West Ham United are not letting their lowly position in the Premier League table impede their ambition in the transfer market, with players of Real Madrid, Barcelona and now Inter Milan supposedly on their radar.
Hammers News reported back in October that Nuno Espirito Santo wants a striker in January. Preferably, an athletic, mobile striker better suited to the pace of English football than the injury-stricken Niclas Fullkrug.
The West Ham United boss would like a dynamic midfield addition too, if possible.
Kobbie Mainoo has been offered a ‘guaranteed’ starting spot at the London Stadium, according to Fabrizio Romano, though PSV Eindhoven’s free-scoring Ismael Saibari has admirers too, in the capital.
Now, funds may be too scarce for Nuno Espirito Santo to get his mitts on a striker, a midfielder and a centre-half in the very same window.
Links with Inter Milan defender Yann Aurel Bisseck are not going away, though.
The Serie A giant is the latest young talent to be mentioned as a potential West Ham addition, alongside Real Madrid Brazilian benchwarmer Endrick and Barcelona whizzkid Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez.
Where West Ham United stand in race for Inter Milan defender Yann Aurel Bisseck
Hammers News’ chief football correspondent Graeme Bailey recently revealed that West Ham had held discussions with Real Madrid regarding a potential loan deal for 19-year-old Endrick.
Spain Under-21 poacher Gonzalo Garcia, who leapfrogged Endrick in Xabi Alonso’s pecking order during the Club World Cup, is another liked at the London Stadium.
Bailey has since explained that Endrick is unlikely to join West Ham, though, due to the finances involved. He earns £100,000-a-week at the Santiago Bernabeu. A loan fee is likely to be on the heavy side, too.
Bailey is equally pessimistic about West Ham’s chances of landing Yann Bisseck, even if Inter Milan are not closing the door on a winter exit.
“Bisseck is a player liked by [Nerazzurri coach] Cristian Chivu, but he is not a regular starter,” Bailey told Hammers News on Friday. “I am told that Inter would consider a sale, even though they like him.
“[But] he is highly unlikely to be involved in a loan with option, especially with a team in relegation trouble.”
According to Italian publication Tuttomercatoweb, Inter value Bisseck, who they signed in 2023 from Danish outfit AGF, at around £35 million. Crystal Palace reportedly saw a £28 million bid rejected, so the 2010 Treble winners clearly have no plans to budge on their demands.
Bailey adds that it wasn’t just Inter who turned their noses up at an offer from Selhurst Park. And if Bisseck was not keen on joining a Palace side offering Europa Conference League football via their FA Cup final triumph over Manchester City, what chance a West Ham outfit grimly preparing themselves for a relegation dogfight.
“We know [Bisseck] snubbed interest from Crystal Palace in the summer,” Bailey says. “A good player, but hard to see how West Ham could get this one done if they tried.”
West Ham like Alexsandro of Lille as Max Kilman reports played down
Similar obstacles could arrive in pursuit of another imposing central defender.
Hammers News have been informed that West Ham held initial talks around Alexsandro, the £25 million Brazil international who plays for Ligue 1 outfit LOSC Lille. He is understood to be Nuno’s number one pick for the centre-half department.
However, with a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s World Cup squad in the balance, ESPN Brazil reports that Alexsandro has serious reservations about a mid-season change of scenery.
As for the defenders currently wearing claret and blue, West Ham moved to dismiss rumours around Max Kilman and a potential switch to London neighbours Palace.
As for the aforementioned Pedro ‘Dro’ Fernandez, it was Alan Nixon who broke the reports suggesting that the Andres Iniesta-like Barcelona starlet is a highly-ambitions option for Nuno’s side.
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