West Ham United need reinforcements.
The Hammers have not begun the season in the best form, and have won just once in the Premier League in their opening three games.
A disappointingly turgid defeat to Newcastle United opened their campaign, while a much improved display against Arsenal was not rewarded with any points.
A 4-0 win over Wolves lifted some of the gloom but they were then knocked out of the EFL Cup by Everton, losing 4-1 on Wednesday as Dominic Calvert-Lewin put them to the sword with a brilliant hat-trick.
That result has sharpened the focus on the club’s transfer dealings, of which there have been none.
The Irons have not managed to bring in a first-team player on a permanent basis since converting Tomas Soucek’s loan deal into a fully-fledged transfer.
There is a need to bring in defenders and the Hammers have been linked with a number of them.
The likes of James Tarkowski and Nikola Milenkovic will not be ending up in east London, though, and Football.London now reports that the Irons may be forced to strike a loan deal to fill the gap in their squad.
The report states that a £25 million bid was lodged for Milenkovic but it was rejected and has left them staring at the drawing board as they look to bring in the fourth centre-back David Moyes clearly needs.
There is a claim that they aren’t actually close to a signing a new defender but loan deals will be explored in a bid to plaster over the gaps that are clear for all to see.
Owner David Sullivan has already admitted that the money for new signings just isn’t there; this may be the only solution.
GIVEMESPORT’S Harry Sherlock says…
This is hardly likely to ender the ownership to the fanbase.
TalkSPORT reported on Thursday that Fiorentina were demanding £25m plus £10m for Milenkovic, taking the whole package to £35m.
That is about the going rate for a top-class central defender in a big five European league.
West Ham, though, don’t have the resources to pay it; Sullivan himself claimed that the deal has collapsed based on those demands.
It paints an ugly picture.
New blood is desperately needed in that backline; it very much remains to be seen if anyone will be brought in, though.
The clock is ticking ever louder.