‘West Ham fans to go ballistic as four signings lined up from rivals’
West Ham United fans may not be best pleased if the bulk of their summer transfer business involves buying players from relegated Southampton.
Graham Potter’s side are slowly but surely coming to the end of one of the most forgettable seasons in recent memory, with the Irons languishing 16th in the Premier League and unlikely to move much higher.
The Hammers have improved since Potter replaced Julen Lopetegui in January and their regular three, four and five-goal thrashings have ceased, but there’s plenty of work to do in the summer window.
Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui oversaw a bizarre strategy last summer which has lumbered West Ham with a squad ill-fitted for the Premier League, and Potter will hope he can fix those errors this time round.
Southampton quartet on West Ham transfer radar
West Ham have a lengthy checklist in East London this summer with several additions and departures likely, and Football Insider revealing on 4 April that Potter is keen to replace Konstantinos Mavropanos.
Mohammed Kudus could also be heading for pastures new after a huge fall-off in form throughout his second season at the London Stadium, but Irons fans will be keen to see improvements in such areas.
However, talkSPORT reported on 9 April that Potter has his eyes on four Southampton players this summer, with full-back Kyle Walker-Peters looking increasingly likely to make the move to West Ham.
As well as Walker-Peters arriving on a free transfer though, West Ham are also keen on Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Aaron Ramsdale and Tyler Dibling, with Southampton already relegated back to the Championship.
West Ham must aim high to avoid familiar feat
Although Football Insider revealed this week that 10 senior players could be on their way out of the London Stadium this summer, rebuilding with a core of Southampton players would set alarm bells ringing.
Saints have slumped to relegation seven matches ahead of schedule and just points to their name – both of which could be records – with Walker-Peters, Ramsdale, Harwood-Bellis and Dibling all regular picks.
While Dibling, who is extremely highly-rated and a target for West Ham among other clubs, is the only member of the quartet without England caps, signing more than one of them wouldn’t be a good sign.
Potter must improve on the Irons’ dismal displays next season, and as former Man United scout Mick Brown told Football Insider last month, West Ham must aim higher than the likes of Harwood-Bellis.
If next season sees the Hammers line up with a core of recently-relegated Saints players making up their starting XI, few fans will be optimistic that they’re in line for a better campaign than this one has been.