West Ham finally find their striker as Spurs ‘confident’ of intriguing Ipswich deal

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We round up the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours - with stories from West Ham, Spurs, Ipswich and Chelsea.

It’s hard to believe it, but there are now just 10 days left in the January transfer window – hasn’t time flown? It’s been surprisingly busy so far, with Manchester City trying to buy their way back into form and plenty of their rivals hoping to make a splash with some signings. There are so many stories flying around that it’s hard to keep up, so we’re back with our daily rundown of the biggest new Premier League transfer rumours, along with our verdict on whether they’re really going to happen.

We’ll start with West Ham, who have been desperately searching for a striker for some time but seem grimly determined to get a deal over the line this winter – and they may have finally found their man, according to a new report from The Athletic.

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They reckon that the Hammers have settled on RB Leipzig’s André Silva, a 29-year-old striker who was smashing them in for Eintracht Frankfurt a few years ago but whose career has stalled at his current club. After a modest loan spell at Real Sociedad last season, it looks like he could be available on a temporary basis again and West Ham are now “in negotiations” for a loan deal with an option to buy at the end of the campaign. The long wait for a forward may finally be over.

The 3AM Verdict: The Athletic are rarely too far wrong with their transfer stories and we can’t see any reason this would be wide of the mark. Silva has had some highs in his career but it’s been a while now, so Hammers fans should temper expectations, but if he can shake the rust off then he can be an impactful number nine. Whether this is the only striker they sign remains to be seen, of course, and they’ve been linked with a great many.

Spurs ‘confident’ of unlikely deal

On to a story from TeamTalk which could represent some relief for Tottenham Hotspur fans – but which will also send a shudder down the spines of any Ipswich Town fans who happen to be reading. The claim is that Spurs are “confident” that they can seal a deal for Liam Delap this window as Ange Postecoglou tries to rustle up some attacking reinforcements, despite the fact that Ipswich have “no desire” to sell their summer signing.

Delap, who has bagged eight Premier League goals for his relegation-threatened side, has been tentatively linked with a number of more established top-flight teams since an explosive start to the season, and would understandably “demand a premium fee” for him should Spurs be serious – but Spurs are “desperate” after their poor recent run of form and seemingly endless injuries, so who knows what they might be prepared to pay?

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The 3AM Verdict: We just can’t see this one. Ipswich would need to receive silly money for a player whose goals could keep them in the Premier League, and Spurs aren’t usually in the business of paying those sorts of fees. We don’t doubt that they’ve scouted Delap with an eye on a move in the future – a few teams have – but we’d be amazed if this is a transfer that goes over the line. Stranger things have happened, mind you. Probably.

Chelsea’s Italian job as Chilwell finds a way out

We’ll wrap things up today with three stories in one, all of which are aimed at the Chelsea fans among you. To start things off, The Daily Mail are reporting that “pushing hard” to snap up Verona defensive midfielder Reda Belahyane, who is 20 years old and has impressed in his first full season of senior football with the embattled Italian side.

The deal has “progressed” over the course of the week and is apparently worth €15m (£12.6m), but the Blues will recoup some of their outlay by selling unwanted midfielder Cesare Casadei to either Lazio or Torino. Lazio have made a £11.5m and while there’s no word on whether that was accepted, it’s likely just a matter of a little haggling and a wait to see whether Torino come in too.

Casadei isn’t the only member of the infamous ‘bomb squad’ who could finally be leaving Stamford Bridge, either – The Daily Mirror reckon that Ben Chilwell will finally be given a way out of his purgatory by Borussia Dortmund. No word on whether it’s a permanent switch or just a loan, but apparently the German giants are “making a move.”

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The 3AM Verdict: First up, Belahyane – he’s been drawing warm reviews for his technical quality and work rate, and is more of a deep-lying playmaker who likes to dribble than a holding midfielder. If he works on his defensive game, he could be a cracking player, and clearly Chelsea are happy to take that gamble. A few other sources are backing this story up, so we suspect there’s truth to it. Casadei and Chilwell leaving seems both inevitable and like good news under the circumstances, although the Chilwell story is very thin on detail, which makes us wonder how far along the idea of a move to the banks of the Ruhr really is.

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