West Ham’s tight-lipped response raises expectations over Cresswell 2.0

The transfer rumours surrounding Swiss defender Albian Hajdari as a likely West Ham target this summer appear to be quietly gathering pace.

The 22-year-old Lugano centre-back was originally linked to the Hammers by club insider ExWHUEmployee earlier this week, among a selection of other names—many of which have since been dismissed as nonsense speculation.

However, when Claret & Hugh approached our usual sources to check on the validity of the Hajdari link, we were met with complete radio silence.

That could be reading too much into the situation, of course—but a tight-lipped response always gets our juices going: Closer inspection suggests the player might fit Graham Potter’s preferred 3-4-3 system rather well.

Hajdari—who returned to Switzerland following a failed stint with Juventus—is a left-footed central defender capable of playing in the middle or left of a back three. He appears comfortable on the ball, has a decent range of passing, and shows good pace.

Tellingly, the 6ft 2in defender is often deployed in the same position that Aaron Cresswell has occupied for West Ham in recent weeks. Whilst not as composed on the ball as Cresswell, Hajdari is notably aggressive when defending the back post.

He has made 27 appearances in a disappointing Swiss Super League campaign for Lugano and featured seven times in the Europa Conference League.

Rumours of a £5 million buyout clause have been difficult to confirm, but it does appear that West Ham are keeping tabs on the player as a potential summer signing.

That said, fellow Swiss defender Aurèle Amenda of Frankfurt would likely be the better choice—but he would also be far harder to sign.