Journalist Jacob Steinberg has revealed that one player has now been “offered” to West Ham United, who are still trying to sign another center-back this week after shelving a deal to get Harry Maguire.
Will Harry Maguire be a part of West Ham?
Maguire appeared to be on his way to the London Stadium after West Ham and Manchester United agreed to a £30 million transfer fee, but the deal has since been scrapped as it neared completion.
Despite the England international “respecting” the club, according to sources close to Maguire, who is still at Man United, there was “never an agreement on personal terms,” according to transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano on X.
The defender was holding out for £7 million to leave the Red Devils, and the Hammers grew impatient waiting for him to agree, so they called off the agreement, though there is a chance it might be revived within the next two weeks.
According to journalist Steinberg, who appeared to have missed out on Maguire, David Moyes’ side aim is to accomplish the following:
After canceling the Maguire deal, West Ham is trying to recruit another center-back this week. Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen has been proposed to them.
The Leverkusen defender has been linked with a move to the London Stadium in the past, and the Irons now have the ideal opportunity to sign him. It was previously claimed that they had a concrete interest at the beginning of June.
Is Jonathan Tah any good?
The 27-year-old has been playing in the Bundesliga since the 2015–16 campaign, and Christoph Kramer, a former teammate, once described him as a “real battleship” following his transfer to Bayer Leverkusen.
The German has established himself as a key member of the Bundesliga team over the past eight seasons, missing only two league games in the last two years while posting a 6.81 SofaScore match rating.
However, there are questions over whether the defender, who makes £47k a week, would be a good addition for West Ham given that Maguire averaged a 6.95 rating last season in a division that could be considered to be much tougher, and the Englishman also performed better across a number of important defensive metrics.
The Man United defender might be a much better addition to Moyes’ squad because he has averaged more aerials won, clearances made, blocks made, and tackles made per 90 over the past year than the defender born in Hamburg.
Although Maguire has a startlingly high number of mistakes that resulted in goals in the season before last, he is a seasoned international who has made a total of 219 Premier League games.
The 30-year-old’s transfer is still not entirely ruled out, but even if West Ham decides not to pursue him again, it would probably be wise to stay away from Tah because he has struggled to make an impression in the Bundesliga over a number of seasons.