The summer’s transfer activity at West Ham United was remarkable, with David Moyes entirely overhauling his midfield after Declan Rice left for Arsenal.
Despite the outstanding arrivals of James Ward-Prowse, Mohammed Kudus, and Edson Alvarez, the Hammers still had a few transactions they were interested in, but for a variety of reasons, they were unable to complete before the transfer deadline.
One player who was sought after was Chelsea full-back Ian Maatsen; following the arrival of Ward-Prowse, Moyes quickly identified the former Burnley loanee as his next target [The Guardian, 9 August].
Ultimately, Maatsen remained at Stamford Bridge but is yet to sign a new deal and according to the Daily Mail (16 October), the Dutchman is now a target for Barcelona as Xavi’s side consider signing the defender on a free transfer when his current deal expires at the end of the season.
Chelsea are still hoping to extend the 21-year-old’s deal in London, but the attraction of a move to the Spanish giants partnered with Maatsen’s lack of game time may make the defender reluctant to agree to a new contract with Mauricio Pochettino’s side.
If West Ham and Moyes are still interested in making the former Burnley man a Hammers star, they have to begin preparing a contract offer for Maatsen to present to him in January, when he enters the final six months of his stay with the Blues.
Although Emerson has been in good form so far this season, nobody is challenging the Italian’s position in the starting XI as Aaron Cresswell is yet to feature in the Premier League this season, so Maatsen would serve as the ageing full-back’s perfect replacement.
Competing with Barcelona may not be seen as an easy task, but given the Catalan club’s recent struggles with financial restrictions and the possibility that the 21-year-old may not even be guaranteed consistent minutes under Xavi, Moyes may be able to strike.
Teams like West Ham very rarely can pick up their primary targets on free transfers and the opportunity to pick up a player with as much potential as Maatsen without having to spend more than a compensation fee can’t be missed.
If Moyes and the Hammers believe that they still need strengthening at left-back, they have to act sooner rather than later and even if they didn’t want to wait until the summer, it would take a much-reduced fee to bring him to the London Stadium in January, given he’d be so close to the end of his Chelsea contract.
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