West Ham United agree deal for Vladimir Coufal upgrade amid Aaron Wan-Bissaka update
West Ham United have been busy in Julen Lopetegui’s first transfer window at the London Stadium and it doesn’t seem like they’ll stop anytime soon.
Max Kilman has arrived to bolster the defence, Wes Foderingham has provided another option between the sticks and Luis Guilherme is looking to set the Premier League alight.
While attacking additions remain a priority, reports in France suggest the Irons have managed to agree a deal with Manchester United to bring Aaron Wan-Bissaka to East London [Foot Mercato, 28 July].
Personal terms haven’t yet been agreed, but if the finishing touches can be put on the deal, the Irons may have just secured themselves a massive upgrade on Vladimir Coufal.
Will Aaron Wan-Bissaka exit Manchester United in the summer transfer window?
When compared to the other fullbacks in the Premier League last season, there are very few who are more effective out of position than the Red Devils defender.
Over the course of the campaign, Wan-Bissaka placed in the 98th percentile of his peers for interceptions made per 90 minutes, with an average of 2.07 a game, according to Fbref.
It was very rare that any players who attempted to dribble past the Englishman came away with the ball as on average last term he tackled 73.1 per cent of all players who attempted beat him in possession.
That figure puts him in the top seven per cent of the division’s defenders meaning there are very few right-backs who win the ball as often as the 26-year-old.
Wan-Bissaka’s ability out of possession was on show in the FA Cup final clash with Manchester City where he won 75 per cent of ground duels and won more tackles than any other player on either side, according to Fotmob.
On top of that, the Manchester United defender has a talent when it comes to blocking shots. Last season, only six per cent of his positional peers managed to block more efforts on goal than the fullback.
While Lopetegui is expected to implement a more attacking style of football than David Moyes, Wan-Bissaka’s defensive capability should be an ideal fit under the former Real Madrid boss.
Are West Ham United close to any new signings in the summer transfer window?
In comparison, Coufal is nowhere near as adept defensively as the West Ham-linked star.
The Czech international placed in the 57th percentile for percentage of dribblers tackled per 90 minutes, only managing to win the ball of 50.7 per cent of players who attempted to beat him, according to Fbref.
He does also have an impressive record when it comes to interceptions averaging 1.24 every game which sees him fall into the 79th percentile of all Premier League fullbacks.
However, he only manages to block half as many shots a game as Wan-Bissaka and his average of 0.43 every 90 minutes was bettered by 37 per cent of his positional peers.
Supporters will bemoan Wan-Bissaka’s lack of end product, after all, he only managed to lay on two assists in 20 Premier League stars last term, compared to Coufal’s seven in 36 appearances.
But West Ham’s issue last season was conceding goals rather than scoring them. No club that avoided relegation last season conceded more goals than Moyes’ Irons’ 74.
The addition of Kilman should help stop the flow of goals, but if the Hammers can get a deal for Wan-Bissaka over the line, it could massively help them as they look to progress under Lopetegui.
In other West Ham news, Karim Adeyemi’s stance on a summer move to the Hammers has been shared amid transfer speculation
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