talkSPORT’s resident transfer expert Alex Crook has said that Charlie Taylor is among West Ham’s targets at left-back this summer.
The Irons are thought to be pursuing a ‘long-term’ successor for Aaron Cresswell and have been linked with a number of names with insider ExWHUemployee revealing that David Raum of Hoffenheim tops the list with Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic and Borna Sosa at Stuttgart also on the radar.
With Aaron Cresswell turning 33 before the turn of the year, he will need replacing sooner rather than later and it doesn’t appear that Arthur Masuaku is in the club’s thinking to compete for a place as Claret and Hugh reported last month that he will leave this summer even if it means the Hammers buying out his contract.
Nevertheless, Crook has caught wind of a possible alternative that Rob Newman and his recruitment team are looking at.
Speaking on the talkSPORT GameDay podcast he said:
(17:02)”Charlie Taylor at Burnley also is another name that’s been mentioned to me as a possible incoming at London stadium.
So I think they are looking at that left-back area.”
TIF Thoughts on Taylor and West Ham…
Would Taylor be a good option to sign?
Yes
No
The 28-year-old still has two years left to run on his Burnley contract but following the club’s relegation from the top flight, he could be a worthwhile avenue for David Moyes to explore.
Taylor emerged as the Clarets preferred left-back and made 132 Premier League appearances for the Turf Moor outfit finishing with an average rating for the season of 6.74 or higher across the past three campaigns (SofaScore).
His 6.85 rating from last term was higher than Vladimir Coufal’s score of 6.77 as he formed part of the Lancashire club’s rigid defence that conceded just two more goals than West Ham despite finishing in the bottom three last term.
Although not as exciting as the other names being linked with just six league assists in the past five seasons he could be a possible option for Moyes given his familiarity to the division.