West Ham United table £17m offer for new Nathan Zeze transfer
Nantes have already rejected a £17million bid for Nathan Zeze from West Ham, according to Sport Italia.
The Italian source reported [12 August] that the Ligue 1 side have also rejected a £12.8million bid from Inter Milan for their 19-year-old centre-back, with several other Premier League clubs also interested.
It is understood, however, that Nantes are standing strong on their transfer demands for Zeze, with the club holding out for £25.7million if a deal is to be completed this summer [Sport Italia].
West Ham United to sign another defender in Nathan Zeze?
Julen Lopetegui has quietly completed an overhaul of the Hammers squad this summer, having taken over from David Moyes’ reign after the 2023/24 season.
While the London club have seen limited outgoings so far, with Ben Johnson and Flynn Downes the only first-team players to leave, the Spaniard has added seven new signings to the squad.
Those include two key centre-backs Max Kilman and Jean-Clair Todibo, though Kurt Zouma, Nayef Aguerd and Konstantinos Mavropanos still remain at the club.
That could certainly change before the 30 August transfer deadline, with Zouma attempting to revive a move to Shabib Al-Ahli after failing a medical [The Times] and the Hammers open to Mavropanos’ exit [Sean Whetstone].
If both players are to leave this summer, Lopetegui may still need to look into signing another defender, even with Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka set to join on a £15million deal [Fabrizio Romano].
Some fans may be concerned by the number of changes ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, but after conceding the fourth-most goals in the league last season, something had to be done.
Whether Zeze is the right answer or not is an entirely different question. If the Hammers are to splash another £25million on a defender, they must ensure it is the right choice.
The 19-year-old centre-half has just 16 senior appearances to his name at Nantes, which could push West Ham away from meeting their price tag this summer.
In other West Ham news, Jeff Stelling was left in stitches live on talkSPORT at a Kurt Zouma jibe after transfer news emerged at the London Stadium.
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