West Ham now set to finalise Ferguson signing just hours before Monday deadline

West Ham United are expected to confirm the loan signing of Evan Ferguson from Brighton as late as Monday afternoon, according to Sean Whetstone.

Posting on X via his West Ham Football account (2 February), Whetstone reported that the Irons are "optimistic" a deal will be signed by Ferguson ahead of the 11pm transfer deadline on Monday night.

Having agreed a straight loan with Brighton for the rest of the season, the Hammers will pay the entirety of his "modest" wages, with the Republic of Ireland international earning £30,000-per-week.

Ferguson is set to undergo a medical at Rush Green on Sunday ahead of the deal being finalised, with the Irons and Brighton reaching the compromise of a straight loan with no transfer obligations included.

Evan Ferguson transfer can transform West Ham fortunes

Graham Potter's in-tray upon his arrival at the London Stadium was sizeable after replacing Julen Lopetegui on 9 January, but there's little doubt that signing a striker will have been near the top of it.

Niclas Fullkrug being injured just 16 minutes into Potter's first match in charge summed up the Hammers' luck up front this season, with Michail Antonio also on the sidelines for the foreseeable future.

Coming into Rush Green during a transfer window presented Potter with the perfect opportunity to address the Irons' overriding issue in attack, but only now have they finally sprang into life in the market.

Ferguson's move to East London dragging into the final hours of the transfer window won't do much to dispel the anxiety of fans worried about their business so far, albeit other moves are in the pipeline.

Potter reuniting with Ferguson – who made his debut under the 49-year-old at Brighton – could be the move which unlocks the Irons' potential, but securing his signature looks set to go down to the wire.

In other West Ham news, a rival Premier League club’s owner has made it his “personal mission” to beat the Irons to a new signing.

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