TA: West Ham will continue to pursue Saints midfielder Mattus, Chuk Umeka is the alternative target

August 20th, TheAthletic analyzed West Ham's summer transfer operations.

With the summer window approaching, West Ham is expected to submit an improved offer for Southampton midfielder Mattus Fernandez. Southampton previously rejected West Ham's first offer for Matteus Fernandez to be up to 30 million pounds (including additional terms), but coach Porter believes Matteus Fernandez will be a key reinforcement. The player's contract will last until the summer of 2029, with Southampton saying it is reluctant to sell at a price below the valuation.

Southampton CEO Phil Parsons said at a fan forum earlier this month: "We are not the kind of club that will surrender easily and accept the offer just because the other party wants to lower the price. Everyone has their own price code, but it is never cheap. I promise."

Porter plans to strengthen the lineup in the next two weeks. West Ham has signed Diouf from Slavia Prague, brought Hermanson from Leicester City, and has exempted Walker Peters and Callum Wilson from expiring contracts. If Mattus Fernandez is not signed, Chelsea midfielder Chuk Umeka will be one of the alternative players, who made 12 appearances for Porter during his brief coaching in the 2022-23 season.

Previously, West Ham had missed several midfield recruitment targets: Taylor Morton joined Lyon from Liverpool, Ashari transferred from Bruges to Milan (the player previously rejected West Ham), Donetsk Miners midfielder Sudakov insisted on only considering continental teams, Stuttgart midfielder Enzo Milo was also paid attention before transferring to Jeddah Nationals, and McCarty has now joined Nottingham Forest from Manchester City.

Potter is currently facing the shortage of manpower in the front line. The club currently has Wilson, Bowen, Phil Kruger and Collisoncio Somerville. Although Antonio has become a free agent after his contract expires, he has been trained with the U23 team to recover from his form since he suffered a serious car accident in December.

The central defender position also lacks depth, and Villarreal is exploring the trade to introduce Mavropanos. If he leaves the team, only three of the team are left with Kilman, Agde and Todibo.

In addition, Edsson Alvarez, Andy Erwin and Guido Rodriguez are expected to leave the team before closing the window.