West Ham’s Transfer Round Up

Another week, another transfer. Play off final hero Ricardo Vaz Te has joined Turkish Super Lig side Akhisar Belediyespor on a free transfer. For the past two seasons Vaz Te hasn’t been getting as much game time as he would’ve wanted and Akhisar, managed by Brazilian legend Roberto Carlos, are likely to give him much, much more. I’m sure every Hammers fan will wish Ricardo good luck on his new chapter in Turkey as arguably we wouldn’t be where we are today without him.
The Mirror and GNF France are both reporting that West Ham will attempt to make a move for 17 year old PSG striker Jean-Kevin Augustin this month, either on a pre contract basis or a straight transfer. With his contract running out this summer many top clubs are interested, including Juventus, Roma, Porto and Benfica.
West Ham were briefly in for Matija Nastasic as they attempted to hijack Schalke 04’s proposed loan desk for the Serbian defender, however the Hammers were not successful in their bid to prise away Nastasic from Schalke’s ever so tightening grip and the defender has joined the German outfit on loan for the rest of the season with an option to buy after his loan spell finishes.
A whole host of Premier League clubs including West Ham are battling it out to sign a £7 million rated Aaron Lennon from Tottenham according to tabloid’s Daily Star and the Daily Mirror. Now, if I was to go out on a limb I’d say Lennon has no chance of coming to Upton Park this month, but this is silly season and stranger things have happened during transfer windows.
Reports coming out of Italy are claiming West Ham and none other than Lazio have reached an agreement that will take troubled star Ravel Morrison to Rome in June. Morrison’s current contract runs out in June this year and with our management team adamant that Ravel won’t feature again for the club and will not be having his contract renewed, this allows foreign clubs to make approaches for the 21 year old. This would certainly be an interesting move considering West Ham and Lazio’s history.
talkSPORT Ian Abrahams has claimed Warri Wolves and Nigerian international Azubuike Egwuekwe is on trial with West Ham. Egwuekwe has 33 caps with the Super Eagles and was tracked by Championship outfit Watford in November and further afield, Hapoel Tel Aviv and Panathinaikos are also thought to be interested. After rejecting a £500,000 bid in midweek for the defender, Warri Wolves are rumoured to want £1 million to let Egwuekwe leave.
Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio is reporting both West Ham and QPR are interested in Inter Milan’s defensive midfielder Yann M’Vila. With Xherdan Shaqiri and Lukas Podolski coming into a money boosted Inter Milan this January it’s generally thought Mancini may let one or two go, and M’Vila who hasn’t impressive in his time in Italy may be on the list to go.
Liverpool could hijack any possible West Ham deal for loanee Alex Song from Barcelona, report the Metro. With Steven Gerrard leaving at the end of the season, Song is thought to be a replacement following an excellent few months at the heart of West Ham’s midfield. However the Hammers are still thought to be favourites, with Liverpool falling £4.5 million short of Barcelona’s apparent £15 million asking price and Song rumoured to prefer a stay in London.
And finally, West Ham target Lewis Dunk has followed both Twitter newbie Mark Noble and Andy Carroll on Twitter. Probably best not to read too much into this, but it could very well be a hint.