While Nuno Espirito Santo and Jorge Mendes will have a key role in the transfer department come January, do not underestimate the influence of West Ham United’s sporting director Mark Noble.
And when it comes to picking a new midfielder, well, a man who played no fewer than 550 games in the centre of the park for his beloved West Ham United certainly knows a thing or two about what is required.
Bids are in, already, for wingers, centre-forwards and centre-backs.
West Ham have made an offer for Fulham’s Adama Traore, Hammers News can confirm. Per Alan Nixon, Viktoria Plzen have received an £11m bid for Rafiu Durosinmi, their giant Nigerian number nine.
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And according to club insider ExWHUEmployee, Manchester City’s versatile Dutchman Nathan Ake is wanted as well by a side looking to strengthen their hand in a variety of different positions.
If Mark Noble gets his way, meanwhile, the London Stadium could soon be home to Tochukwu Nnadi; a tough-tackling ankle-biter of a midfielder based in the Belgian league with Zulte Waregem.
Zulte Waregem coach Sven Vandenbroeck responds to West Ham United’s Tochukwu Nnadi intereest
Africa Foot reported earlier in December that Noble is driving West Ham’s pursuit of Tochukwu Nnadi.
The Londoners have scouted the Zulte Waregem enforcer on a number of occasions this season. They are reported to have discussed offering Nnadi a five-year deal, while threatening to test Waregem’s resolve with an opening offer of around £3.5 million.
Sven Vandenbroeck, Nnadi’s head coach, labelled the 22-year-old one of the few consistent ‘stand outs’ in his team, albeit while admitting that he would benefit from toning down the aggression and honing his timing.
With seven in 16 games, Nnadi collects cards at a greater rate than even the most obsessive Pokemon scalpers.
Now, in new quotes reported by Het Nieuwsblad, Vandenbroeck has gone in heavy on his desire to keep Nnadi until the summer. Positioned 12th, one spot above the relegation zone, Zulte Waregem’s very survival may depend on it.
“Nnadi is highly sought after, but I have asked the club to do everything possible to keep him,” Vandenbroeck says, albeit while accepting that there may be bids they literally cannot afford to turn down.
“I’m not worried about the transfer window. It will mainly depend on the sums offered. If a club comes with an amount that Zulte Waregem cannot refuse, then we have to be realistic.
“The goal is always to come out stronger, or at least stay at the same level. If someone leaves, we must be ready to respond. But at the moment, there is no reason to panic.
“The fact that there is interest in our players is a compliment to the work we are doing here. It means we are on the right track and that our players are showing their value on the pitch.
“I have my say, but the financial aspect is obviously for the board.”
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Tony Cottee pleased with Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes partnership
Nnadi averages 2.1 tackles per game. He has picked up the most yellow cards in the division too, while also winning a very impressive 81 per cent of his defensive duels.
While the results do not really show it, West Ham have made vast improvements regarding their central midfield options since the beginning of the campaign. Nnadi, at just 22, extremely mobile and ultra-aggressive, would represent another shift away from the James Ward-Prowse – Guido Rodriguez era.
Hammers legend Tony Cottee has been delighted to see Freddie Potts and Mateus Fernandes thrive where their ageing teammates failed, although Nuno’s new-look partnership is likely to be tested to the extreme by Carlos Baleba, Yasin Ayari and co when Brighton come to town on Tuesday night.
Of all the problems enveloping West Ham right now, their first-choice midfield pairing is not one of them.
“I think one of the sort of difficulties last season, and certainly at the start of this season, was the lack of athleticism, if you like, in midfield,” Cottee told the London World recently. “You need players that can get around the pitch.
“Obviously, ultimately, you’ve got to have an end product, you know, you need players that can score and create as well in midfield.
“Football is all about getting the balance. You have to get the balance right. You can’t have a load of workers in the team and no-one who can create or score, but you also can’t have footballers in the team and no-one who works.
“So, you need the balance, particularly in midfield. I mean, you normally have two players in midfield, sometimes you have three in midfield, but trying to get that balance is the hard bit, really.
“But, you know, certainly Fernandes has done well since he started playing alongside Freddie Potts, really. I’d like to pay tribute to Freddie, because I think Freddie has made a difference to the team when he’s played. He certainly knits it all together and he gives players like Fernandes a chance to get around the pitch and do what he’s good at.”
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