After West Ham United received a Premier League transfer record fee of £105m for Declan Rice, they have a big gap to fill in their first team and plenty of cash to spend.
The Hammers, who won the Europa Conference League last season, have waved goodbye to their club captain, who has made the move across London to Arsenal.
Rice was the club’s most influential player, so his move away from the London Stadium will be huge. The loss of a leader will affect the dressing room and it will be incredibly difficult to bring someone in who has the same level of quality to go straight into the number six role for the club.
With a large transfer budget available though, who will West Ham bring in for the new season?
A potential instant replacement for Declan Rice that the Hammers are interested in is Fulham’s João Palhinha. An opening bid of £45m was rejected for the Portuguese midfielder, with Fulham demanding £80m.
Another defensive midfielder being connected with a move to east London is Manchester United’s Scott McTominay. The Scotland international has been linked with a move south, however nothing is concrete at present.
Edson Álvarez is reportedly another option for the Europa League side, with West Ham hoping to strike a deal in the region of £35m-£40m for the Mexican. BBC Sport’s Simon Stone was full of praise for Ajax’s defensive midfielder, saying, ‘It is easy to see why the Ajax man might be viewed as the Rice replacement. He sits in front of the defensive line and tidies up in the same unfussy manner as the £100m England star.’
There are also rumours that David Moyes’ side are interested in Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher, and Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretzka. Chelsea have set a £40m price tag on Gallagher.
German midfielder Goretzka could be allowed to leave the Bundesliga for a fee of £34m and he would be an excellent signing for whoever is able to snap him up for that price. However, Chelsea’s lack of midfielders could stop a deal for Gallagher from happening anytime soon, whilst Goretzka will want to at least keep playing Champions League football if he is to leave Bayern.
Another area of the pitch that West Ham are targeting is the central defender spot. A proposal to bring England centre-back Harry Maguire to the club was rejected by Man United, as they would rather sell their former captain than allow him to leave the club on loan, which is what the Hammers proposed.
West Ham will not want to be held to ransom for players, whilst clubs know that the east London outfit have cash to spend through the sale of Rice. The club will have to be smart with their signings if they are to bring in three, four or even five players with the money acquired.
Moyes and the West Ham management have a challenge on their hands to improve on their poor domestic form of 2022-23 whilst also competing in the Europa League this season.