While West Ham United only have themselves to blame for the position they find themselves in – a perfect storm of awful recruitment, uninspired ownership and poor managerial decisions – the January transfer window does offer some salvation.
Of course, whether the Hammers can be trusted to make the signings Nuno Espirito Santo needs – fail to reinforce a lopsided and rather underwhelming squad, and relegation will surely be the result – remains to be seen.
Hammers News can confirm that West Ham have made a bid for Adama Traore, with Fulham expected to hold out £5 million.
Traore gave even Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp nightmares under Nuno’s watch at Wolves. And, despite the never-ending narrative surrounding his end product – or a supposed lack thereof – the Barcelona academy graduate did provide seven Premier League assists in 2025/26.
Speaking of assists, Souffian El Karouani of FC Utrecht is one of the game’s most consistent chance creators right now.
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Dutch-born Morocco international El Karouani is the Eredivisie’s ‘Assist King’.
Like Traore, he is also likely to be available for a knock-down fee with his contract expiring in May. West Ham United are seemingly yet to make an official offer, though Dutch publication RTV appear convinced that East London will be El Karouani’s destination as Utrecht owner Frans van Seumeren speaks out on the situation.
Frans van Seumeren explains why Utrecht may sell Souffian El Karouani to West Ham United
Utrecht blocked El Karouani’s £6 million move to Spartak Moscow last summer, due to the ongoing Russian / Ukrainian conflict.
Van Seumeren now confirms that, unless a contract extension can be agreed, the plan is to let their set-piece specialist join another, non-Russia-based club at the beginning of 2026.
Alongside West Ham, Marseille and Eintracht Frankfurt have been linked.
“We have to keep growing. The biggest challenge, and this applies to almost every football club, is the financial side of things. You want to have a balanced budget,” Van Seumeren tells Algemeen Dagblad.
“We could have taken a big step before this season. Everyone knows we could have sold Souffian El Karouani to Russia. The board, shareholders, and the Supervisory Board didn’t want that. Sometimes you have to choose between your morals and making money.
“A club like FC Utrecht sometimes needs a financial boost, but you also have a certain responsibility. If anyone knows Russia, it’s me. So we’ll have to do it differently.
“Of course, we’re trying to get a contract extension. Souffian has always said, ‘FC Utrecht can make money off me’. Hopefully, we’ll reach an amicable agreement. Preferably with a longer contract, otherwise I hope we can manage to sell him in the winter.”
El Karouani admits he is open to a Premier League switch
Van Seumeren confirms that Utrecht ‘have to make up’ a £6.5 million hole in their budget. El Karouani could be the solution to that problem, while a potential bidding war involving clubs from some of Europe’s major leagues may yet see Utrecht earn a bigger fee than they would have received from Spartak Moscow.
“It’s a goal of mine to reach the World Cup,” El Karouani told RTV a few days ago. “Going to a bigger club can also make a difference. A club might come along in January, buy me, and I’ll play every game there.
“Or I might play every game here. That’s also a possibility. It could go either way. But I want a win-win situation for FC Utrecht.
The ASSIST KING may be coming to West Ham! 👑
How do you feel about those Souffian El Karouani links?
“They can make some money off me. I want to leave through the front door. I will sit down with my father and agent and assess the situation. But first, I’ll focus on these [final matches of 2025].
“[A move to England] could happen. [West Ham] is a great club. My agent is working on my behalf. I’m waiting to see what happens. I can look back on a wonderful year in Utrecht.”
With El Hadji Malick Diouf unavailable due to his Africa Cup of Nations involvement, West Ham have extra motivation to get a deal done for El Karouani as early as possible.
Ollie Scarles endured another miserable afternoon in Diouf’s absence as the Hammers lost at home to London neighbours Fulham in devastating fashion last time out.
While Nuno was unwilling to join the pile on – Scarles was in tears at full-time and has suffered some serious social media scrutiny – privately, he must be concerned by how drastically the club’s Young Player of the Year has struggled since returning to the XI.
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