There are bargains to be found at West Ham United, presuming the Premier League outfit know where to look.
If last summer’s £120 million-plus splurge proves anything, it’s that considerable transfer fees do not guarantee considerable success.
Ironically, of all last summer’s big-money buys, the most impactful was also the cheapest. Aaron Wan-Bissaka claimed the Hammer of the Year award and, in stark contrast to Niclas Fullkrug, Luis Guilherme, Max Kilman and a stricken Crysencio Summerville, he proved to be exceptional value for money.
In fact, the £15 million acquisition from Manchester United is one of very few bargain signings across recent years at the London Stadium.
West Ham United’s first, perhaps, since they agreed a £13 million deal with Chelsea for Emerson Palmieri.
Now, with reports claiming West Ham could sell Emerson for just £7 million this summer, the one-time Roma left-back still looks destined to go down as another financial loss.
FC Lugano defender Albian Hajdari, then, may be the rarest of beasts. A West Ham signing high on potential but low on cost.
Photo by Mateusz Slodkowski - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Photo by Mateusz Slodkowski – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images
Lugano defender Albian Hajdari expected to go amid West Ham United interest
Reports emerged earlier in May claiming that Hajdari had caught the eye of the Hammers.
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The Switzerland Under-21 international is already on the radar of Bayer Leverkusen, per Sky Germany, with talks having taken place at the 2024 Bundesliga champions. If the rumours of a £4.2 million release clause are true, West Ham can probably expect even more competition in pursuit of a one-time Juventus prospect.
Sebastian Pelzer, FC Lugano’s sporting director, now goes as far as to admit that Hajdari has presumably played his last game for the Swiss Super League outfit.
“It’s no secret that Hajdari will probably be sold,” Pelzer tells Blue Win, a pesky release clause ensuring that the 22-year-old’s future is out of their hands.
An all-action and highly versatile young defender, Hajdari has featured as a centre-back more often than not. However, he can be spotted operating as a left-back or even as a defensive midfielder on occasions, while a hefty tally of 15 yellow cards in 2024/25 alone proves he is not afraid of getting stuck in even if his timing could clearly do with some work.
West Ham could emulate Bournemouth’s Dean Huijsen success
Hajdari spent three years at Juventus between 2000 and 2003 while never making a Serie A appearance.
Understandably, comparisons have been drawn between Hajdari and Dean Huijsen. The Real Madrid-bound centre-half who left Juve in pursuit of first-team football, developing so rapidly at AFC Bournemouth that he is now on his way to the Santiago Bernabeu for an eye-watering £50 million.
Hajdari, meanwhile, can be snapped up for less than 10 per cent of the fee Real parted with to bring Huijsen to the Spanish capital.
Bournemouth have been linked with Hajdari themselves, perhaps in the hope of repeating that Dean Huijsen trick 12 months on.
Though if London is to be his destination, West Ham may be tempted to test the limits of the youngster’s versatility in an attempt to fill an Aaron Cresswell-shaped hole in their squad.
Cresswell is one of four experienced campaigners departing the London Stadium in July. West Ham, then, will lose not only a long-serving left-back, but also someone capable of playing as a central defender in a back-three.