The dream £17m defender transfer that could lift West Ham to next level if they act decisively

If recent entries in the gossip columns are to be believed, West Ham United are stepping up their search for a new central defender – and have settled on a highly ambitious target. Malick Thiaw has established himself as a mainstay of the AC Milan team over the course of 2023, and the 22-year-old German won’t be easily persuaded to make the London Stadium his new home.

Partly that’s because he’s become a staple of Stefano Pioli’s line-up, which means Champions League football and a real chance of winning the Scudetto – Milan are top of Serie A as it stands with seven wins from eight. And partly it’s because the other club reportedly keen on his services are Real Madrid. West Ham’s stock may be gradually rising, but their clout only extends so far. Besides, reports in the Italian press suggest that Thiaw is in no rush to go anywhere, which pours a little bit of cold water over the entire idea.

But none of that seems to have dissuaded West Ham from trying their hand, and they are purportedly weighing up a bid in the region of €20m (£17.4m) for the centre-half. And if Milan miss their targets for the season, Real look elsewhere, and David Moyes’ boys make it into the upper echelons of European football again – well, why not? They could certainly better his current wage packet, reported at €20,000 (£17,400) per week…

So let’s say West Ham do make this move happen, and that they offer enough money to persuade Thiaw to move to the East End. Stranger things have happened. What would the twice-capped international defender bring to Moyes’ squad?

For starters, he wouldn’t be shy of the physical attributes that Moyes typically wants to see in his defenders. Standing a sturdy 6’4” tall and blessed with serious strength and a big leap, Thiaw is a huge presence at the heart of defence and wins a very high percentage of aerial duels. Very few of even the most powerful forwards can get the better of him. Thiaw blimey, some might say.

He’s also an excellent passer and distributor of the ball who boasts a 93% pass completion rate over the course of the season so far – and he isn’t just passing it sideways. Thiaw registers nearly five progressive passes per game (a measure of completed passes which move the ball at least 10 yards forward or into the penalty area) and is as good at sparking attacks for his own side as he is at snuffing out the oppositions’.

You can also throw efficient tackling into the mix – Thiaw measures his challenges well while rarely giving an inch away, and while his success rate against dribblers could improve slightly, his numbers in terms of winning the ball in fifty-fifty situations are superb. You can see why Real would be interested.

As you’d expect from a player who is still only 22 and has development left to do, Thiaw isn’t perfect. He does tend to push up the field to make challenges and can do so fairly rashly at times, leaving space in behind him if he fails to win the ball back. Milan have covered that effectively by making him part of a back three, but he could be more vulnerable in a traditional back four where there is often less cover in behind an advancing defender.

He’s also no more than a decent dribbler of the ball – much better than some of the more agricultural centre-backs Moyes has managed over the years, but for a player who likes to come out of defence to win the ball he lacks the capacity to surge on with it effectively once he wins it. There are aspects to his game that can be rounded out, but his fundamentals are exceptional, and his performances over the course of the last year or so leave no doubt as to his qualities and consistency.

With so many years ahead of him, there’s also every chance that he can grow, develop, and sand off the remaining rough edges in his game. He’s already shown substantial growth since moving to Milan from Schalke 04 in 2022, when the Italian outfit paid €7m (£6m) for his services, and there’s no reason to expect that advancement to slow down just yet. He can also play as a right-back when called upon, and given the rather thin squad Moyes has at West Ham any player who can offer some positional versatility is worth their weight in gold.

So is it realistic to expect West Ham to make this particular signing? Maybe not. It could easily be a pipe dream, and it’s certainly very unlikely indeed that there’s any movement before next summer. But if there’s even a glimmer of hope, should the Hammers at least make the attempt? Absolutely. Thiaw has the skill set to become a first-rate central defender, and frankly he has enough about him that he isn’t too far off that point now – and if the rumoured price of €20m has any truth to it whatsoever, he would be an absolutely incredible bargain.

Chances are that this deal is so good on paper that it’s no more than an idle daydream for Hammers fans to enjoy – but then, so was winning a European trophy not so very long ago. Dreams sometimes come true…