OPINION
West Ham should give up the chase when it comes to pursuing Fulham’s Ryan Fredericks this summer and ambitiously move to steal Cedric Soares away from Southampton.
The Hammers have constantly been linked to the Cottager’s pacey right-back in recent times, with the Evening Standard claiming ahead of the Championship play-off on Saturday that the club still had a heavy interest in signing the defender.
However with Fredericks’ side winning promotion to the Premier League in that game, it seems very likely that he would love to stay at Craven Cottage based on his recent remarks.
“It’s up to the people behind the scenes but I’m sure everyone will want to stay and play at the highest level with Fulham and see what we can achieve,” Fredericks told the Evening Standard after helping his side reach the promise land.
“Can this club allow me to fulfil my ambitions? Of course. You look at the players we’re attracting, like Aleksandar Mitrovic, we’ve already got Premier League players in the Championship so I’m sure we’re going to build again and have many years in the Premier League.”
The speed demon’s comments imply that he is set to commit himself to Fulham, his contract is currently due to expire in June, and that shows the Hammers shouldn’t waste their time chasing him down.
This still leaves Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini on the hunt for a new right-back as the club clearly need one for the upcoming season.
While Fredericks would have just cost his wages, the Hammers must look to splash the cash after missing out and sign Soares from the Saints as he is clearly the superior talent anyway.
The 26-year-old has dazzled the Premier League ever since arriving at the Saints in 2015 after arriving from Primeira Liga’s Sporting and the Hammers would have a near-perfect right-back if they snapped him up.
Soares impressed in his 36 appearances for the Saints during the 2017/18 campaign, even though his side struggled, and with him possessing pace as well as being built practically like a brick wall, there’s not many better signings the Hammers could make this summer.
The right-back even knows to fully utilise his pace, unlike Fredericks, as he has demonstrated his footballing intelligence on multiple occasions when it comes to choosing the right option when his side are pushing forward.
While the 26-year-old will no doubt have clubs in the Premier League’s top-six taking a look at him this summer, the Hammers should use the presence of their illustrious boss Pellegrini and their deep pockets to welcome him to the London Stadium.
Therefore the Hammers should forget about Fredericks after he won promotion and splash the cash on getting Soares as he’s already excelling in England’s top-flight.
