Things are speeding up at West Ham United ahead of the transfer deadline day with bids arriving for Tomas Soucek, interest rising in Lucas Paqueta, and Soungoutou Magassa expected to swap Ligue 1 for the Premier League.
And, if a dreadful first couple of outings are anything to go by, changes are not only desired. They could realistically be the difference between a comfortable mid-table finish and a team sleepwalking towards the Championship.
Tomas Soucek struggled badly alongside James Ward-Prowse as West Ham United suffered a 5-1 drubbing by London rivals Chelsea on Friday.
While David Moyes’ Everton have seen a bid rejected for the long-serving Czech, selling a fan favourite may be something of a necessary evil at a club whose current midfield options lack the athleticism to survive even against lower-ranking top-flight clubs.
The Hammers have already moved on Edson Alvarez. The Mexico captain joined Fenerbahce on a loan-to-buy deal over the weekend. Monaco’s Soungoutou Magassa is arriving to replace Alvarez for an initial £14 million.
But if West Ham United are to finance other additions, in other areas, the good news is that approaches are arriving at last for Soucek, Emerson Palmieri, Guido Rodriguez and the aforementioned Lucas Paqueta.
When it comes to Konstantinos Mavropanos, though, potential moves to Villarreal and Roma suddenly appear highly unlikely.
Konstantinos Mavropanos during West Ham United FC v Crystal Palace FC - Premier League
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Chelsea may have killed West Ham United’s hopes of selling Konstantinos Mavropanos
Marseille entered talks to sign Emerson Palmieri a couple of days ago. Guido Rodriguez is edging closer to a departure of his own.
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As for a certain Brazilian number ten, Hammers News can confirm that Lucas Paqueta is a target for Aston Villa and a pair of Saudi Arabian clubs, while the possibility to a reunion with Mohammed Kudus at Tottenham Hotspur cannot be discounted either regardless of how contentious such a transfer would be.
Paqueta would surely net the Hammers a minimum of £40 million. Emerson and Rodriguez, meanwhile, are two of the club’s higher earners.
Furthermore, West Ham were hoping to recoup the £17 million they spent bringing one-time Arsenal prospect Konstantinos Mavropanos back to London from Stuttgart during the summer of 2023.
While director Miguel Angel Tena confirmed that Villarreal were indeed looking to sign a centre-back – Tuttomercatoweb reported that talks regarding Mavropanos had begun in mid-August – the two-time Champions League semi-finalists did not want to pay the sort of fee West Ham were looking for.
Obviously, Villarreal felt there was much better value to be found in Chelsea’s Renato Veiga. Because, days after their interest in Mavropanos appeared to grow cold, Veiga has completed a £26 million switch to the Estadio de la Ceramica.
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Former Juventus loanee Veiga is a left footer, compared to the right-sided Mavropanos.
But with the right-footed Santiago Mourino and Rafa Marin already earning a living at Villarreal, it is hard to imagine the Castellon outfit spending heavily on another centre-half when they have so many at their disposal now already, Veiga included.
As for Roma, Italian reporter Gianluca di Marzio reported at the start of July that the Serie A giants were ‘working on’ signing Mavropanos.
That also now appears to be off the cards. Like Villarreal, Roma have also shifted their attention to alternative defensive targets.
Per Football Italia, a side now under the stewardship of iconic Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini have agreed a deal to sign Jan Ziolkowski from Legia Warsaw.
At a reported £5 million, Polish youngster Ziolkowski will move to the Italian capital for far less than West Ham want for Mavropanos.
Fortunately, with Alvarez gone and Emerson and Guido Rodriguez to follow – and this is without mentioning the potentially hefty sales of Soucek and Paqueta – West Ham have other sources of revenue presenting themselves.