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West Ham United: Dean Jones reveals David Moyes didn’t initially agree with Kostic pursuit

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Image for West Ham United: Dean Jones reveals David Moyes didn’t initially agree with Kostic pursuit

Journalist Dean Jones has revealed that West Ham United’s pursuit of Filip Kostic has intensified due to a change of heart from David Moyes, who wasn’t sold on the prospect at first.

As previously revealed by ExWHUemployee, Kostic was seen as an alternative target to Hoffenheim’s David Raum, who has been linked with a move to RB Leipzig.

Rob Newman and his recruitment team are thought to be on the hunt for a successor to Aaron Cresswell on the left-hand side of the Irons’ defence (The Times), and while used to playing as a wing-back or further up the pitch, Kostic does appear to be their main target at this juncture – although Jones has revealed that Moyes wasn’t open to a move until the weekend.

Speaking on the Chasing Green Arrows YouTube channel, he said:

“I spoke to someone at West Ham – Moyes didn’t seem convinced on this idea at all, and then suddenly, in the last three days, it’s been a complete U-turn on it and they’ve been trying to progress talks, even today [Monday] to try and see if they can get this one over the line.

“They’re trying to convince the player that this is a good step for him, that West Ham are still building and that last season isn’t just as good as it gets, because there is a possibility you look at that and be like, ‘that was great, I can see you’ve had two really positive years, but I’m not sure you can get much better than that’, and that would be a fair concern – but Kostic does seem to be a player that is moving forward.”

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Speaking on the 90min Talking Transfers podcast, journalist Toby Cudworth said a move for Kostic “may indicate that David Moyes is considering a change of system“, which could certainly seem plausible given his change of heart, however, a lack of options at centre-back would really stretch their resources given Nayef Aguerd undergoing ankle surgery, Kurt Zouma’s questionable fitness, Craig Dawson now at 32 and a 34-year-old Angelo Ogbonna only recently back from a serious knee injury.

That said, Issa Diop remains an option for now, while Kostic could also thrive in his usual position for Moyes.  

The 29-year-old scored seven goals while creating a further 15 in all competitions last season and was part of the Eintracht Frankfurt team that knocked the east London club out of the Europa League on their way to winning the tournament.

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