ExWHUemployee has claimed that West Ham United youngster Frederik Alves is ‘likely to return’ this January, which may impact transfer plans.
Now heading towards the middle of the winter transfer market, the Hammers are yet to make any new signings so far, despite being linked with a number of different players.
Perhaps one reason for this could be the possible return of Alves, who is still currently with League One club Sunderland – but has been tipped to end that spell early.
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Indeed, while talking about the player on The West Ham Way podcast, Ex said he expects the young defender to re-join his parent club soon, and this is ‘another factor’ behind the club’s failure to sign another centre-back so far in the transfer window.
He explained: “Frederik Alves at Sunderland didn’t make the squad again for their 3-3 draw against Wycombe.
“I expect he is likely to return to us in the next couple of days, which is another factor, probably, on [us] taking a bit of time looking at centre-backs.”
TIF Thoughts on Frederik Alves and West Ham United…
At 22 years of age now, Alves will likely be hoping for more regular football at senior level. This may well have explained his reasons for joining Sunderland in the first place.
However, his time with the Black Cats so far has seen him feature just three times in the league, totalling only 44 minutes of game time.
Taking that into account, it could be understood if all involved parties were happy to allow Alves to go back to West Ham. He would then provide an extra option in defence for the time being, which should prevent the Hammers from having to rush into any transfer business – as Ex suggested.
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