Forget signing Wilfried Zaha because West Ham have entered talks with the agent of a star who can be the new Wilfried Zaha.
West Ham have been heavily linked with a move to sign Wilfried Zaha this summer.
The Hammers have been linked with Zaha on several occasions in the past.
It’s been claimed Zaha could move to West Ham in the summer after a year with Galatasaray.
According to KUMB, Galatasaray winger Zaha’s agents flew to England for further talks with their counterparts at West Ham over a potential move.
Zaha’s social media activity last month, at the time the Hammers rumours emerged, suggested he may well be on his way to the London Stadium.
West Ham in for ageing Zaha
According to a report from Turkish publication Sporx, the Hammers continue to show the most concrete interest in signing Zaha this summer.
It is claimed Galatasaray could sell him for just £8.4 million, due to tensions between the winger and club manager Okan Buruk.
Many feel that, at 31, the club should be looking at younger, hungry players.
Especially as West Ham already have the second oldest squad in the Premier League.
There are also concerns whether he could get back to the levels he showed previously in the Premier League after a year playing in a far inferior competition.
Others point to the fact the Hammers desperately need to sign players of homegrown status.
After signing 18-year-old Brazilian sensation Luis Guilherme, technical director Tim Steidten made it clear the club’s new recruitment philosophy is based around signing exciting young stars.
Zaha doesn’t fit that particular profile.
Now West Ham have entered talks with the agent of a star who can be the new Zaha.
West Ham enter talks with agent of new Zaha
Last week TEAMtalk claimed West Ham and newly-promoted Southampton had joined the race to acquire the services of Jaden Philogene from Hull.
Now transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano has revealed West Ham have talked to the player’s representatives about a move to the London Stadium.
Although he highlighted that Philogene’s former club Aston Villa have a buy-back clause after selling him to Hull last summer.
“There is also interest from several Premier League clubs, especially from West Ham and Ipswich Town,” Romano said on his ‘Here We Go’ podcast.
“These two clubs have already reached out to the player’s side to understand the conditions of the deal in this case…
“Let’s see what’s going to happen in terms of negotiations, but for sure, it’s going to be one to watch in the next few weeks.”
Philogene perfectly fits West Ham’s new philosophy
Philogene is exactly the profile of player Steidten and Julen Lopetegui should be looking to rebuild West Ham around.
At 22 years-old he fits the club’s age profile. Philogene is versatile too, being able to off both the left and right wing of forward positions.
Steidten said after signing Guilherme that versatility to play different roles was an important factor for the club when looking at potential signings.
Philogene scored 12 goals and laid on six assists last season, emerging as one of the best players in the Championship.
Like Zaha in his prime, Philogene is ridiculously skilful, fast and brilliant at dribbling with the ball.
Football data experts WhoScored also list his finishing, tackling and defensive contribution as his major strengths.
He had an average match rating of nearly 7.5/10 last season – which made him the third best player in the second tier behind two other big West Ham targets Jack Clarke and Crycensio Summerville.
The latest reports do also state that Ipswich are showing an interest.
But West Ham would surely be confident of luring Hammersmith-born Philogene back to London.
Fans can see what Philogene would bring to West Ham in the video below.