While Graham Potter insists that West Ham United cannot simply chuck money at their seemingly never-ending series of problems, the potential signing of Monaco marvel Soungoutou Magassa may have lifted the gloom a little after that Chelsea debacle on Friday night.
Just a few hours before Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea ran riot at the London Stadium, the news came through that many Hammers supporters had been praying for.
Finally, it seemed, some long-awaited progress in West Ham United’s pursuit of a mobile, physically-imposing, possession-winning midfield powerhouse. Hammers News can confirm that West Ham identified Soungoutou Magassa as the ideal successor for Edson Alvarez as the Mexico captain departs for Fenerbahce.
While young, somewhat unproven and fairly unknown in East London prior to yesterday lunchtime, the stats suggest that Magassa has shades of Moises Caicedo – the lynchpin of Potter’s old Brighton outfit – as well Crystal Palace playmaker Adam Wharton.
But if it all felt too good to be true – West Ham could be getting Magassa for an up-front fee of £14 million too, reports indicated – then maybe that’s because it was.
Suddenly, Feyenoord director Dennis te Kloese is having to answer difficult questions about Quinten Timber as the beleaguered Londoners face missing out on yet another leading target.
Feyenoord director Dennis te Kloese discusses West Ham United’s Quinten Timber links
Foot Mercato claims that, after Monaco rejected West Ham’s opening bid, Nottingham Forest have made a move for Magassa of their own.
Not content with signing James McAtee, Omari Hutchison and Douglas Luiz – the Juventus loanee was another midfielder under consideration at the London Stadium – Forest have now put forward a counter-proposal involving Europa League football and a shot at the top-six.
Bad news for West Ham, then. And possibly for Feyenoord too.
The Guardian reports that, alongside Ajax’s Kenneth Taylor, Lens’ Andy Diouf, Torino’s Ivan Ilic and Rennes’ Djaoui Cisse, Feyenoord’s Quinten Timber is an alternative, £23 million West Ham target.
Speaking to Algemeen Dagblad, though, Te Kloese insists that the 2023 Eredivisie champions have not been contacted by the Hammers yet.
That could change, though, if Magassa chooses Forest and Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes remains elusive.
“No, I haven’t heard anything from those clubs,” the director said when asked about potential interest from West Ham and Bayer Leverkusen.
Rafael van der Vaart calls Timber a Champions League-level midfielder
As Manchester United supporters will tell you, Erik ten Hag has a particular affinity for signing Eredivisie players.
His Leverkusen outfit have already brought in Malik Tillman from PSV Eindhoven and Ernest Poku from AZ Alkmaar, while signing Brentford’s Limburg-born goalkeeper Mark Flekken too.
The twin brother of Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber, Quinten has blossomed in the years since Ten Hag departed the Ajax dugout.
Dutch icon Rafael van der Vaart labels Timber a Champions League-level midfielder. While his 2024/25 campaign was interrupted by a knee injury, 24-year-old Timber supplied eight goals and nine assists during Arne Slot’s final campaign in charge of Feyenoord.
Interestingly, should Timber opt to become Ten Hag’s latest big-money Eredivisie capture, this could open the door for Aleix Garcia to don the claret and blue kit instead.
Hammers News can confirm that West Ham are interested in ex-Man City starlet Aleix Garcia, though the priority right now appears to be agreeing deals with Magassa and Fernandes. Deals which, the more they drag on, may start to feel more and more unlikely by the day.
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