Player signed for £25m trains alone to prove himself worthy of West Ham move

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A player signed for £25m is training alone to prove himself worthy of a move to West Ham in a new twist following a claim from journalist Jacob Steinberg.

It seems West Ham could soon have a big decision to make about one of their better players of the last 18 months.

And it all tallies with recent transfer rumours involving the Hammers.

Technical director Tim Steidten is currently trying to stretch the £80m that remains of West Ham’s reported £100m budget out across another seven signings.

Goalkeeper Wes Foderingham will arrive without costing West Ham anything beyond a signing-on fee.

So that takes care of one Hammers arrival without parting with anymore cash.

Another area West Ham reportedly want to strengthen is at left-back.

The Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg, who has strong contacts at West Ham, recently confirmed left-back as one of the eight areas West Ham want to strengthen.

Since then the Hammers have been linked with a number of left-backs including Filip Kostic of Juventus and Juan Miranda of Real Betis.

West Ham are looking for another left-back

Hammers News reported at the weekend that any move for Kostic now looks highly unlikely after he was left in tears coming off against England.

Many West Ham fans have long felt that the club needs to sign a young successor to Emerson Palmieri and Aaron Cresswell for the medium to long-term.

First choice left-back Emerson turns 30 soon. His form has been questionable either side of a brilliant 12 month spell.

And it is perhaps telling that Emerson has been suddenly linked with a move to Milan this week.

A key consideration – besides stretching out the budget – for West Ham this summer is also signing homegrown players to satisfy Premier League rules.

Foderingham will count as one while West Ham have also been in talks with Wolves about buying Max Kilman.

Now another budget-friendly player who also ticks the homegrown box appears to genuinely be in West Ham’s sights.

West Ham fans may have seen rumours circulating about a potential interest in departing Spurs defender Ryan Sessegnon.

Well now the player signed for £25m is training alone to prove himself worthy of a West Ham move in a new twist.

This is not just idle rumour but a very real possibility it seems.

Sessegnon trains alone to prove himself worthy of West Ham

According to Steinberg, West Ham believe Sessegnon could be a steal in the current market.

He fits the profile of player Steidten and Julen Lopetegui are looking at – aged between 18 and 24 with pace and athleticism.

He is also now a free agent after being released by Spurs, who bought him from Fulham for the same price West Ham have just paid Palmeiras for Luis Guilherme.

Steinberg stated that Lopetegui likes the player and West Ham have made contact with Sessegnon’s representatives to let them know they are potentially interested.

The journalist stated the Hammers have made it clear they would need to be convinced that Sessegnon is over his hamstring injury problems.

Now there’s been a development.

According to football.london, Sessegnon has gone to Portugal where he is said to be working hard to prove his fitness at a special training camp.

It is also claimed Sessegnon wants to stay in England.

Is Sessegnon a cop-out from West Ham?

Many West Ham fans may turn their noses up at this move. And understandably so.

There is a feeling the club try to cut corners when it comes to investing properly in full-backs. Signing an injury-prone Spurs reject on a free transfer won’t do anything to change that particular train of thought.

But signing top young full-backs can be very expensive business – as the likes of Spurs and Chelsea have proved by spending over £200m on four of them in recent years.

Even Aston Villa have gone out and agreed a deal in excess of £35m for longstanding Hammers target Ian Maatsen.

West Ham don’t have that kind of money to spend on a full-back given the number of additions needed, the budget and PSR rules.

Things clearly didn’t work out for Sessegnon at Tottenham, where injuries and a revolving door of managers saw him restricted to just 57 appearances.

But he is ‘absolutely rapid’, is a good age, won’t cost West Ham a penny in transfer fee and ticks the homegrown box.

He also seems like a good professional if he is taking on a personal training camp to prove his fitness to West Ham.

Some would consider signing Sessegnon as back-up to Emerson a no-brainer.

Let’s not forget he also played a role in Spurs qualifying for the Champions League under Antonio Conte back in 2022.

But West Ham definitely can’t sign him as any form of replacement for Emerson should he be sold.

This one could certainly be worth watching.

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