It's been a pretty busy summer already for West Ham United as far as the transfer market is concerned.
Luis Guilherme, Max Kilman, Wes Foderingham, Crysencio Summerville, Niclas Fullkrug and Guido Rodriguez have already entered to building at a cost of circa £100million - expenditure that has been mitigated to some degree by exports of just over £40million through the sale of Said Benrahma, Flynn Downes, Thilo Kehrer, Ben Johnson and Nathan Trott.Yet Head Coach Julen Lopetegui plus Technical Director Tim Steidten and their team are still hoping to add to the pack, with sights set firmly on defensive reinforcements at this stage.
While the Hammers retain interest in Southampton's Kyle Walker-Peters, who was linked with a move to east London earlier in the window, Manchester United's Aaron Wan-Bissaka is currently the leading contender to provide opposition to Vladimir Coufal, Lopetegui's default right back following the departure of Johnson to Ipswich.
And as widely reported elsewhere, at least one new central defender is paramount after club captain Kurt Zouma was informed he is unlikely to be offered a contract extension at this point due to concerns regarding his overall fitness and ageing knees; his four-year deal, signed in 2021 ends next summer.
That could yet be two central defenders required, should Nayef Aguerd find a suitable club prior to the end of the month; the Moroccan international has indicated his willingness to move on this summer but has thus far been unable to find a suitable club willing to pay West Ham's asking price.
It is of course a position in which West Ham have seen no shortage of links in recent weeks; French-based centre halfs Kevin Danso (Lens), Jean-Clair Todibo (Nice) and Logan Costa (Toulouse) have all been mooted as potential replacements for Zouma and Aguerd while veteran Mats Hummels, who is available on a free transfer has similarly been mentioned.
And it is not beyond the realms of possibility that one of the two requisite central defenders could arrive on loan, either locked in to a future purchase or as a straight season-long hire; Chelsea's England Under 21 defender Trevoh Chalobah is a potential candidate in this respect, should the search remain active come the final few days of the transfer window.
Yet with little more than a week to go until the beginning of the 2024/25 Premier League season any further new additions to Lopetegui's first team squad are going to have to hit the ground running, given they will have enjoyed next to no time with their new team mates.
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