West Ham eyeing 'complete' £20m defender who's 'universally popular' with Hammers hierarchy

West Ham United are still looking to make their first signing of the summer in what it turning out to be a disappointing window.

The Hammers ended last season on a high, winning the Europa Conference League and surviving in the Premier League.

However, West Ham have since lost the talismanic Declan Rice and are yet to replace him. Indeed, they’re yet to sign anyone.

The Express has published a report claiming that there is intensifying friction within the Hammers transfer committee.

Apparently, David Moyes favours Premier League-proven players with top-flight experience.

Meanwhile, Tim Steidten, Mark Noble and David Sullivan are willing to shop abroad with emphasis on the French and German market.

In addition, Rice’s signing appears to have had repercussions in form of the delays and the fact that selling clubs know West Ham have money.

The report did, however, mention one transfer target that is “universally popular” with the Hammers hierarchy.

The player in question is Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen, who enjoyed a fruitful loan spell at Burnley last season.

However – sadly there’s a caveat here too – the 20-year-old ‘looks set to remain at Chelsea’ this summer.

That said, The Athletic did report last month that the Blues have placed a £20million price tag on him.

This suggests that they may be willing to engage in talks with clubs over the player.

Whether Maatsen would be willing to move is another story. That would remain to be seen.

Our view

Maatsen would be a great shout for West Ham. He’s young, has a high ceiling, and is extremely talented.

In addition, £20million isn’t much of a gamble for a player who looks like he’ll have a great future in the game.

The Athletic previously referred to Maatsen as “the complete Vincent Kompany player”, which is a huge compliment.

Let’s see what happens in the coming weeks. Chelsea certainly seem willing to engage in talks over the youngster.