Julen Lopetegui is said to be eyeing up a £56 million double deal for West Ham United this summer.
Incoming West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui is determined to hit the ground running at the London Stadium, and apparently has a double deal already lined up.
The Spaniard has already held high level meetings with Hammers Director of Football Tim Steidten about his summer transfer strategy.
Two key positions that need strengthening at the London Stadium are the centre-forward and left-back departments.
Emerson Palmieri needs more quality competition and cover, whilst we simply cannot once again head into a new season with Michail Antonio as our main striker.
If we are to make some genuine progress over the course of the next few years, those two specific positions need to be improved upon greatly.
Lopetegui allegedly has two players in mind for the job, but the latest claim just doesn’t ring true…
£56 million double Julen Lopetegui deal claim
The former Wolves boss seems to be intent on bolstering his ranks at West Ham already, despite not even being confirmed as the new manager yet.
However, the latest report concerning a couple of Lopetegui’s transfer targets seems to be well wide of the mark.
3 Added Minutes claim that West Ham will have to pay around £56 million to secure a double deal for Sevilla duo Youssef En-Nesyri and Marcos Acuna this summer.
However, there’s just no way that this is correct, and even if the fees being quoted were spot on, West Ham quite simply shouldn’t meet Sevilla’s demands.
It has been widely reported that Sevilla are asking for just £21 million for En-Nesyri this summer. Meanwhile, Acuna is valued at around £13 million (Fichajes).
Firstly, that’s just £34 million combined, and secondly I can’t see the Hammers paying anything like £13 million for a 32-year-old full-back who has no experience of playing in the Premier League.
If Julen Lopetegui does indeed secure a double deal for the Sevilla duo, the fee will probably be closer to £35-40 million.
And that would then represent decent business for West Ham.
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