Reliable source: West Ham to launch bid for 6’2″ colossus today
West Ham seem to be in no mood to hang about when it comes to getting their business done this January.
New manager David Moyes got his second spell at the club off to an absolute flyer against Bournemouth with a 4-0 on Wednesday, and it would appear that the Hammers are planning to keep that momentum going by plunging head first into the transfer market.
A number of positions could probably do with some tweaking here and there, but based on the first half of this season, there will surely be few priorities greater than snapping up a second choice keeper to deputise for Lukasz Fabianski.
And so it can only be good news that the Irons look to be ploughing full steam ahead with doing just that.
According to reliable source ExWHUemployee, the club are set to launch a bid for Middlesbrough goalkeeper Darren Randolph today in an effort to bring him back to east London.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, Ex said: Another bid will go in for Randolph today for a bit more but it is felt that it may be rejected again.
“If this happens we will then turn our attentions to one of our other targets which is [Asmir] Begovic and [Neil] Etheridge of Cardiff.
“[Jack] Butland priced too high at the moment.”
This is good news for a number of reasons.
Firstly, a bid for Randolph could be a really positive thing.
The 6’2″ Republic of Ireland international is a top quality goalkeeper, and has averaged 2.9 saves per game for a Boro side who have struggled for much of the campaign, as per Whoscored.
That being said, he has been out with injury for some time now, and in his absence, young deputy Aynsley Pears has stepped up to the plate admirably.
With that in mind, would the Championship side be more willing to let Randolph go? Perhaps so.
Beyond that though, it’s good to see the club have multiple options lined up in case they don’t manage to land their first choice.
Not only does it show a good level of forward planning from the board, but it also illustrates just how serious they are about getting a deal for a quality stopper over the line this month.
In other news, Five West Ham players absent from Friday training.