David Sullivan can’t ignore glaring transfer priority as talks held for new West Ham signing

David Sullivan has had an incredibly busy month as West Ham chairman.

Sullivan has already invested heavily in attacking reinforcements, with £47.7million being spent Taty Castellanos and Pablo as the Hammers look to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

The Hammers sit 18th in the table, and they signed Adama Traore on Wednesday to give them another option in the final third.

However, West Ham need to address several more issues in their team; otherwise, they could face playing in the Championship for the first time since 2011-2012.

Premier League relegation zone
Credit: Imago

West Ham have let four midfielders leave in January, they need a replacement

Although the Hammers have done well to add some firepower to the team, they desperately need another midfielder.

Lucas Paqueta will move to Flamengo for £36.4m, and he has travelled to Brazil to complete the move before the deadline on 2 February.

James Ward-Prowse joined Burnley on loan until the end of the season as the 31-year-old continued to be overlooked by Nuno Espirito Santo.

Andy Irving and Guido Rodriguez also left in January, going to Sparta Prague and Valencia respectively.

Soungoutou Magassa is also attracting interest from Fiorentina, although they can’t afford to let him leave.

The Hammers look incredibly light in the centre of the park, and Sullivan has to sign at least one replacement.

Credit: Imago

The graphic above shows how West Ham’s midfield will look once Paqueta leaves, and they’ve only got four senior players they can rely on.

West Ham are linked with Zulte Waregem’s Tochukwu Nnadi, and he is the perfect player they could sign right now.

Tochukwu Nnadi signing could solve all of West Ham’s midfield problems

A report from SportsBoom claims that the Hammers already held talks with Nnadi on 22 January.

The midfielder has expressed an interest in making the move to the London Stadium, and a five-year contract has been prepared.

Nnadi has enjoyed a breakout season for Zulte Waregem, developing into one of the most impressive young players in the Belgian Pro League.

StatNnadi
Appearances16
Pass accuracy85.2%
Ground duels won60.5%
Aerial duels won81.0%
Tackles33
Nnadi’s 2025-26 Belgian Pro League stats (via FotMob)

Clubs in Germany and Spain are also keeping a close watch, although West Ham are believed to be the most advanced in talks right now.

The 22-year-old was part of the Nigeria squad that suffered defeat against Morocco in the AFCON semi-finals, but played just 14 minutes in the competition.

The tough-tackling midfielder could come straight into the starting lineup, and his presence would allow for Mateus Fernandes to push further forward.

Stay up to date this winter with our West Ham transfer tracker. Click to see every done deal at the London Stadium, plus expert reaction from our team of writers.