West Ham United insider @ExWHUemployee has claimed that the Hammers are eyeing transfer swoops for two Milton Keynes Dons players.
During the summer transfer window, the Irons sealed the arrival of four players – two on loan and two on permanent deals (per Transfermarkt).
The two players which arrived on loan – Said Benrahma and Craig Dawson – both have clauses in their deals which could see the moves become permanent.
Despite the four additions over the summer, though, the Hammers’ first-team squad still looks a little thin in certain positions.
In the latest episode of The West Ham Way Podcast, @ExWHUemployee revealed that the Hammers were looking lower down the leagues for recruits and touted two MK Dons players. (1:01:17)
He said: “We’ve been looking at a few players in the lower leagues, just scouting around, seeing if there’s any talent out there because, obviously, it’s worked well for us before.
“There [are] a couple of players at MK Dons that we’ve looked at.
“One is Matthew Sorinola, some interest there. He’s a full-back, meant to be the next best thing to come out of MK Dons since Dele Alli. So, quite high praise for him.
“We’ve looked at him and I’ve been told, there’s another player in their academy that we’ve looked at as well.”
TIF Thoughts on what @EXWHUemployee had to say about transfers…
As can be seen in what the in-the-know podcaster said, it seems that the Hammers are looking in the lower leagues for “talent” and two MK Dons players have caught their eye.
Would you like to see West Ham sign players from the lower divisions more often?
No, we need more quality
Yes, it's a good strategy
So far this season, Sorinola has made 11 League One appearances for MK Dons, in which he has neither scored a goal nor has he provided an assist (per WhoScored).
Over those 11 outings, the 19-year-old has earned a weak 6.45/10 average rating, making him his club’s 10th-worst performer in the league.
So, perhaps it is the player’s potential which the Irons have spotted and not his current ability as it would appear that he has not been all that impressive for MK Dons so far this season.