West Ham United will have to pay £17.2m to sign Jakub Kiwior in January – Fabrizio Romano
West Ham United will have to pay around £17.2m to sign Jakub Kiwior in January after their move for the defender collapsed in the summer.
The Hammers were interested in the Poland ace and approached Spezia over a deal, but were knocked back and told he was “untouchable”, according to Fabrizio Romano.
However as interest continues to rise, the Serie A side have now set an asking price of between £12.9-17.2m (€15-20m) for a sale in 2023 although they’re hopeful of keeping him until the summer at least.
“Spezia want €15/20m to sell Jakub Kiwior in 2023 as there are many clubs interested in Serie A. Spezia hope to keep Kiwior at least until June,” Romano wrote on his personal Twitter account (27 November).
“West Ham approached Spezia to sign Kiwior last summer but deal collapsed as he was untouchable.”
Return visit?
West Ham have been rocked by the news that Kurt Zouma was forced to undergo knee surgery during this mid-season break for the World Cup, and he is expected to be out for the “foreseeable future“.
That leaves the Hammers short in defence for the second half of the season with Craig Dawson’s future still up in the air, Angelo Ogbonna battling with fitness issues and Nayef Aguerd only just returning to full match sharpness.
Kiwior is a young talent who is highly rated on the continent, and he could be the perfect replacement for Zouma in the second half of the campaign while also being one for the future should Dawson leave too.
His performances at the World Cup have been decent too, as he started in the draw with Mexico and the win over Saudi Arabia, so he’s only going to attract more attention heading into January.
Now that a price has been set, West Ham should return and stump up the cash to get it over the line and ensure they’re not left short during a period where relegation is starting to look like a genuine possibility.