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West Ham should rival Stoke for £8.5m-rated Engels

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Image for West Ham should rival Stoke for £8.5m-rated Engels

OPINION

Slaven Bilic would ease his defensive woes by rivalling Stoke for Club Brugge powerhouse Bjorn Engels in the final week of the summer transfer window.

The Daily Mail claim Mark Hughes’ Potters have made an £8.5million bid for the 22-year-old defender, as his stock continues to rise with the Belgian giants.

It is said that Stoke are looking to add another centre-back to their ranks with Ryan Shawcross’ future at the club in doubt as he enters the final year of his contract, despite already signing Kurt Zouma and Bruno Martins Indi.

Engels helped Brugge win 10 of his 23 league and cup appearances last season and even featured in the Champions League against 2015-16 Premier League champions Leicester City.

West Ham have already conceded seven goals in their opening two Premier League matches against Manchester United and Southampton, and Bilic will be fully aware that something needs to change at the back.

It has seen the Hammers lose their opening two matches of the season, with the Croatian boss desperate to improve on last season’s performance which saw the east London outfit finish in a lowly 11th place.

January 2017 signing Jose Fonte has come under huge criticism for his performances in claret and blue since joining the club from Southampton for £8million.

Angelo Ogbonna and Winston Reid have struggled to be constant members of the first team as they continue to rack up time in the treatment room, leaving the Hammers without any kind of consistency at the back.

Adding Engels into the mix would give West Ham more options at the back and the kind of aerial dominance that is required to fight against the Premier League’s best strikers.

The Belgian defender, who stands at a dominant 6ft 4in, offers the kind of presence in defence that would striker fear into an opponent but can also play with the ball at his feet.

His composure and intricate array of passing has seen the Club Brugge academy product even play in holding midfield at times, which would give the Hammers added cover in the middle of the park following the loss of Havard Nordtveit.

Engels could be the answer to West Ham’s leaky back line, and at £8.5million he could become one of the bargains of the summer.

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