West Ham United are looking to take advantage of Arne Slot’s Feyenoord exit to sign a true leader this summer.
When David Moyes realised he was coming to the end of his time at West Ham he left a big message for Julen Lopetegui.
It was very rare for Moyes to criticise his players publicly during his time at West Ham.
So when he went public with his disappointment over a lack of leadership less than a month before he left, it spoke volumes.
Moyes even went as far as naming a list of senior West Ham stars he felt should be stepping up to fill the void left by Declan Rice and Mark Noble.
Moyes warned Lopetegui about lack of leadership
The Scot has called on captain Kurt Zouma, Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal, James Ward-Prowse, Michail Antonio and Jarrod Bowen to stand up and show more leadership.
Well it seems the message has been received loud and clear by his successor Lopetegui.
West Ham tried to sign Flamengo captain Fabricio Bruno.
The Hammers are also being linked with Wolves skipper Max Kilman.
Now West Ham are looking to take advantage of the Arne Slot exit from Feyenoord to sign a true leader.
In every sense of the word.
West Ham looking to take advantage of Slot exit
According to Dutch site AD Sportwereld, West Ham are one of the clubs trying to sign Feyenoord vice-captain Lutsharel Geertruida.
The versatile 23-year-old can play centre-back, right-back and in defensive midfield.
Geertruida has already played nearly 200 games for Feyenoord and has seven caps for Holland.
He was one of Slot’s most trusted and influential players. Now he has joined Liverpool, Geertruida is being tipped to leave.
He is seldom seen in front of the camera due to his struggle with severe stuttering.
As a result, in consultation with his club, he chose not to participate in many interviews.
But he worked hard to try and overcome it and went on to have his own documentary and rap single.
Geertruida a true leader and inspiration
It certainly did not hinder him being a true leader on the pitch, either.
The West Ham target was valued at around £30m when Bundelisga clubs tried to sign him last summer.
But he remained at Feyenoord and will now be available for around half that price given he is going into the last year of his deal.
At that price it is no wonder West Ham technical director Tim Steidten is sniffing around.
The Hammers have a £100m budget and must sign between six and eight players in a big rebuild this summer.
That works out at around £12.5-15m per transfer as a crude average.
The bad news for West Ham is that Geertruida is on the radar of clubs in Germany, France and the Premier League.
AD Sportwereld’s report claims West Ham are being rivalled by Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle for the Dutch international, who is now preparing for this summer’s Euros.
Feyenoord star available for around £15m
“Feyenoord has not yet received an official offer for the player who is still under contract in De Kuip for one year, but it is now clear that Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and West Ham United are interested in the signature of the Rotterdammer,” the report states.
“Geertruida and Feyenoord were unable to agree on a contract extension and so he will have to leave this summer if the cup winner wants to retain anything from the defender. The transfer fee is expected to be a lot lower than last summer, although general and technical director Dennis te Kloese obviously wants to keep a substantial amount of money for the international.”
One look at the star’s statistics tell you everything you need to know.
A near ever-present, an average match rating of well over 7/10 and topping a host of key stats.
He even chipped in with eight goals and five assists last term despite being a defensive player.
This would be a superb signing for West Ham and would provide cover for Coufal at right-back as well as a new presence alongside Edson Alvarez in central midfield.
West Ham lacked leadership last season. That can only change by some players stepping up to the plate and the club making a concerted effort to bring one or two in.
That’s exactly what they would be getting with Geertruida.
You can see what he would bring to West Ham in the video below.