Having seen club record signing Andre Ayew tear his hamstring, which will keep him out of action for at least four months, and watched Crystal Palace beat them to the signing of Christian Benteke, the Irons will now focus their attentions on securing the services of Manchester City forward Wilfried Bony, according to the Express. Bony has been told that he has no future at the club and has been left out of the club’s Champions League squad, with a move expected before the deadline slams shut at the end of the month.
Having scored 35 goals in 70 games, a spot on average of a goal every two games, at Swansea, Bony clearly has the quality to bring goals to the London Stadium as Slaven Bilic eyes a prolific forward to fire his side to the next level. Bony’s move to the Etihad has not been successful as he has played second fiddle to Sergio Aguero and seen Kelechi Iheanacho emerge from the youth teams. That does not cast doubt over Bony’s quality though, and his physical style would be the perfect fit for the Hammers.
Goal also report that the club could make a move for Newcastle full-back Daryl Janmaat as criticism of Michail Antonio at right-back continues. The Dutchman was one of the Magpie’s best performers last season despite their relegation, and has started the first two games of the season under Rafa Benitez, although he was left out of yesterday’s trip to Bristol City. The Spanish manager is said to be a fan of the 27-year-old and is reluctant to let him go, and with four years left on his contract that could push the price to sign the defender up, but bids are expected.
Janmaat would provide competition and quality to the West Ham squad as Slaven Bilic seeks to add new names to his defence before the window closes in just eleven days. However, with Newcastle likely to set a high asking price and be reluctant to allow their man to leave on loan, it could be a costly exercise which may price the Hammers out of a move with Watford and Napoli also said to be monitoring him.
The club have also announced a slightly alternate new signing, as they have established their first African partner, report BBC Sport. Nigerian team FC Ifeanyi Ubah will work alongside the Irons on a range of aspects, from working in the community to improve the quality of life to lead new coaching and footballing projects to identify the top young talent.
The team, in Nigeria’s top flight, only came into existence in June 2015, but have become one of the country’s biggest clubs, and West Ham also see it as an ideal way to raise the profile of their club and of the Premier League in general on the continent. It adds to their current squad, which includes four African players, Cheikhou Kouyate and Diafra Sakho of Senegal, Andre Ayew of Ghana and Algeria’s Sofiane Feghouli.
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