‘Outstanding’ 26-year-old had heart set on summer West Ham move before late development

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Jan Bednarek was determined to join West Ham United in the summer, before he moved to Aston Villa from Southampton.

That’s according to the Poland national team manager Czesław Michniewicz who told Sport.pl that Bednarek met with David Moyes about a proposed move to the London Stadium.

READ…Big boost for Moyes as injured West Ham ace pictured back in training ahead of Silkeborg

The Hammers boss wanted cover in the centre-back department due to an injury to Nayef Aguerd and Craig Dawson being heavily linked with a deadline day exit from the club.

The 26-year-old defender was believed to be very close to joining West Ham before Aston Villa stepped in and hijacked the deal.

It seems as though the Pole was very keen to join the Hammers though…

Jan Bednarek had heart set on West Ham

The Aston Villa loanee’s national manager Czesław Michniewicz told Sport.pl that Bednarek was very keen to move to the London Stadium in the summer transfer window:

“Janek told me such a nice sentence that he fell asleep as a West Ham United player, and woke up as a player of Aston Villa. First, he talked to David Moyes, who invited him to West Ham and said that he needed a defender because the one they had brought for €35m had suffered a serious injury. And Janek was determined to go there. He wanted to compete with the other centre-backs.  West Ham have a lot of games because they also play in the Conference League.  But then Steven Gerrard called him and the conversation was different. He [Gerrard] just told him that he would be an important player for him. He used the argument of the World Cup. ‘I know you want to go to the World Cup. You will be playing at my place, you will prepare, I also have Matty Cash here, so it’s good for your team.’ This declaration convinced him.”

Now, we think that the 26-year-old could have been a decent signing for West Ham.

Missed chance by Moyes?

He was in the top 10 in the Premier League for both interceptions and clearances last season (Premier League’s official website).

In 31 Premier league appearances last term, Bednarek averaged one tackle, 2.3 interceptions, 4.5 clearances and 2.9 successful aerial duels per game (Who Scored).

During those outings, he made 46.6 passes on average per match and recorded a completion rate of 81.7% (Who Scored).

He has been described as a ‘brick wall’ by The Athletic. Meanwhile, BT Sport have labelled the 42-capped Poland international as ‘outstanding’.

The thing is, if Jan Bednarek wouldn’t have been guaranteed regular game-time at West Ham, then there would have been no point in him joining us.

A move to Aston Villa made much more sense for him at the time.

Read other West Ham news:

‘He hasn’t learned his lesson’: Simon Jordan absolutely savages Declan Rice

£4 million man is finished at West Ham, but Moyes should keep him around