Banzuzi transfer on hold as West Ham turn attention to another deal – Sky Sports
West Ham United are facing a delay in their bid to sign Ezechiel Banzuzi from OH Leuven, according to Sky Sports.
Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports reported via X on Wednesday (22 January) that the Irons have arranged for Banzuzi to travel to the UK for a medical after agreeing a deal worth £13million with Leuven, only for Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri to deny the claim later.
The Sky reporter has now doubled down on his information that the East London outfit indeed have an agreement with the Belgian Pro League club via the broadcaster’s live transfer blog (23 January, 2:26 pm), although the further steps of the deal, including the medical is currently on hold.
Graham Potter’s side, meanwhile, are in the process of completing the deal to bring the head coach’s trusted analyst Kyle Macaulay from Chelsea to the London Stadium, which could result in Tim Steidten’s exit.
West Ham to speed up transfer after Kyle Macaulay hire?
It is unclear why there is a delay in West Ham’s bid to sign Banzuzi despite them already agreeing a fee with OH Leuven.
Nevertheless, the Hammers can be expected to ramp up efforts to strengthen their squad after their confirm Macaulay’s appointment, which The Guardian‘s Jacob Steinberg expects to be on Thursday, 23 January.
The Premier League club appear to have acted quickly to finalise a deal to rope Macaulay in from the Blues, meaning they are keen for him to take office before the window slams shut on 3 February.
Potter is keen to add a defender, deep-lying midfielder and striker to his ranks for the second half of the season, meaning West Ham need to hurry to get those players in.
Therefore, it is imperative that the Irons finalise Macaulay’s appointment as soon as possible so that he can hit the ground running at Rush Green.
As for Steidten, he may have to pack his bags soon.
In other West Ham news, the Irons are in the hunt to sign this “impressive” Championship midfielder.
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