West Ham’s interest in Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell is well documented.
Back in December, Hammers News revealed that Cresswell was once again a West Ham United target, having been of interest during the summer transfer window.
The England U21 international seems like a logical addition to the ranks. Defensive reinforcement is badly needed, now that the club have strengthened their attacking line.
Newcastle have been offered a move for Cresswell but did not follow up their interest, so it does feel as if he could feasibly leave the Ligue 1 side during the January transfer window.
However, it seems a potential move to the London Stadium could be off the cards after all.
Charlie Cresswell to West Ham hits stumbling block
That’s according to noted transfer journalist Dean Jones.
Jones was speaking on TEAMtalk’s Facebook page and revealed some disappointing insight into the potential move.
He revealed that West Ham had encountered some “difficulty” in their pursuit of the former Leeds youngster.
At this stage, Jones admits that it’s not quite clear exactly what those problems are.
Still, he doesn’t believe it’s a likely deal at this stage of the window.
“West Ham at the moment, it looked like they were going to try to get Charlie Cresswell, they did try to get Charlie Cresswell from Toulouse, but there’s some difficulty around that,” he said.
“I don’t know if he’s too expensive or if he’s just got cold feet, but that one doesn’t look like it.”
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West Ham have an alternative to Charlie Cresswell in mind
No team in the Premier League have conceded more goals than West Ham this season (43), so it’s quite clear that a defender is needed.
There is not much time to waste now that the attacking options have been strengthened following the arrivals of Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe.
As such, it makes sense as to why the club would have other irons in the fire to go alongside their interest in Cresswell.
Indeed, Brentford’s Ethan Pinnock is emerging as a West Ham transfer target too.
Pinnock is perhaps a less exciting name than Cresswell but could surely offer something to an ailing defence.
If the Cresswell deal drags on, there’s little point in wasting too much time on it. Pinnock might not be the statement signing fans want, but reinforcements of his ilk are desperately needed.
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