West Ham United, under the leadership of new manager Julen Lopetegui, are undergoing a summer transfer window makeover, with a particular focus on bolstering their attacking options and tomorrow could be a very important day in that rebuild.
Lopetegui hasn’t wasted time addressing weaknesses in the squad. New signings Luis Guilherme (winger), Wes Foderingham (goalkeeper), and Max Kilman (centre-back) have already been brought in.
However, the Spaniard’s top priority before the season kicks off is acquiring a new centre-forward. Reports claim that a £35 million bid has been submitted to Aston Villa for Colombian youngster Jhon Duran, with personal terms already agreed upon with the 20-year-old striker.
The Hammers are expected to ramp up their interest in the Villa man tomorrow following the conclusion of the Copa America tomorrow. That is when the club will truly discover if Duran has any real interest in moving to East London.
The potential arrival of Duran throws Danny Ings’ future at the club into question. With Michail Antonio already established and Duran potentially coming in, Ings’ playing time could be severely limited. While West Ham is open to selling the 31-year-old, no official offers have materialized. Interestingly, Ings reportedly prefers to stay and fight for his place under Lopetegui.
While Ings’ situation remains unclear, Antonio has already attracted transfer interest from Brazil, MLS, and the Saudi Pro League. The domino effect of the Duran transfer could see Antonio pushed out of the club despite interest from elsewhere.
With a new manager at the helm and a striker signing looming large, West Ham United is set for an exciting, but potentially volatile, summer transfer window. The upcoming weeks will determine how Lopetegui shapes his attacking force and how it impacts the futures of both Antonio and Ings.
West Ham could do worse than Calvert Lewin……but the point is, we want to do better.
Calvert Lewin was struggling with fitness between 2022 and 2023, though he managed 33 Prem appearances, scoring seven times, last season playing in a weak side. He won’t be a bad player if he had better quality team mates around him.
I’d rather have Toney, though this Duran lad has a bright future according to the pro players that have commented about him.
I trust Julen and Tim to bring in the best available to West Ham.
Hoping the Dominic Calvert Lewin rumours are not true 😡 Maybe it’s smoke and mirrors so we welcome the signing of Duran. We need to swerve both and sign a proven goal scorer and not waste money on injury prone or potential strikers.
Agreed