Nuno’s Adama Traore transfer push seems pointless as West Ham loan star impresses again
Fulham’s Adama Traore could be Nuno Espirito Santo’s first West Ham signing in January.
The need for attackers has never been so clear after West Ham failed to score against Fulham on Saturday in a damaging 1-0 defeat at the London Stadium.
The loss has kept the Hammers on a measly 13 points at the halfway point of the season, as Nuno faces a fight for Premier League survival with the Irons.
Traore has been heavily linked with a West Ham move in recent days, and Nuno is keen on reuniting with his former Wolves star.
However, the Hammers should try recall one youngster who would be a much cheaper and better long-term option than Traore.
Gideon Kodua keeps shining away from West Ham
Traore hasn’t scored for Fulham since January, and although he may provide creativity from out wide, the Spaniard would not offer much threat in front of goal.
The right-winger would provide Jarrod Bowen with some competition, but even then, there’s simply no way that the West Ham skipper will be replaced.
Instead, the Hammers have Gideon Kodua, who is currently shining on loan at Luton Town.
- Kodua scored a brace in Luton Town’s 4-0 Boxing Day win over Wycombe Wanderers
- The 21-year-old now has six goals in 11 starts for the Hatters in League One
- In total, Kodua has 10 goal contributions in all competitions for Jack Wilshire’s side
West Ham decided to let Kodua go on loan to Luton in the summer after the Englishman was unable to make serious progress while at Wycombe last campaign.
Kodua was a goal-scoring machine in the Hammers’ youth setup, and even managed to bag 29 goals in 55 games from 2021 to 2023 for the under-18s.
It just seems like a glaringly obvious decision to recall the right-winger in the January transfer window, but there could be a stumbling block.
West Ham face serious risk of losing Kodua for pennies
In a new addition to David Sullivan’s ever-growing list of mess-ups, West Ham decided to let Kodua join Luton on a deal that has a buy option for the Hatters.
There are no public reports of what the fee could be should Luton wish to trigger it at the end of the season, but Transfermarkt values the youngster at £300,000, in other words, pennies for Sullivan.
West Ham could have a recall option in the deal, but this has not been confirmed or denied yet in the media.
Ahead of the January transfer window opening, West Ham’s board needs to hold an emergency meeting regarding Kodua’s loan and figure out how they can bring the starlet back to E20.
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