West Ham United could be dealt a major blow by Newcastle United in the summer transfer window it seems.
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is in the same boat as West Ham head coach Graham Potter – both are planning squad revamps in the summer at St James’ Park and the London Stadium respectively.
Potter and his recruitment guru sidekick Kyle Macaulay allegedly have a big squad overhaul in mind, and boy do we need that at West Ham.
The Hammers head coach has to be ruthless and get rid of the players who either aren’t good enough, or don’t want to play for the shirt.
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And then he needs to bring in young and hungry players who have a point to prove.
It has been claimed that the Hammers are chasing bargain basement deals ahead of the summer window, with Jonathan David said to be a target on a free transfer.
However, it would be lovely if West Ham make a blockbuster statement signing as well.
It seems like Potter and the board have someone in particular on their radar, but Newcastle could scupper their plans.
Newcastle could hijack West Ham’s move to sign Victor Boniface
Bayer Leverkusen striker Victor Boniface could be set for an exit from BayArena this summer.
German football journalist Christian Falk claims that West Ham are eyeing up a blockbuster summer move for Boniface.
However, Newcastle are in the race for his signature as well.
West Ham were heavily linked with a move to sign the Nigeria international, but we ended up with Ferguson instead.
Sky Sports Germany claimed back in January that Bayer Leverkusen would be prepared to sell the 24-year-old striker for around €50 million (£41 million).
That kind of money would represent exceptional business for whichever club wins the race for his signature.
The Nigerian is an absolute powerhouse, and standing at 6ft 3in tall, he’s a nightmare to defend against.
He has bagged an impressive 31 goals and 11 assists in 53 games for Leverkusen since joining the Bundesliga outfit in the summer of 2023 (Transfermarkt).
The striker possesses devastating pace and strength and on paper, he is ideally suited to the intense and physically robust nature of Premier League football.
If Victor Boniface really is available for just £41 million, the West Ham owners need to do everything in their power to beat Newcastle to his signature in the summer.
Incredibly, 17 players could leave West Ham this summer
The size of the task ahead of Potter is made clear by the list of players who could leave the London Stadium.
Lukasz Fabianski, Wes Foderingham, Vladimir Coufal, Aaron Cresswell, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Emerson Palmieri, Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd could all be moved on.
Meanwhile, in midfield, Carlos Soler, Guido Rodriguez, Maxwel Cornet and Andy Irving may well all leave the club.
And then as far as attackers go, Danny Ings, Michail Antonio, Niclas Fullkrug, Luis Guilherme and Mohammed Kudus all face uncertain futures at West Ham.
You could even throw Lucas Paqueta into the mix there.
Now, I’m sure that all of those players won’t end up leaving, but even if half of them do, it highlights that we will need yet another rebuild for the third time in four summer transfer windows.
Hopefully Graham Potter and Kyle Macaulay oversee a better squad overhaul than David Moyes, Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui did before them.
If West Ham sign Victor Boniface in the summer, that will be a great way to start the major revamp that is required at the London Stadium.
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