West Ham United finally got business underway by signing left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf from Slavia Prague for £19 million.
Hopefully, that is the start of a busy summer for the Hammers. The club needs reinforcement across the roster, and the earlier they can get targets through the door, the better.
Interestingly, news has started to swirl around West Ham and Kyle Walker-Peters again. His name was mentioned when the transfer market opened, but that trail went cold.
However, according to Alex Crook, West Ham are back in for Walker-Peters and are ready to snap up the free agent. He would likely replace Vladimir Coufal in the team.
Per his Tweet: “#WHUFC have long been admirers of Kyle Walker-Peters. Looks like the ex #SaintsFC man could finally be London Stadium bound after pulling out of a move to Besiktas.”
Coufal left West Ham this summer following the expiry of his contract, and the Hammers need another right-back to provide competition for Aaron Wan-Bissaka next season.
Walker-Peters is a home-grown right-back with Premier League experience and would cost nothing, making him the perfect candidate for the Irons.
It looked like he was on his way to Besiktas, but that deal has stalled, paving the way for West Ham to pounce for the former Southampton full-back.
Walker-Peters was one of the better players in the Southampton side that suffered relegation last season. He created five big chances and helped keep two clean sheets in 33 appearances.
Dubbed an “unbelievably smart footballer” by former manager Ralph Hasenhuttl, Walker-Peters would be a fantastic pick-up as he can cover both right and left full-back positions (View).
The 28-year-old would not need time to get acclimatised to Premier League football. It would be brilliant business for the Hammers if they could get the deal over the line.
Next on the agenda should be bringing in a new goalkeeper to replace Lukasz Fabianski, who also left on a free transfer, before adding midfielders and a striker to lead the line.