A new report claims ambitious Arsenal have just put a number players up for summer sale and West Ham won’t believe what they’re hearing.
The £105m transfer which took Declan Rice from West Ham to Arsenal may not be the only significant bit of business done between the Premier League rivals.
West Ham are widely regarded to have spent the money they received from Arsenal for expertly last summer.
But while the Gunners may only need to address two or three positions this summer, the Hammers face a major overhaul.
That may see lines of communication between West Ham and Arsenal re-opened it seems.
Mikel Arteta’s compatriot Julen Lopetegui is taking over from his mentor David Moyes at West Ham.
Lopetegui will inherit the Premier League’s joint-smallest and second oldest squad.
Six current Hammers will be leaving on free transfers in the summer, leaving Lopetegui with just 16 senior first team players.
So, alongside technical director Tim Steidten, Lopetegui will have plenty of work to do.
Over in north London, it seems Arteta is planning something of an Arsenal clear-out.
That will undoubtedly be of interest to West Ham given persistent rumours of late and indeed over the last few windows.
West Ham won’t believe the stars ambitious Arsenal have just put up for summer sale.
West Ham won’t believe stars Arsenal have put up for saleBecause the Gunners top brass have put seven players up for summer sale and SIX of them have been linked with West Ham.
According journalist Ryan Taylor of The Mirror, the Gunners have made seven current first team players available for transfer.
The report claims Edu wants to sell the players to boost Arteta’s summer budget for some big signings.
Remarkably six of the Arsenal seven have each been linked with moves to West Ham.
The report claims Arsenal will consider bids will be considered for ousted goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, striker Eddie Nketiah, midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, left-back Kieran Tierney, full-back Nuno Tavares, flying winger Reiss Nelson and midfielder Albert Sambi Lokonga.
Clearly West Ham won’t be signing all six. But several of the unwanted Gunners stars have been linked since Steidten’s appointment at the club.It should also be noted the Hammers are under severe pressure to sign players who fulfil homegrown status. And five of the six tick that box.
This summer West Ham have clear priorities. They need to sign full-backs, a striker, a creative midfielder and a left winger.
West Ham’s third-choice goalkeeper Joseph Anang is set to leave the club on a free transfer this summer.
That leaves only Alphonse Areola and the ageing Lukasz Fabianski in the senior squad. So goalkeeper is another position that needs strengthening.
Hammers linked with six of Arsenal sale sevenRamsdale was linked with West Ham in January and again ahead of the summer by GiveMeSport in March.
That seems highly unlikely as Ramsdale will be looking to be number one if he does move clubs.
Given the positions West Ham need to strengthen, links to Tierney, Tavares, Nketiah, Smith Rowe and Nelson all look more plausible.
“Hale End academy graduates Nketiah, Smith Rowe and Nelson would reflect 100 per cent profit against Premier League PSR rules which crucially, would help the Premier League title challengers keep their financial records in check ahead of another transfer splurge,” the report states.
We won’t have to wait too long to see if there is still genuine interest from West Ham in any of the Arsenal seven.
The summer window opens for domestic deals on June 14th.Back-up forward Nketiah was linked with the Hammers in January.
Smith Rowe was linked with a move to West Ham in March. Speculation which could be further fuelled if Lucas Paqueta does move to Man City as anticipated.
The Guardian claimed in January that West Ham saw a move for Smith Rowe snubbed and then turned their attentions to jet-heeled winger Nelson.
