According to insider ExWHUempolyee, rumours surrounding West Ham United’s links to Stuttgart forward Sasa Kalajdzic are false and other forwards are ahead on their transfer wishlist.
The Hammers recently announced their first signing of the summer in Rennes defender Nayef Aguerd, and it doesn’t look like they are going to stop there. However, it has been recently revealed by The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg that the club’s potential move for Kalajdzic is not as close as thought.
ExWHUemployee offered some more insight, claiming on the West Ham Way Patreon page that while the club have looked at the player, they have others further up their priority list and the player himself has garnered interest from other clubs as well.
He said: “News broke today that we were [interested] in signing Sasa Kalajdzic from Stuttgart in Germany. The forward is an Austrian international and stands at 6 foot 7. He was one of the players that we scouted in a recent international between Austria and Denmark as well as Danish full-back [Joakim] Mæhle.
“Sadly, I can confirm that these reports of his imminent signing are wide of the mark. Yes, we have watched him, but I believe other forwards are way ahead on a list and the player has a lot of interest elsewhere from numerous top teams in England and Germany anyway.”
TIF Thoughts on Ex’s comments…
West Ham need to continue building their side around David Moyes’ vision, with worries that they could possibly lose two key men in Declan Rice and Jarrod Bowen if they do not invest and build the squad up.
One area of the squad they need to address is their striking options, as they only have Michail Antonio as a recognised striker, so signing a player like Kalajdzic would solve this problem if they can get his signature.
Last season, he racked up six goals and one assist in 15 appearances for Stuttgart while averaging 2.1 shots, 1.1 key passes and 2.5 aerial duels won per game, while ranking in the 96th percentile for expected assists and the 82nd for progressive carries per game (as per FBRef).
While it seems that a potential transfer for the Austrian is far from completion at this point, the Irons could use someone like Kalajdzic as a backup or even as a starter, but with the fee rumoured to be no less than €25m (£21.4m), it is understandable why they may be looking at other options for now.
Should West Ham sign KaladjzicYes
No
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