West Ham’s focus on youth looks to be the sea change in their recruitment strategy for the summer. Which is along-awaited step in the right direction as they have become renown for buying older players who have no residual value at the end of their time at the club and the losses just mount up.
The theme of getting the best of the Championship has to offer is not new, we had it confirmed from the club in the January window as the Hammers seek to avoid the Lopetegui mistakes of bringing in expensive players from overseas who are not unto the pace of English football and struggle to settle in the UK.
Guido Rodriguez and Carlos Soler for different reasons struggled to adapt to the pace of English football and Rodriguez in particular at 30 years old realises he’s made a mistake coming to the Premier League and reportedly cannot wait to leave after just one season.
So following the ‘Jarrod Bowen’ model – picking the best from the Championship – is seen as a much less risky approach and from the number of players linked withe West Ham it is clearly the chosen route for this coming window.
What is the icing on the cake is the focus on younger players which their whole careers ahead of them, like Burnley’s CJ Egan-Riley. As reported by thewesthamway.com, the 22 year old right footed centre back is high on the Hammers shopping list and out of contract in the summer.
Versatile enough to play as a defensive midfielder or full back, Egan-Riley has formed as part of a Burnley defence which has conceded just eleven goals all season. A great alternative should the club’s interest in Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis not get over the line: Both are young, promising England u21 or full internationals and would strengthen the squad well alongside Todibo, Kilman and the more-than-likely returning Nayef Aguerd.
As their article suggests, “West Ham are expected to make a more formal offer to the player in the coming weeks.” Which means its’ not looking good for the error-prone Konstantinos Mavropanos.