Linked again with another offer for El Hadji Malick Diouf this weekend, Brentford, it appears, are serious about bidding for West Ham’s first choice left back.
Having seen Ollie Scarles mis-steps this season, the decision to part with Diouf will not be an easy one but as Brentford reportedly near the £40 million mark, it seems, having left him out of the Charlton match day squad that Nuno is already getting prepared for a future without the Senegalese defender.
If West Ham’s overworked recruitment department can but join the dots on three separate transfer stories, there’s an opportunity to cash in on Diouf and fix one of the Hammers’ biggest challenges in the eight days remaining in this summer window.
Makeweight for El Hadji-Malick Diouf? Pinock has emerged as a target for West Ham
Sharp-eyed Claret and Hugh readers will have noticed earlier that one of West Ham’s main transfer targets had, himself been left out of the starting line up for his side’s weekend fixture and was an unused substitute: None other than-yep, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock.
A stop-gap as centre half? Maybe.
Better than Max Kilman? Absolutely.
Available as a ‘makeweight’ in any Malick Diouf negotiations? “Probably”.
Just hope Koppen got the memo that the Hammers are desperate for a another centre half and would take Brentford’s veteran like a shot to bolster their own squad.
However, much like transfer wac-a-mole, one problem would disappear with Pinnock’s recruitment but another surfaces with the sale of Diouf as the Hammers would need to recruit a replacement – with just over a week to run in the summer window.
Footballinsider have already claimed in their ‘exclusive’ that West Ham are looking at Ligue 1’s Jacques Ekomie as a left back signing:
Ekomie has been identified as a leading target for the Hammers, and has also been tracked by a number of clubs across Europe, with Hamburg also in the race for his signature.
The left-back has just one year remaining on his contract at Angers and could be available for the right price, which could hand Wrexham and West Ham encouragement.”
A busy week at Hammers HQ beckons.
Not sure about the French kid he has zero assists what happened to Harry Amass the Man Utd kid for £7m he looks a player that could be developed.
Sell Diouf and Taty and Bowen and Mavropanos might as well get shot of all the players that don’t want to be here and we can get serious money for.
Time for a complete reset Bowen isn’t a leader he is uninspiring, he is a great player but we need characters now, not players that think they are too good, ones that will roll their sleeves up and earn the right to play.
Why not include Aaron Hickey in the Diouf deal? he’s got to be better than Scarles at the moment.
We’re way late. Pinnock signed for Coventry. Sums us up.
Is Koppen any good?
We are letting him and Nuno decide our fate, I have no confidence in either of them.
Selling our silverware and raiding the Scottish league will be a disaster
Pinnock is going to Coventry according to Ex. Longer contract and Prem on offer so we’ve so chance