West Ham United are said to be in the hunt to sign Tottenham star Giovani Lo Celso on transfer deadline day.
Giovani Lo Celso is reportedly a deadline day transfer target for West Ham, as hard as that might be to believe.
However, I think our supposed ‘interest’ in the Argentine is nothing more than a smokescreen designed to get another club to lower their demands for one of our targets.
Transfer deadline day is finally upon us, and West Ham have one final shot as turning a 9/10 window into the perfect 10.
Julen Lopetegui has worked wonders at the London Stadium this summer, but the West Ham head coach needs to make at least one more top quality signing, if he is to guide us to success on all fronts this season.
The Hammers fans are buzzing with excitement about what the future holds for us, and Lopetegui has insisted that he’s after even more new signings.
However, the Spaniard will have to get rid of some of the fringe players first, before he can even think about making any new signings.
If that happens, it could be a magical day in East London.
Obvious West Ham deadline day smokescreen
I can’t see a scenario whereby the Hammers sign Lo Celso from Tottenham today.
The two clubs just don’t do business with one another, it really is as simple as that.
The bottom line is that the Hammers are struggling to raise funds to sign Carlos Soler from Paris Saint-Germain.
The 27-year-old is keen to join West Ham, Lopetegui wants him at the club and PSG want to move him on before the transfer window closes.
However, PSG’s £20 million demands for Soler are making the deal impossible for the Hammers right now, unless Lopetegui can shift some fringe players first.
In fact, it has been claimed that West Ham will not be signing Carlos Soler until Nayef Aguerd leaves.
Well, the Moroccan is being tipped to join Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad on deadline day, so the Soler move could be well and truly on.
However, the Hammers clearly don’t want to push the boat out and pay £20 million for the Spanish midfielder.
Perhaps our ‘interest’ in Lo Celso will force PSG into lowering their demands for the former Valencia man.
Carlos Soler vital for West Ham
I cannot think of a more important signing for us right now than the Spain international, such is the desperate need for more creativity and guile in the middle of the park.
The Spaniard has been described as the ‘complete’ player (GFNS), and Soler has absolutely everything needed to succeed with the Hammers in the Premier League.
The silky midfielder bagged two goals and two assists in 24 Ligue 1 games for PSG last season, but only 12 of those appearances were starts.
Despite playing just 1,089 minutes in the league last season, the 27-year-old still averaged 30.8 passes per game, and registered a completion rate of 87.5% (Who Scored).
His ability on the ball and cool and composed nature makes him ideally suited to Lopetegui’s system, with the West Ham boss keen for his team to play out from the back and on into midfield.
Failing to sign Soler on deadline day is not an option for West Ham. I really worry about our chances of achieving success this season without him.
Hopefully our apparent interest in Lo Celso flushes out PSG regarding Soler, and enables us to pick up the 27-year-old midfielder on the cheap.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
