West Ham Leading the Race to Sign 6ft 3in Centre-Back with 19 International Caps
West Ham United in Prime Position to Sign Top-Quality Central Defender for the London Stadium This Summer
Julen Lopetegui is on the verge of signing four new players for West Ham: Niclas Fullkrug, Crysencio Summerville, Guido Rodriguez, and Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
These additions come on top of the three players he has already brought in. Despite the excitement surrounding these new signings, Lopetegui still faces a significant issue in central defense.
Earlier in the transfer window, the West Ham head coach secured Max Kilman for £40 million. However, there is still a pressing need for another central defender, as Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd are no longer up to the highest standards of the Premier League.
Ideally, West Ham will offload at least one of them this summer and bring in a suitable upgrade.
It appears that Lopetegui is actively working on this. West Ham is now leading the race to sign Logan Costa. If they fail to secure Jean-Clair Todibo, Lopetegui plans to target the 23-year-old Toulouse star.
According to Calcio Mercato, West Ham is ahead of Bologna in the pursuit of Logan Costa this summer.
The 6ft 3in center-back is a strong defender and would be a smart acquisition for the Hammers. Last season, in 31 Ligue 1 appearances for Toulouse, the 23-year-old averaged 1.3 tackles, 3.8 clearances, and 2.1 successful aerial duels per game.
He also averaged 56.5 passes per game with an 84.1% completion rate, according to Who Scored.
Costa has impressive pace, strength in challenges, and is at an age where he will continue to improve over the next decade. Toulouse is reportedly asking for at least €20 million (£17 million) for the 19-capped Cape Verde international, as stated by L’Equipe.
This seems like a reasonable price, although some West Ham fans might worry about a repeat of the £25 million deal for Issa Diop from Toulouse six years ago.
However, I believe Costa is on a different level compared to Diop, especially in his ability to read the game.
Logan Costa is a well-rounded defender and would make an excellent partner for Kilman at West Ham.
