After seeing their talks to sign Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui break down, West Ham United have now reportedly opened talks to sign a Premier League alternative for Julen Lopetegui.
It’s been a frustrating period in the transfer window for West Ham since welcoming their last signing, Max Kilman. The Hammers have been linked with the likes of Jhon Duran and Mazraoui, but neither deal has reached the point of agreement.
The former was even spotted throwing up the Hammers sign on an Instagram Live, even though those at the London Stadium are still weighing up a move to match Aston Villa’s £40m price tag. Then, to make matters worse, talks to sign Mazraoui reportedly broke down.
Their failure to sign the Bayern Munich man could yet work out for the best, however, with Manchester United instead making their move to potentially bring West Ham’s deal for a Premier League star to life.
According to Sky Sports, West Ham are now in talks to sign Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who is valued at £15m+ by Manchester United this summer. The Red Devils are looking for a solution with Wan-Bissaka into the final year of his contract at Old Trafford. That said, there’s still a reported gap in valuations between their asking price and what West Ham are currently willing to pay.
In a transfer domino effect, West Ham could yet get an ideal solution to their Mazraoui failure in the form of a defender who knows all about the Premier League.
“Exceptional” Wan-Bissaka can replace Coufal
Whilst Vladimir Coufal enjoyed another solid season in West Ham colours last time out, it won’t be long until the Hammers need to think about replacing the 31-year-old, which is where Wan-Bissaka should come in this summer. Offering a more defensive approach to the Czech Republic defender, Wan-Bissaka would certainly tighten things up at the London Stadium, even if that means West Ham sacrificing an attacking outlet down the right-hand side.
An excellent one-on-one defender, Wan-Bissaka could unleash Mohammed Kudus once and for all by negating any defensive responsibility for West Ham’s star man to excel going forward.
Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was full of praise for the right-back during his tenure, telling the club’s official website: “We saw an exceptional defender when I watched him last season. He had a couple of games especially against [Leroy] Sane, against Manchester City, and you think ‘wow, he’s so hard to go past’.”
Now, it’s West Ham who could benefit from Wan-Bissaka’s defensive ability, as they look to land a Mazraoui alternative this summer.
