Boyhood West Ham fanatic Sammie Szmodics ‘will want a move’ amid talk of a bid from the Hammers this summer.
New West Ham head coach Julen Lopetegui will be well aware the club faces a major rebuild this summer.
The Spaniard will have a squad of just 16 or 17 players depending on whether Aaron Cresswell signs a rumoured one-year extension taking him beyond his 35th birthday.
So West Ham, led by technical director Tim Steidten, will need to sign at least eight or nine new stars.
Crucially, the Hammers are under pressure to bring in players who meet the Premier League’s Homegrown Player Rule credentials.
As a result, the club has been linked with a host of British players. Several of them from the Championship.
West Ham linked with Szmodics
It was claimed last month that Sammie Szmodics is a target for West Ham.
Not only that but the 28-year-old very much wants to join his boyhood club from Blackburn this summer.
The Sun claimed West Ham have been told to pay up to £20m for Szmodics. That seems like a no-brainer for an attacking midfielder who scored 27 goals and laid on four assists last season.
Earlier this month Szmodics admitted it is his dream to play in the Premier League and opened up on his love for West Ham.
The star even revealed he goes to as many West Ham games as possible despite his own playing commitments. You can watch that video at the bottom of this article.
Now former Leeds and Sunderland boss Simon Grayson, who used to play for Blackburn, has had his say on the situation.
Boyhood West Ham fanatic ‘will want move’
And he says boyhood West Ham fanatic Szmodics ‘will want a move’ amid the talk of a Hammers bid this summer.
Grayson also believes his old club Blackburn will have to sell too.
“I think it’s a no-brainer that Blackburn will have to sell him because what it will allow them to do is get some money in and reshape the squad, which John Eustace will probably want to do, and hopefully he can use a bit of that money,” Grayson told Football League World.
“Sammie will want to go, if not to a Premier League club, it might be one at the top end of the Championship…
“It’s a really difficult situation for him, but I think he probably deserves and will justify the move.
“Blackburn, like any club, will be wanting to get as much money as possible to help them financially.”
Hammers eye Championship talent
Szmodics is not the only Championship star being considered by West Ham.
The Guardian recently claimed Steidten wants to sign second tier duo Jacob Greaves and of Callum O’Hare.
The report even claimed interest in Greaves, the 23-year-old Hull defender, had ‘moved in the right direction’.
Both are free agents so represent cost effective options while also helping to satisfy the homegrown player quota.