West Ham still in race to sign Eddie Nketiah
West Ham are reportedly still in the race to sign Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah before Monday’s deadline.
According to reports from the Daily Mail [printed edition; 30 January, 154], the Hammers are one of the clubs still keen to land the striker, but they face competition from Brighton and two German clubs
Nketiah has a contract at the north London club till the end of the season. It means, he can sign a pre-contract with a foreign club this month.
Crystal Palace have been heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old striker this month. Sky Sports reported yesterday [29 January] that Arsenal have rejected another bid from Palace for Nketiah.
It means, the Gunners have now rejected two bids from Palace this month for the young striker.
Busy
West Ham are expected to remain busy in the final two days of the January window.
The Hammers are yet to sign a player this month, although they need to sign a striker and a central defender.
Instead, David Moyes has turned attention towards chasing players who they don’t need actually.
According to reports from The Telegraph, West Ham have made a club-record bid of around £50 million for Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips, but it was rejected.
Leeds have no intention to sell the England international before Monday’s deadline. West Ham also made a bid for Raphinha but it was rejected.
Clearly, it shows that the Hammers have money to spend but they are still not willing to sign a striker.
However, Nketiah is available but whether the Hammers can secure his signature before the deadline remains to be seen.
In other West Ham news, talks are going down to the wire for new signings as ExWHUemployee shares a multi-million update.