To be fair, it is difficult to get too excited about any West Ham transfer news at the moment, given the club’s precarious situation. Only last week, a top transfer source told Claret & Hugh: “West Ham are not signing anyone, they do not know what division they will be in”, which is fair enough.
Therefore, transfer speculation should be taken with a pinch of salt. However, that has not stopped the grapevine tittle-tattle, and that is certainly the case with the Spanish media, who are convinced West Ham are locked in a battle to sign Natan from Real Betis this summer.
The central defender moved from Napoli in 2024 and has impressed so much that both Crystal Palace and AFC Bournemouth are said to be interested.
Defensive Data Per Game
Interceptions 1.2
Tackles 1.1
Ball Recoveries 3.1
Dribbled Past 0.3
Clearances 7.0
Blocks 0.6
Duels 3.8
£35m ‘bargain’ claim raises eyebrows
Quite how good he is is open to debate, but according to Wednesday’s edition of ABC Sevilla, he has been described as a “bargain” at £35m. Perhaps something was lost in translation, because my own understanding of the word bargain is very different. And let us be honest here, West Ham do not have the best record of signing central defenders who cost more than £35m.
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We will watch this one with interest, but if the reports are accurate, it would seem that both Bournemouth and Palace have a huge advantage on this one.