West Ham United have been one of the busier Premier League sides as the transfer window comes to a close having signed the likes of Crysencio Summerville, Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme, Guido Rodriguez and Niclas Fullkrug.
Julen Lopetegui will be under immense pressure to deliver the goods having spent lavishly in the market and the Spaniard is not done yet as he plots a right-back’s signing before the season commences.
According to Telegraph, Kieran Trippier is the latest name on the club’s ‘radar’ as the Hammers ‘step up attempts’ to sign a right-back to add competition for Vladimir Coufal.
Coufal played in 36 matches in the Premier League last season and as he is on the wrong side of his 30s now, Lopetegui wants to add competition as well as ensure that the right-back remains fit.
The Londoners have also been linked with Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Kyle Walker-Peters. Though they haven’t been able to execute deals for either player, the duo is ‘highly-regarded’, the report adds.
Trippier is in the final year of his contract at Newcastle United and has been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia.
He is valued at only £8.5 million on Transfermarkt considering he is 33 and is in the final year of his contract. If they were to sign him, West Ham could negotiate a sum lower with Newcastle.
Trippier not the solution to West Ham’s right-back issue
One of the reasons why Lopetegui wants a new right-back at West Ham is to ensure that there is a long-term back-up for Coufal in the team. Trippier is two years older than the Czech defender and defies a major part of the club’s logic of wanting to sign a right-back.
Even if he were available for cheap, the English international would not be around for more than a year or two which would consequently force the Hammers to look at another full-back’s transfer.
Wan-Bissaka and Walker-Peters are still in their 20s and have the best years of their career ahead. Therefore, they would be far better signings for the longer run despite being slightly more expensive.
West Ham’s first match of the 2024/25 Premier League season is against Aston Villa on August 17th and it will be interesting to see if a new full-back has arrived at the club by then.
