West Ham United could launch a loan-to-buy offer for Stoke City goalkeeper Jack Butland in January, according to ExWHUemployee.
The reliable club source claimed that the Hammers could look to bring in another stopper after Lukasz Fabianski’s injury and the poor form of Roberto in his absence.
ExWHUemployee shared that if Manuel Pellegrini’s side were to complete an initial loan move, they would be forced to pay a large fee for the nine-cap England international.
“We are apparently looking to sign another keeper, possibly because we’ve realised how dire the situation is,” he said on the West Ham Way podcast.
“There is talk of trying to get Jack Butland from Stoke. Potentially sign him on loan with a view to a permanent deal, obviously, if you are going to get him on loan they would have to pay a large fee.”
Butland has been in and out of the Stoke team this season in the Championship, with Adam Federici being preferred at certain points after numerous mistakes.
OPINION
West Ham will surely not want to pay a large fee for a player that would most likely be instantly replaced once Fabianski returns from his injury. It has got to the stage where the Pole is approaching the end of his rehabilitation programme for the injury he picked up against Bournemouth, so the Hammers might be better off saving their money and giving David Martin a try. There is no hiding from the fact that Roberto has been nowhere near good enough in East London, making far too many mistakes that have been costing them games. Butland hasn’t been much better though, and West Ham would be making a big mistake if they were to launch an offer for the 26-year-old who has slipped from the top very quickly in the past two years of his career. Pellegrini should look elsewhere to strengthen his side and realise that there is no need to bring in a player that would not feature for longer than a month in the Premier League after arriving.
