West Ham United head coach Julen Lopetegui is seemingly set to go down an alternative route this summer, when it comes to strengthening his defence.
Julen Lopetegui has enjoyed a fine summer transfer window so far, and when Guido Rodriguez is officially announced, that will be six new arrivals at West Ham over the past six weeks.
Next up on the Spaniard’s agenda is the urgent need to bolster his defensive ranks, both centrally and in the right full-back position.
Our leaky back-line shipped a disastrous 74 Premier League goals last season, so it’s no surprise that Lopetegui is desperate to improve upon that.
Max Kilman has already arrived at the London Stadium this summer, but who could be next to follow the 27-year-old?
Manchester United star Aaron Wan-Bissaka is believed to be Lopetegui’s key right-back target, whilst Toulouse ace Logan Costa is the centre-back who he apparently wants.
However, some new information has come to light today regarding the Hammers’ pursuit of one of those two players.
West Ham dramatically pull out of deal to sign Logan Costa
According to a report from Corriere dello Sport (print edition August 6th, page 28), the Hammers have exited the race to sign Logan Costa from Toulouse.
Bologna are now leading the race for the 23-year-old’s signature this summer, and are allegedly all set to sign him for around £12.8 million.
Just a couple of days ago, West Ham were said to be leading the race to sign the Cape Verde international this summer.
It appears as though that information wasn’t correct though. If we don’t sign Logan Costa, I will be fairly disappointed – I thought he was perfect for us.
He’s big and powerful and seems to be ideally suited to the robust and intense nature of Premier League football.
The 6ft 3in centre-back is a real physical specimen, and he’d be a superb partner for Max Kilman at the London Stadium.
In 31 Ligue 1 outings for Toulouse last season, the 23-year-old averaged 1.3 tackles, 3.8 clearances and 2.1 successful aerial duels per game.
During those appearances he made 56.5 passes per game on average and recorded a completion rate of 84.1% (Who Scored).
Logan Costa is pretty quick as well, and reads the game brilliantly, so would have been a fine addition to Lopetegui’s ranks at West Ham.
That said, if we aren’t interested in him anymore it can mean only one thing, and that is that Lopetegui has someone even better lined up.
And that my friends, is a really exciting prospect. Quite who the mystery man is remains to be seen though.
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