Ex-West Ham player and assistant manager Stuart Pearce says his former club should target Liverpool attacking midfielder Harvey Elliott.
The 22-year-old struggled for game time under Reds head coach Arne Slot last season and, speaking on talkSPORT (quotes via Hammers News), Pearce urged Graham Potter‘s side to pursue the player this summer:
“[West Ham should sign Harvey Elliott] every day, for me. The player needs to play. When Klopp left, he said: ‘I should have played Harvey Elliott a bit more’. That was one of the statements he made.”
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“He identified the talent of him and identified that he didn’t play him enough. He hasn’t played enough this year once again. I think [leaving Liverpool for West Ham] would be a good move for both parties.”
Elliott is considering his future at Liverpool
Speaking last week about whether it is time to leave Anfield, the England Under 21 international admitted he would need to “reflect” and have “conversations” before making a decision on his next move.
Elliott could get even fewer minutes next season. The Reds are currently in talks to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen for what could be a British record fee.
The German international prefers to play in the No.10 position that Elliott also covets, and there is also competition from Dominik Szoboszlai.
West Ham will be waiting to see what happens with Paqueta
Any approach for another attacking midfielder is likely to be dependent on the outcome of the spot-fixing trial involving Lucas Paqueta.
If the Brazilian is acquitted, he could be made available for transfer and some of the proceeds from his sale could be spent on a player like Elliott. However, a ban of any length would limit the Irons’ ability to shell out on Paqueta’s replacement.
In other news, West Ham have reportedly knocked back an initial enquiry from Arsenal for one of their players