Tim Steidten regret at West Ham United as Mats Hummels transfer decision made
Tim Steidten will regret not moving quicker to sign centre-back Mats Hummels for West Ham United.
The Hammers were keen to bolster their defensive ranks in the free-agent market and had earmarked Hummels alongside Joel Matip and John Egan as potential targets.
Now Steidten will be kicking himself as the German closes in on a move to AS Roma, as reported by Gianluca Di Marzio on X [3 September], and is set to lose out on the best centre-back option available among the free agents.
Who will West Ham United sign after missing out on Mats Hummels?
Julen Lopetegui may very well regret not holding on to one of Nayef Aguerd or Kurt Zouma as their departures leave the West Ham boss with just three senior centre-back options.
Summer signings Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo arrived to challenge Konstantinos Mavropanos in the backline. The Irons are one more option away from having serious depth in the position.
If the choice is between Egan and Matip, Steidten should move for the latter despite his concerning injury history at Liverpool.
That seems to be the direction he is heading in with talks with the Cameroonian to continue this week [The Standard].
The 33-year-old has Premier League and Champions League winning experience on his resume, and should he accept the role of the third or potentially fourth choice option in East London, he would be an excellent coup for the Hammers.
He suffered a serious knee injury last term that brought an end to his eight-year spell on Merseyside. Lopetegui would need to manage his work-load to keep him fit but he knows exactly what it takes to be successful in the English top flight and could act as a role-model to the squad.
Unfortunately, Steidten has put himself in a difficult situation stalling on a move for preferred target Hummels [Sean Whetstone] and he has to work with the limited options left on the market.
The Hammers cannot afford to spend the months before the January transfer window with only three centre-backs as one or two injuries or suspensions would leave them desperately light.
In other West Ham news, the Irons still need to answer a ‘big question’ after the transfer window.
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