West Ham will target Wolverhampton Wanderers centre-back Max Kilman if they raise money by selling Nayef Aguerd this month.
David Moyes is keen to sign a new defender and is preparing a move for Kilman. The defender is in fine form for Wolves and West Ham are aware that buying him won’t be easy. Kilman signed a new five-year contract last summer and Wolves, who could demand at least £40million for the 26-year-old, are said to be reluctant to lose such a key player midway through the season.
West Ham did not enter this window with a huge budget and made it clear that revenue would depend on money raised from sales. But they followed Kilman, with Moyes looking to make changes to his back four.
Aguerd joined West Ham from Rennes for £28million in the summer of 2022 and was part of the club’s Europa Conference League triumph last season. But the centre-back, who is part of Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations campaign, has made a number of costly errors this season and has been attracting interest from Saudi Pro League clubs since last summer .
Moyes, who is expected to sign a new two-and-a-half year contract soon, is ready to replace Aguerd if a replacement becomes available. The manager’s desire for an addition in defense is understandable. Kurt Zouma, the West Ham captain, is struggling with injuries and Thilo Kehrer has joined Monaco on loan. Angelo Ogbonna, 35, has his workload to manage and Konstantinos Mavropanos is still settling in since his move from Stuttgart last summer.
West Ham targets include Bayer Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah, Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall and Peterborough’s Ronnie Edwards, who is wanted by Crystal Palace. However, Moyes, who came close to signing Harry Maguire from Manchester United last summer, has often pushed for players who have proven themselves in the Premier League. Kilman is a perfect fit in this regard and would augment the dwindling number of homegrown players in West Ham’s squad.
West Ham are also looking for a left winger and are monitoring Ajax striker Steven Bergwijn. Their interest in the former Tottenham player is not advanced. Sunderland’s Jack Clarke is another target and there has been long-standing interest in Paris Saint-Germain striker Hugo Ekitike. West Ham are ready to listen to offers for Algerian winger Saïd Benrahma and Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals. Wolves want to loan former Aston Villa striker Danny Ings.
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Borussia Dortmund are getting closer to a loan agreement for Ian Maatsen of Chelsea. Talks between the clubs are ongoing and negotiations over the left-back are not over. Maatsen, a Chelsea academy product, was a £31.5 million target for Burnley last summer. His opportunities under Mauricio Pochettino have been limited this season and Chelsea have sought to raise funds by selling him. At this stage, a loan to Dortmund seems more likely than a permanent transfer.
