West Ham are still in with a chance of securing the services of Burnley defender CJ Egan-Riley.
It had been reported that Chelsea’s feeder club Strasbourg had won the race for the centre-back but a spokesman told Hammers News that Graham Potter’s team have not given up hope of signing the player:
“A fast-developing situation but don’t count West Ham out of the race just yet.”
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Egan-Riley is available on a free transfer this summer, with his contract at Burnley set to expire at the end of June.
Why would the West Ham target favour a transfer to France?
Egan-Riley may feel that moving to Strasbourg would provide him with a springboard to playing for Chelsea in the future.
Players flow pretty freely between the two teams. Djordje Petrovic moved to France to become the Ligue One side’s number one, having played for Chelsea last season.
Andrey Santos has been on loan with Strasbourg but the Brazilian is expected to become part of the first team at Stamford Bridge next campaign. Egan-Riley could be hoping to take the same path.
Egan-Riley is not the only centre-back being pursued
Even if the Irons do miss out on the former Manchester City academy player, they do have plenty of alternatives to go after. Club Brugge’s Joel Ordonez is someone that West Ham scouts rate highly but the Ecuadorian international could cost a considerable amount to sign, while he has interest from other Premier League teams.
A cheaper option is said to be Genoa’s Koni De Winter. The Belgian is expected to leave Italy this summer and he has been linked with a switch to the London Stadium on and off over the past few months.
Considering his availability on a free transfer, though, Egan-Riley is still regarded as the best option out there so it looks as though the club will continue to battle for his signature for now.
Click here to see West Ham’s first team squad for the 2024/25 season