West Ham United boss Julen Lopetegui is hot on the heels of one attacker in particular this summer.
It’s fair to say that Julen Lopetegui needs to strengthen his West Ham squad in pretty much every single department.
The Spaniard reportedly has a budget of around £90 million at his disposal this summer, excluding player sales.
Despite the fact that Lopetegui needs to strengthen every single position, it could be argued that the addition of a new left winger is by far and away his biggest priority.
After Said Benrahma was let go in January, David Moyes failed to replace him, and as a result, we’re extremely weak in the left wing department.
Whether Benrahma leaves the club on a permanent deal or not this summer is still very much up in the air. However, what isn’t up for debate is the fact that the Hammers boss needs to sign a new left winger.
Huge transfer boost for Julen Lopetegui
Despite the Hammers being linked with numerous different players over the past few weeks, we are still yet to make a signing.
The likes of Luis Guilherme, Youssef En-Nesyri, Jota Silva and Fabricio Bruno have all been linked with a move to the London Stadium.
Lopetegui is apparently keen to get four signings wrapped up before West Ham’s pre-season campaign begins on July 20th, away at Dagenham and Redbridge.
Moyes left an extremely unbalanced and ageing squad behind him when he left the club, so Lopetegui really has his work cut out this summer.
If the Spaniard sells the likes of Nayef Aguerd, Danny Ings and Flynn Downes this summer, he should have around £130-150 million to spend on new signings.
With at least seven or eight new additions required, Lopetegui will have to be extremely frugal with his player recruitment.
And that’s why one player in particular is proving so attractive to him right now.
Even better for us, the player in question is allegedly keen to move to the London Stadium.
Red-hot attacker keen to join West Ham
According to the Athletic’s Roshane Thomas, Jota Silva is keen to join the Hammers from Vitoria de Guimaraes this summer.
It was recently claimed that a West Ham bid for the left winger is imminent, and he could be available for around £13-17 million.
He bagged an incredibly impressive 15 goals and seven assists in 42 games in all competitions this season just gone (Transfermarkt).
Jota Silva has exactly the kind of profile we need at the London Stadium right now. He’s a right-footed left winger, and he’d be a big upgrade on the recently departed Said Benrahma.
The Portuguese ace possesses skill in abundance, is incredibly intelligent when it comes to the runs he makes and he has impressive pace.
And with Jots Silva keen to join Julen Lopetegui at West Ham this summer, this transfer should be a fairly simple one to get over the line.
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