OPINION
If West Ham are to close the gap on the teams above them next season, they need to start acting and spending money like the teams above them.
Now that doesn’t mean that they have to go out and squander £40 million every time they want a second choice full-back, but it does mean that they have to flex their financial might a little bit more, and that they need to be cannier in their recruitment process.
And that’s why the news that they have supposedly made an approach for Stuttgart defender Ozan Kabak, as reported by the Daily Mail, should delight fans.
The Turk has a £13.3 million release clause in his contract, so wouldn’t break the bank, but is also being courted by the likes of Tottenham and Bayern Munich.
That should tell you all you need to know about the quality of the combative 19-year-old.
The 6’1″ centre-back [Transfermarkt] has featured 34 times for the Bundesliga side this campaign, scoring three goals in the process, and he looks for all the world as if he could have a big future at the top level.
This is why the Hammers have to snap him up. Signing good, young players with bountiful potential from under the noses of more capable sides is a surefire way to make up some ground on the clubs they are desperately trying to chase down.
They did it with Issa Diop last year to great effect. If they could do it again this summer they could be on to a real winner.