West Ham transfer priority emerges as Tottenham jump ahead to sign Walker-Peters
West Ham have long been linked with a move for Kyle Walker-Peters, who is set to return to the Premier League immediately.
Walker-Peters is out of contract at Southampton and has attracted a lot of interest given his experience and versatility after dropping into the Championship.
West Ham could be reliant on the free agent market this summer as they aim to rebuild their squad amid financial restrictions, and Walker-Peters appeared to be an ideal target.
However, it has now emerged that Tottenham are ahead of West Ham in the race to sign the defender, and Graham Potter may have already moved on.
West Ham prioritise sales over Walker-Peters
There is a competitive battle for Walker-Peters’ signature with several clubs interested, and it now appears unlikely that he will end up at the London Stadium.
ExWHUemployee has now told The West Ham Way (24 June) that Fulham, Crystal Palace, Everton and Tottenham are all interested in Walker-Peters, and that he is not a priority for the Hammers anymore.
| Stat | Walker-Peters |
| Apps | 33 |
| Mins | 2,922 |
| Goals | 0 |
| Assists | 2 |
Potter and head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay both have other options they prefer to the 27-year-old, and a different priority has emerged.
It is reported that West Ham’s current goal is selling players, to ease the financial pressures they are facing, with the market believed to be currently “slow.”
West Ham need to utilise free agent market
Full-back may not be the biggest priority for West Ham this summer, but they will still need to sign at least one player in the position, given other departures.
Emerson Palmieri could follow Vladimir Coufal and Aaron Cresswell out of the exit door, and Walker-Peters could have covered both sides, without costing a transfer fee.
Should West Ham let him go elsewhere, fans will hope that Potter and Macauley have a better target up their sleeves, but the current inaction in terms of recruitment may be something of a concern.
The Hammers have already let several players leave for free, or at the end of their loan spells, while no new bodies are yet to arrive to replace them.
Sign up for the West Ham Zone WhatsApp channel and turn on notifications to have all the latest, breaking West Ham United news sent straight to your phone.