six have left as well.
I don’t want to read too much into yesterday’s defeat to Villa – it was the first competitive match that Lopetegui has taken charge of at the London Stadium after all. However, there were undoubtedly some concerning facets to our performance. Lopetegui needs to address those issues during training this week, but the addition of another top-class signing would make a huge difference as well.
And it seems like that’s a very genuine possibility.
Julen Lopetegui prioritising move to bring £20m star to West Ham
The Hammers lacked any kind of cutting edge against Aston Villa at the London Stadium, despite Lucas Paqueta trying to make things happen. The Brazilian is obviously a brilliant player, but when things aren’t going right for him, we really do struggle to create chances as a team.
Now Lopetegui seemingly has a plan in place to solve that.
According to Claret and Hugh, West Ham are now set to ramp up our pursuit of Carlos Soler after the Villa defeat – a player who we’ve been heavily linked with signing already this summer for just £20 million.
The thing is, when Paqueta is struggling, or isn’t playing at all, Lopetegui doesn’t have any other creative players who are comfortable operating in the middle of the park. Soler would solve that problem instantly, and he’d provide Lopetegui with another top-class option.
The Spain international is a sensational footballer, and he would take us to a whole new level as far as strength in depth is concerned. He bagged two goals and two assists in 24 Ligue 1 games for PSG last season, but only 12 of those appearances were starts.
Despite playing just 1,089 minutes in the league last season, the Spaniard still averaged 30.8 passes per game, and registered a completion rate of 87.5% (Who Scored). His ability on the ball and cool and composed nature makes him ideally suited to Lopetegui’s system, with the West Ham boss keen for his team to play out from the back and on into midfield.
For just £20 million, I really don’t think Julen Lopetegui can go wrong by bringing him to West Ham before the transfer window slams shut. Hopefully the Hammers head coach manages to bring his fellow countryman to the London Stadium before our next Premier League game on Saturday.
