West Ham make ‘ambitious’ new bid to sign Barcelona star as Nuno ready for next transfer
West Ham have already had a busy January transfer window.
David Sullivan has already splashed the cash in January, having spent £47.7million on Taty Castellanos and Pablo as the Hammers look to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
West Ham’s 2-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday has given fans hope that they can avoid relegation under Nuno Espirito Santo, and Sullivan looks set to back him even more this month.
Alphonse Areola, Jean-Clair Todibo, and Konstantinos Mavropanos were all immense, and supporters will be wondering why they haven’t seen more fight from their team this campaign.
A goalkeeper has emerged as the new priority for Nuno, and the Hammers are desperate to improve on that position.
West Ham have loan bid for Marc-Andre ter Stegen rejected
West Ham were previously interested in Bento, but the Al-Nassr goalkeeper didn’t fancy the move to E20.
Efforts have also been made to sign Antonin Kinsky on loan, and it’s clear that Nuno doesn’t trust Areola as his number one.
TalkSPORT reported on 17 January that the Hammers have made an “ambitious” loan bid for Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
| Stat | Ter Stegen |
| Appearances | 622 |
| Goals conceded | 607 |
| Clean sheets | 253 |
Ter Stegen is not interested in a move to the Premier League, and he is going to remain in La Liga instead, with the bid firmly rejected.
However, the 33-year-old German international has not played a single league game this season, having lost his starting place to Spanish shot-stopper Joan Garcia.
Areola has been impressive at times this season, and in the win over Spurs, he made five crucial saves.
Given West Ham’s struggles all across the pitch, Areola does not feel like an urgent problem that Nuno has to address.
Do West Ham really need another goalkeeper?
A centre-back should be the priority because the Hammers have conceded 44 goals in 22 matches.
The majority of those goals haven’t been down to Areola, who has single-handedly kept the Hammers in certain games.
This would mean trouble for Mads Hermansen, whose £20m move from Leicester City in the summer has been a spectacular failure.
The Dane would not appreciate being the third-choice goalkeeper, and his value will continue to plummet with the lack of game time.
All in all, that failed signing has proved to be incredibly costly, and as a result, West Ham‘s scattergun approach in January is not having much success.
It feels clear that a goalkeeper shouldn’t be at the top of the shopping list, but Nuno will do whatever it takes to sign someone to replace Areola.
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