West Ham transfer state of play: Three big targets, striker search latest and confusing £10m deal

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The latest West Ham transfer news with updates on their striker search and a strange £10m midfielder deal.

West Ham United are poised to be among the biggest spenders in the Premier League by the time the January transfer window closes – but they also seem to be struggling to get the deals they want over the line.

The Guardian reported on Wednesday that the Hammers, and new manager Graham Potter, want to make three signings by the deadline, with a centre-back and a defensive midfielder on their radar alongside the striker they have wanted for so long.

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We’ve got the latest updates on West Ham’s transfer movements below, including news of the strikers they’re interested in after a big-money bid for Aston Villa’s Jhon Durán was rebuffed, the latest updates on a bizarre story involving a Dutch midfielder and more…

Striker search continues after Durán deal fails

West Ham are back in the market for a forward after persistent injuries ruined Niclas Füllkrug’s chance to become the consistent goalscorer they’ve wanted for some time, but their attempt to sign Colombian striker Durán failed, with a £57m bid rejected. It is understood that Villa would demand closer to £100m for a striker who West Ham were interested in over the summer as well, and the Hammers are not expected to return to the table with a second bid.

The player that the club have been most persistently linked with to fill the hole up front is young Brighton & Hove Albion forward Evan Ferguson, but the Seagulls have yet to decide whether they are willing to part with the promising Irish international, who has had injury struggles of his own over the past year. West Ham are not believed to have made a formal offer, whether on loan or on a permanent basis.

The Guardian’s report referenced a long list of prospective targets, which included Ferguson alongside Fulham’s Rodrigo Muniz, RB Leipzig’s André Silva, Strasbourg’s Emanuel Emegha and Nottingham Forest’s Taiwo Awoniyi. Emegha is not believed to be for sale and Forest may not be willing to sell Awoniyi unless they are successful in signing a replacement, although a forward is among their main priorities in the window.

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Caught Offside also claim that West Ham are interested in Corinthians striker Yuri Alberto, who has been linked with a move to the London Stadium on a number of occasions over the past year. Forest may also be interested in the 23-year-old Brazil international, who scored an impressive 31 goals in 57 games in the 2024 season. Jonathan David, whose name has cropped up, is not considered a likely target as he is expected to remain with Lille until his contract expires in the summer.

Confusion of £10m midfielder deal

On Wednesday, Sky Sports reported that West Ham had agreed a deal with Belgian club OH Leuven to sign midfielder Ezechiel Banzuzi for a fee worth £10m with an additional £3m in add-ons – but there is confusion over whether that is the case.

Claret & Hugh claim that the club reached out to them on Wednesday evening to confirm that “no such deal existed” for the 19-year-old Dutchman, who has been capped at Under-21 level, and that a potential move had in fact collapsed earlier in the transfer window.

It remains to be seen which reports are accurate, and the teenager has also been linked with a move to Leicester City, whose owners King Power are also in charge of Leuven. Another target is England midfielder Angel Gomes, whose deal with French club Lille expires this summer alongside team-mate David, but Lille are not believed to be interested in selling him with a Champions League place on the line and The Guardian claimed that sources close to Gomes have played down talks of a move to London.

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Banzuzi is, in any case, an attacking midfielder, and if he does arrive then it is assumed that the Hammers would still be in the market for a more defensive – and perhaps more experienced – midfielder.

Álvarez departure latest and centre-back search

The need for a central midfielder may come about in part because there remains a good chance that Edson Álvarez, the Mexican midfielder who signed from Ajax for a reported £35m in 2023, will leave the club.

French side AS Monaco have made two loan bids for the 27-year-old, according to The Daily Mail, and although there have been no updates on the situation for around 10 days, that is likely because West Ham are holding out for a better financial offer, or because they prefer to wait to make a signing.

Details on the club’s apparent hunt for a centre-back are scarce. The only credible source to link West Ham with a defender is German journalist Florian Plettenberg, who claim that the Hammers are interested in 18-year-old Nürnberg defender Finn Jeltsch – however, Plettenberg suggested that the teenager had been added to “the shortlist for summer”, implying that a January deal is not likely.

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Outside of that tentative link, there is little clarity on which defenders Potter may want to sign to provide cover while Jean-Clair Todibo deals with injury issues and Kostantinos Mavropanos struggles for form.

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