Not that they realised it at the time, but West Ham United missed the boat with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown as soon as the winter window closed on February 1st.
Because, in the two-and-a-half months since, a who’s who of European powerhouses have been ferrying scouts over to the Commerzbank Arena.
Not only is the hitherto West Ham United-linked Brown a reported summer target for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United and Man City, Frankfurt director Markus Krosche believes that a world-record transfer may be on the cards [Transfermarkt]
How far can Malick Diouf go? And what does he need to do to become a world-class left-back?
West Ham United's El Hadji Malick Diouf during the Premier League match between West Ham United and Aston Villa at London Stadium on December 14, 2025 in London, England.
Nathaniel Brown valued at nearly £60m after West Ham United interest
While West Ham spent a hefty £19 million on El Hadji Malick Diouf in July 2025, Frankfurt apparently value their own fleet-footed full-back at around £56 million.
A ‘truly staggering sum’, to quote Brown in his interview with Sport BILD this week.
Brown was speaking four months after TEAMtalk claimed, in the lead up to January, that West Ham had joined the race for the three-time German international.
Nathaniel Brown during 1. FC Union Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt - Bundesliga
Photo by Inaki Esnaola/Getty Images
“A truly staggering sum. But to be honest, I don’t give such figures or a summer transfer a second thought. My focus is entirely on Eintracht and the goal of qualifying for Europe,” Brown deflects.
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“And then, I’d very much like to be part of the World Cup. After that, I’ll see what happens in the summer. It’s hard to plan in football, so I don’t dwell on it.”
TEAMtalk pointed out that West Ham were ahead of the curve when it came to Frankfurt’s stylish number 21.
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West Ham Crystal Palace combined XI
Hammers News can corroborate such claims. West Ham scouts watched Frankfurt take on Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League semi-finals in May – how their London rivals have fallen since then, by the way – with Nathaniel Brown the focus.
In both last season and this, Brown recorded 10 goal contributions from his roving left-back role.
But with Real Madrid, Barcelona, PSG and the most deep-pocketed Premier League clubs now sniffing around potentially the planet’s next mega-money full-back, West Ham may be left wondering if they should have struck when a £56 million price-tag was still a Frankfurt pipe dream.
Still, at least Malick Diouf has been a hit.
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