Fulham’s Ryan Fredericks is a top transfer target for West Ham in the summer if David Moyes remains in charge, according to Football.London.
The website claim that the pacey right-back will be one of Moyes’ first targets with Fredericks set to be available for free in the summer.
Football.London report that the 25-year-old’s contract expires in the summer and he is yet to sign a new deal with the Championship club.
However when asked about his future at Fulham in January, Fredericks suggested that it wouldn’t be long before he signed a new contract with the club.
“I’m happy here, I’ve said it all along,” said the defender, as quoted by Get West London.
“My contract situation is getting sorted behind closed doors and the relevant people are trying to sort that now.”
Fredericks has featured 31 times across all competitions for Fulham this season and has registered seven assists.
The Hammers already have three players in their squad capable of playing at right-back ahead of the summer, with Pablo Zabaleta, Sam Byram and Michail Antonio all adept at playing there.
Good move for West Ham?
Sort of.
There’s no denying Fredericks is a talented player with the right-back’s blistering pace able to cause any defence problems down the right-side.
However, West Ham already have plenty of options available in that position, so Moyes should be prioritising other areas of his team to strengthen first.
Although if the 25-year-old ends up being a free agent in the summer, it’s understandable that the Hammers would have move to fast, as he will get a lot of attention from other clubs.
This Is Futbol rating: 6/10
Likely to happen?
It all depends on how his negotiations go with Fulham, along with his side’s current bid for promotion.
The defender has openly admitted that he’s happy where he is and with the Cottagers currently sitting in the play-off places, there’s a chance they will be in the Premier League next season.
Therefore, there’s no obvious reason why Fredericks would want to move to the Hammers because Fulham might be able to offer him Premier League football themselves.
Also if he signs a new contract, he could cost West Ham a significant sum of money in order to tempt Fulham into selling him.
This Is Futbol rating: 4/10