West Ham United's English head coach Graham Potter goes to shake hands with Crystal Palace's Austrian manager Oliver Glasner (R) after the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Crystal Palace at the London Stadium, in London on January 18, 2025.placeholder image
West Ham United's English head coach Graham Potter goes to shake hands with Crystal Palace's Austrian manager Oliver Glasner (R) after the English Premier League football match between West Ham United and Crystal Palace at the London Stadium, in London on January 18, 2025. | AFP via Getty Images
West Ham and Crystal Palace could miss out on one of their transfer targets
West Ham and Crystal Palace are both in the market to strengthen their squads this summer but could miss out on one of their targets after Everton opened talks.
The Hammers will be looking for improvement next term after Graham Potter has had a full pre-season and proper transfer window to try and improve his squad. The Irons finished 14th in the Premier League last season with 43 points.
They kick off the new season away at newly-promoted Sunderland on Saturday, August 16.
Everton open talks with Villareal for Thierno Barry
The striker’s release clause stands at €40m (£34m). The 22-year-old scored 11 goals and provided four assists in 35 La Liga games last season having joined the Spanish club on a five-year deal from Basel for around £11.5m just 12 months ago. He represented France at the UEFA Euro Under-21 Championships and came off the bench as Germany beat his nation 3-0 in the semi-final on Wednesday evening.
Barry netted 14 times in 38 league games for Basel in 2023-24 while in the previous campaign he scored 20 times in 31 outings for Belgian club Beveren. His total number of goals last season was 19 in 41 appearances in all competitions. Villareal finished fifth in La Liga last season, which was enough for a place in the Champions League after Spain was handed an extra qualification spot alongside the Premier League.
He would be required to give up the chance to play in the Champions League in order to move to the Premier League.
West Ham in greater need of a striker compared to Crystal Palace
The Hammers have not signed Evan Ferguson following his loan from Brighton and Hove Albion in January. Palace are well stocked in the striker department with Jean Philippe Mateta the first choice after a stand-out season for the Eagles.
Jarrod Bown was West Ham’s top scorer last season with 14 goals from right wing while defensive midfielder Tomas Soucek was second on the list with nine goals. It highlights a glaring issue for Potter, who lacks that goalscoring threat in the number nine position.
It appears that several teams are on the hunt for a new striker in the current transfer window and the market is going to be competitive. Everton had been linked with Liam Delap before his move to Chelsea, with the Toffees now focusing on Barry. If a deal is completed, West Ham and Palace will need to move to alternate targets.
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