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West Ham are still looking for new signings to help them replace the big hole that Declan Rice has left and they have now been overtaken in the pursuit for one of their targets.
West Ham managed to sell Declan Rice in a reported deal worth around £105million. Due to this they have a fairly decent transfer budget.
Now, calciomercato is reporting that West Ham pursuit of defensive midfielder Denis Zakaria has recently ‘cooled down’.
The update adds that ‘no agreement was found’. Apparently West Ham only wanted to sign Zakaria on loan and this has seen the pursuit slow down.
Now, they have been overtaken in the race for Zakaria by AS Monaco.
West Ham cool down interest in Zakaria
The fact that the club, despite losing their top midfielder, were only looking at Zakaria on a loan, is a big issue and something the hierarchy need to sort out.
They were embroiled in a relegation battle for most of last season despite winning the Europa Conference League. This emphasised their need for squad depth so that they can compete in both Europe and the division next season.
Now, they have lost their star player. The performances of Tomas Soucek declined last season, whilst new signing Flynn Downes failed to make a good impression in the Premier League.
Rice was somewhat carrying the defensive midfield last season. Someone like Zakaria would be an ideal option to help replace him, but the Hammers need to stop lowballing or looking so short term.
Zakaria has been lauded as being an ‘incredible‘ midfielder. The 49-cap Swiss ace could definitely improve the current West Ham midfield.
The season is not far away, and West Ham are yet to make a signing. They need to act sooner rather than later or they could end up in another relegation battle next season.
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