West Ham allegedly want to sell Issa Diop to Newcastle and bring in Liverpool defender Nat Phillips before the January transfer window deadline day.
Newcastle want to sign Issa Diop and Liverpool defender Nat Phillips is being lined up as the 25-year-old’s replacement by David Moyes according to a report from The Sun.
Hammers boss Moyes desperately needs to bolster his central defensive ranks at the London Stadium before the window slams shut.
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Angelo Ogbonna is out injured for the entire season. Kurt Zouma has recently returned to action but should he or Craig Dawson suffer any kind of injury, Moyes would be forced to play Diop again.
That should not be an option for West Ham as we strive to finish inside the top six once again.
Moyes is clearly keen to improve upon his central defensive options before tomorrow’s 11pm deadline.
Nat Phillips in at West Ham on deadline day
The Sun reckons that the Hammers are trying to push through a deal to sign the 24-year-old Liverpool centre-half before the January transfer window closes tomorrow.
At the same time, Diop is being linked with a move to join Newcastle boss Eddie Howe at St James’ Park (The Sun).
Whilst one in, one out might not strengthen us as far as numbers are concerned, signing Phillips and moving on Diop would certainly represent a huge upgrade in quality for the Hammers.
The Evening Standard claimed earlier this week that the towering central defender is keen to leave Anfield. Meanwhile, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is allegedly prepared to sell him for around £12 million (The Mirror).
That seems like outstanding value to us for someone with Phillips’ quality. He has absolutely everything that West Ham are looking for, apart from the fact that he’s not left footed.
The 24-year-old is incredibly strong in the air – he proved that last season during both games against us. He’s tenacious in the tackle, a great reader of the game and plays with commitment, passion and desire.
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp recently described Phillips as ‘unbelievable’ (Liverpool Echo). Meanwhile, Rio Ferdinand raved about his display for the Reds at the San Siro last week, labelling Phillips as ‘beautiful’ and ‘Baresi like’ (Daily Mail).
The fact that Phillips has received that kind of praise proves just how much talent he has and how highly regarded he is in the game.
Selling Diop to Newcastle and bringing in Phillips from Liverpool as his replacement would be a very smart move from West Ham. Whether we are able to get both deals over the line before tomorrow’s deadline, however, remains to be seen.
The 25-year-old was signed for £25 million in 2018 (The Express). It could be argued that we won’t even get half of that money back but in truth, anything above £10 million would be decent business, considering just how poor he has been for West Ham over the past 18 months.
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