According to a new report, West Ham are set to sign a “very impressive” attacking midfielder in the January transfer window.
The Hammers have been linked with a number of individuals in recent weeks as David Moyes looks to give his squad the best possible chance of rejoining Europe, not to mention progressing as far as possible in the Europa League after securing the services of Calvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City.
Ibrahim Osman is one of the players who has emerged as a target for West Ham. The 19-year-old is currently playing for Nordsjaelland. He is considered a similar player to Mohamed Kudus. Meanwhile, Ipswich Town left-back Leif Davis, who has been a key man in the team’s promotion bid this season, has also been selected for a transfer to the London Stadium.
Newcastle United striker Callum Wilson has also been mentioned as a possibility of late, but as with any deal, time is running out for a transfer.
West Ham are closing in on Jota:
According to TuttoMercatoWeb [via The Daily Record, 09:48], West Ham are “close” to signing winger Al Ittihad Jota, who was at Celtic before leaving last summer.
The deal is expected to be completed before the deadline next Thursday, ending an unsuccessful spell in the Saudi Professional League so far.
This is undoubtedly exciting news for West Ham, as Jota could come in immediately and provide Moyes with additional attacking power, as well as competition for Kudus and Jarrod Bowen, among others. Portuguese manager Roberto Martinez is one who highly rates the wide player, saying of him last year:
“I think Jota is obviously a player who is very important for the national team because of his qualities. He is a player who has a natural ability to beat players in one-on-one situations. So he is a player about whom there has been a lot of information since I arrived in January, as you can imagine. I have tried to follow as many players as possible, in fact all players, and it is clear that Jota is one of them.
“I would say that his development has been very impressive. I would say that especially in the last four months he is growing into a very mature role in his club. He is always involved in the important moments, which is important.”
Jota is only 24 years old, so he could come in as a long-term option who has his best years still ahead of him, and his contribution of 54 goals (28 goals and 26 assists) in 83 appearances for Celtic shows his impressive level of end product in the final third.