Report: West Ham now in talks to sign £25m defender who’s miles faster than Harry Maguire

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West Ham look like they’re going to lose out on Harry Maguire.

According to The Guardian, that deal is now off, and the Hammers will now have to look into other centre-back options.

Luckily, the east London club have wasted no time in searching for alternatives as they are now reportedly in talks to sign a player Tim Steidten will know very well.

Indeed, according to Alan Nixon, writing on his Patreon, West Ham are now in discussions about signing Bayer Leverkusen’s Odilon Kossounou.

Of course, Steidten will know this player very well from his time with Leverkusen.

At the age of just 22, Kossounou is a much more long-term centre-back solution than Maguire, and, in all honesty, he’s a much more modern solution.

Kossounou is among the fastest defenders in Europe right now. The Speeds Database have him down as clocking a top speed of 20.46 mp/h – that’s faster than Liverpool’s Luis Diaz.

For some context, Harry Maguire’s top speed stands at just 18.45 mp/h, and while that is faster than the average Joe, that’s not all that quick in football terms – 36-year-old Dimitri Payet clocked the same speed last season.

This could be an inspired addition to a West Ham squad that desperately needs some young blood added to it.

Sadly, this won’t be an easy deal to do.

Bayer Leverkusen want £35m for Kossounou, while West Ham want to sign him for around £25m, or even explore a loan now and pay later option.

Leverkusen won’t be keen to lose another key player after already letting Moussa Diaby join Aston Villa this summer, so negotiating this deal down may be a tough task for West Ham.

Whether or not this deal gets done remains to be seen, but, by the looks of it Kossounou would be a great Maguire alternative.