Tim Steidten to take transfer risk at West Ham United as double signing mooted
Tim Steidten has put West Ham United through a lot of change thus far with the defence one of his priorities.
Whilst attacking additions have been the main focus of the Hammers’ attention, with the arrival of players such Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug, Julen Lopetegui needs to vastly improve his defensive line.
The club had one of the weakest defences in the Premier League last term and it was one of the main reasons behind the club only finishing as high as ninth place.
Although many exits from the club have been mooted across the window, Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd have arguably been the two most persistently linked with a London Stadium exit.
Max Kilman’s addition has helped shore up their defensive line somewhat, but Sean Whetstone reported via his West Ham Football account on X [7 August] that two more centre-backs are being targeted.
Asked in a later post if both players would be recruited or just one, and whether a sale would have to be sanctioned first, Whetstone said: “Both perhaps and try to offload Aguerd after that.”
The risk Tim Steidten could be taking for West Ham United
If the Hammers want to be among the English clubs competing for European places once again, they will have to make significant changes to their defensive line.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka is a prime example of this as he would be brought in as Ben Johnson’s replacement.
However, the former Crystal Palace man’s overall game is far more polished than the 23-year-old’s, so he’d be a stellar addition for the Hammers should they manage to strike a deal [Dharmesh Sheth, 6 August] with Manchester United.
But, if the club fail to offload the aforementioned duo, they could find themselves in something of a pickle due to the vast amount of defenders within their ranks.
Nothing is yet set in stone, but if West Ham want to progress from last season, steps need to be taken to secure destinations for those who are no longer performing at the peak of their powers.
At the same time, having to pay wages for the likes of Zouma, Aguerd and two other new centre-backs – not to mention the others already at the club – would leave the club in a tricky situation.
In other West Ham news, one Hammers man has been singled out as ‘key’ to making the Niclas Fullkrug deal happen.
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