West Ham told to pay £12.5m bargain fee to sign incredibly exciting centre-back in the January transfer window

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West Ham United appear to have a great opportunity to sign a top-class young central defender before the January transfer window closes.

Graham Potter desperately needs to bring some reinforcements to the London Stadium in the January window, with the additions of a new striker and a central midfielder urgently required.

However, Potter cannot afford to underestimate the need for a new centre-back at West Ham as well.

With deadline day fast approaching, the Hammers head coach must get all his ducks in a row quickly, and the good news is that the club are working hard behind the scenes to get some deals done for him.

The Hammers cannot afford to exit this window without having strengthened the squad.

I get that Potter has made a big impact with the players he already has at his disposal, but he’s no miracle worker.

Hopefully our transfer business will really kick into gear over the course of the next 24 hours…

West Ham chasing £12.5m centre-back in the January window

The Hammers recruitment team are ramping up their efforts to get some bodies through the door before Monday’s deadline.

And it seems as though the addition of a new centre-back could actually be one of Potter’s main priorities.

According to a report from Mondo Udinese, West Ham want to sign Genoa defender Koni De Winter.

And the Serie A outfit have told the Hammers to cough up just £12.5 million if they really want to bring the 22-year-old to east London.

That’s outstanding value as far as I’m concerned.

De Winter is an exceptional young talent, and the West Ham owners have to do everything in their power to bring him to the club.

He’d be a huge upgrade on Konstantinos Mavropanos for a start.

Koni De Winter would be incredibly exciting for West Ham

The young Belgian is exactly the type of player we should be targeting.

Standing at 6ft 3in tall, De Winter possesses the physique needed to succeed as a central defender in the Premier League.

However, the beauty of him is that he is incredibly versatile, and can operate as a right full-back and in the defensive midfield role as well if need be.

De Winter has scored two goals in 12 games for Genoa so far this season. During those appearances, he has averaged 1.5 tackles, one interception, 3.8 clearances and three successful aerial duels per match.

The Belgium international is also exceptionally comfortable with the ball at his feet. He has made 44.6 passes per game on average and has recorded a completion rate of 85.6% (Who Scored).

He is impeccably clean and incisive in the tackle, and is well renowned for driving out of defence when in possession of the football.

In my opinion, he’s absolutely perfect for Graham Potter’s system.

If there is any chance at all of West Ham signing him in the January transfer window, the owners quite simply have to make it happen.