**It is transfer deadline day and one that many are hoping West Ham manager to strengthen the squad with the club firmly in the grip of a battle to remain in the Premier League.**
Reporting on The West Ham Way Patreon, our club insider ExWHUEmployee provided the latest, with it at present looking likely that a deal for Axel Disasi could be realised today.
However, Ex like many shares his frustrations over what has been a strange window for the club, with the squad numbers smaller than when it commenced.
“West Ham will face a frantic few hours to try and conclude some deals for players,” stated Ex. “It is quite frustrating that yet again our transfer policy, which has seen more players leave than join (and we have made a profit this window), has come to this.
“I’ve asked the question today whether we are hopeful of signing anyone by the 7pm deadline and the answer I got back was “Yes”. Now of course this could mean absolutely nothing but it is more positive than you usually get when discussing deals.
“A centre back, rightly so, seems to be the key position and talks are still on going for Chelsea’s Axel Disasi. It is thought that Chelsea want to sell the player or have a loan deal with an obligation whereas West Ham prefer a loan move with an option.
“The deal could be resolved by West Ham agreeing to pay a higher loan fee which given the short amount of time left we may be forced to do. The French defender was said to be joining Milan but that deal seems to have fallen through.
“We did look at alternatives to Disasi which included Natan from Real Betis in Spain. We wanted a loan with an option on the summer but this was turned down by the Spanish side. We are in talks with other clubs over similar deals.
“As we reported yesterday we did bid for Taylor Harwood-Bellis of Southampton but our bid was significantly less than what Southampton deem acceptable. The figure we bid was around £12m and Southampton wanted around £20m unless there is significant movement either side then this deal now looks unlikely.”
Ex has advised that sources have indicated that a deal for Disasi should be concluded today, however our insider has said this is not yet set in stone.
Further updates will continue throughout the day, with Ex providing updates on Patreon.