West Ham United should make Ross Barkley approach if free transfer becomes available
West Ham United may be edging closer to signing Lucas Paqueta but the Brazilian should not be the only midfield addition of the summer.
Another playmaker they are still in the race for is Chelsea’s England international Ross Barkley, as reported by Fraser Fletcher on 15 August, and things could be about to swing in the Irons’ favour.
The Sun reported on 27 August that Chelsea owner Todd Boehly was considering offering the 28-year-old a massive payoff of the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge.
That would make him a free agent instantly and that would then allow West Ham to approach the player directly and not have to pay a penny to their London rivals for his services.
With more than £50million being spent on Paqueta up front, David Moyes and the pockets of the owners could do with a bargain purchase rather than another money-hogging signing.
Barkley has not featured whatsoever for Chelsea so far this season and has fallen so far down the pecking order that he can’t even get onto Thomas Tuchel’s bench and he is firmly on the transfer list as a result with days to go before the deadline hits.
If he is still contracted to the Blues, he has to be sold before 11pm on 1 September but Boehly’s offer of a payoff could allow the Hammers to take their time as he would not have to be contracted to the club as soon as the registration deadline for club-to-club transfers.
He probably wouldn’t start for Moyes’ side either but he would certainly feature off the bench and much as he did at Aston Villa two seasons ago, he will impact games in the final minutes and perhaps win points for the Irons.