West Ham United‘s midfield is undergoing a transformation under new manager Julen Lopetegui. The future of midfielder Flynn Downes is uncertain, with reports suggesting either pre-season evaluation or a potential sale.
A strong indicator of this midfield revamp is West Ham’s pursuit of Aleix Garcia, a 26-year-old Spanish central midfielder currently playing for Girona. Garcia, who spent five years with Manchester City (2015-2020), has emerged as a target for his compatriot, Lopetegui.
According to The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg, West Ham has tabled a £14 million bid for Garcia, Girona’s captain. While Bayer Leverkusen are also interested, Lopetegui‘s presence at West Ham could be a decisive factor in securing Garcia’s signature.
West Ham has prioritised swift transfer dealings this summer but hasn’t yet achieved significant breakthroughs. However, positive developments have emerged regarding their pursuit of Garcia. Girona appears close to finalizing a replacement, potentially smoothing the transfer process.
Interestingly, there’s a West Ham connection to this development, involving the club’s co-owner Daniel Kretinsky. Reports suggest Girona is finalising a deal with Sparta Prague, a club co-owned by Kretinsky, for Ladislav Krejci, a Czech midfielder. Krejci is a teammate of current West Ham players Tomas Soucek and Vladimir Coufal and is also reportedly interesting Real Betis, where former West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini is now in charge.
Despite West Ham’s advantage with Lopetegui, competition from Bayer Leverkusen remains. Leverkusen’s manager, Xabi Alonso, is also Spanish and a highly regarded manager, with the additional lure of Champions League football.
However, West Ham might hold the upper hand with the Premier League‘s prestige and the appeal of living in London. Garcia himself was instrumental in Girona’s La Liga success, helping them secure a surprise third-place finish and Champions League qualification next season. He played a key role throughout the league campaign, contributing three goals and six assists.
The arrival of Aleix Garcia could be a key addition to West Ham’s revamped midfield. While competition exists, West Ham’s offer might be more attractive considering Garcia’s impressive performances and the Premier League’s drawing power.
Midfield definitely needs strengthening preferably with more of a passing midfielder which it looks like he is, don’t want to spend another season watching Soucek passing it out of play
Soucek’s ten goals proved to be handy though, didn’t they?