West Ham United have been backed to bring in Chelsea outcast and full-back Ben Chilwell when the January window opens in just a few months.
The Hammers had a huge summer window, spending around £120 million on players like Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo, Niclas Fullkrug and Crysensio Summerville, it doesn’t look like the spending will stop there.
It is no secret that their start to the 24/25 Premier League season has been disappointing. With just eight points from their first eight games, they are languishing in 15th place.
With this in mind, it is unsurprising to hear plans for another dip into the transfer kitty to bolster Julen Lopetegui’s options before their season hopes of attaining a European spot become out of sight.
One name that has come up is Chelsea man Ben Chilwell, who is on the chopping block at the West London club after the appointment of manager Enzo Maresca.
Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson backed the club to make the signing during his latest appearance on The Inside Track podcast, stating: “On a short-term basis, big deals, we do see some done in January.
“I’m not going to say you’re not going to see big deals done in January, but actually, you know, a deal like that is potentially a short-term solution for Ben Chilwell.
“I wouldn’t say he’s the answer to West Ham’s problems.
“Going forward with his delivery as well into the box they obviously lost James Ward-Prowse this season with his delivery, and Ben Chilwell brings that into the side.
“If West Ham are at the table for him it’d be a great signing for them.”
Is Chilwell the right man for the Hammers?
The 27-year-old has endured a tough start to the season with the Blues having only played 45 minutes of football during their EFL cup against Barrow earlier in the campaign. He has failed to bag any goals or assists so far, which is expected with such little game time.
Chilwell is an interesting option for Lopetegui, he is a dynamic attacking full-back would has experience playing in a wing-back role as well. He could be a huge get for the club if is able to reach the height of his ability again.
However, Chilwell has been riddled with injuries over the last few seasons, missing 35 games for club and country in 23/24 and was only able to pick up one assist in 13 Premier League appearances.
A change of scenery could be all Chilwell needs to regain that spark again, as we have seen with Christian Pulisic who has been praised for his performances for AC Milan after falling out of favour at Chelsea.
Bringing Chilwell in all depends on the fee for me. If you can get him for around £10m it would be worth a risk, but anything closing in on £20m or above should be avoided. He has never hit double digits for goals and assists in the league since he joined Chelsea and there is no guarantee he can do it for West Ham.
We do not need another transfer miss with the threat of PSR. If we are going to dip into the market we need certainty.