Koni De Winter gives David Moyes the cold shoulder as West Ham desperately seek key signing who can be Declan Rice heir.
Speculation has – yet again – been rife over the future of West Ham captain and talisman Declan Rice of late.
With a dearth of club news due to the World Cup, there has – rather inevitably – been claim and counter claim in the last couple of weeks over Rice’s situation.
Any West Ham fans following their skipper’s situation over the last year or so will know the score.
Rice has thus far refused to sign a new contract after being offered in excess of £200k per week – and £83m over the course of the proposed deal.
Because, as Rice has made clear in several interviews, for the Hammers midfield ace it is not about money, but competing for the top trophies year in, year out.
Even the most ardent West Ham fan knows that will not be the case at the London Stadium. And it is widely reported that West Ham have privately agreed to sell their skipper at the end of the season.
So it is clear Moyes will be working to bring in a new central midfielder to eventually replace Rice in the near future.
To that end West Ham have been linked with Belgian prodigy Koni De Winter of Juventus in the last few days.
According to an exclusive from Tutto Juve – and as also reported by Caught Offside – West Ham are one of three Premier League clubs who have made a move for 20-year-old Juventus defensive midfield ace Koni de Winter.
And the reports claim West Ham are in pole position for a player who is currently on loan at Empoli.
De Winter is highly rated and only a hamstring issue kept him out of Belgium’s World Cup squad.
The reports claim West Ham would have to pay between £13-18 million if they were to tempt Juve to sell.
But that would be a snip compared to what the Hammers are likely to get if and when they sell Rice.
Like the West Ham skipper, De Winter can play in central defensive midfield or as a centre-back but is seen as too talented on the ball to be wasted at the back long-term.
The Hammers have been hit with a blow, though, it seems.
De Winter has given Moyes the cold shoulder as West Ham desperately seek key signing who can be the Rice heir.
According to Corriere dello Sport and Football Italia, West Ham are not the only Premier League club keen on De Winter.
Crystal Palace and Southampton have been named as clubs with a rival interest.
West Ham would be confident of seeing off those two.
But the problem is the player doesn’t fancy it and wants to stay at Juve and try to prove himself.
“Five Premier League sides including West Ham and Southampton have set their sights on Juventus owned youngster Koni De Winter…” Football Italia reports.
“Contracted to Juventus until 2026, De Winter is starting to turn heads across Europe…
“As reported by Corriere dello Sport, De Winter’s market value has started to increase following his loan move to Empoli and multiple Premier League clubs have started to emerge to register their interest in the 20-year-old.
“Teams including West Ham, Crystal Palace and Southampton are interested in picking up the Belgian defender next summer.
“The player, however, is not keen on the idea of a move at this stage and wants to prove his abilities at Juventus. He joined the Old Lady in July 2018 from Zulte Waregem’s youth system on a free transfer.”
So it seems West Ham’s search for a Rice heir will take them elsewhere.
Ideally the club would have that player signed before everyone knows West Ham have £100m burning a hole in their pockets.
But given the quality of the player West Ham are going to need to go after to replace their talisman that would be totally unfeasible.
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