Insider ExWHUemployee has revealed that West Ham United will swoop for Filip Kostic should a move for ‘first-choice’ left-back target David Raum not transpire.
SportBILD (via Sport Witness) previously reported that West Ham were interested in Hoffenheim’s Raum as the club look to provide competition and a successor for the ageing Aaron Cresswell, who will turn 33 this December.
Raum scored three goals and provided 13 assists in his first season in the Bundesliga, but is also attracting attention from Newcastle United and ‘others’ (as per Sport1).
As a result, Rob Newman and his recruitment team have seemingly found a couple of alternatives, and while Stuttgart’s Borna Sosa could be an option, Ex has revealed who the Hammers will aim for directly after Raum.
Speaking on The West Ham Way podcast, he said:
“If we can’t get [Raum] over the line, we will then also look at – or if we can get a better deal – look at Filip Kostic.
“He is also an option there.”
TIF Thoughts on Kostic and West Ham…
Who would you rather at left-back?
Kostic
Raum
Cresswell
Kostic, who has been hailed as a ‘mentality monster’, was part of the Eintracht Frankfurt side that knocked the Irons out of the Europa League semi-finals on their way to winning the tournament, and the 29-year-old scored seven goals while creating a further 15 in all competitions last season.
It is perhaps his age that sees him rank lower than 24-year-old Raum when it comes to David Moyes’ preference, as there is no doubting his output.
He could thrive in a wing-back role at the London Stadium having produced 49 assists across the last four Bundesliga seasons.