West Ham transfer news - West Ham sweating on Hwang Hee-Chan deal, Jesse Lingard's £15m chance

ByDean Jones

Updated 29/01/2021 at 10:55 GMT

West Ham have made a new striker a priority in January after selling Sebastien Haller to Ajax - but with a number of options falling by the wayside, Hwang Hee-Chan of RB Leipzig is now their last hope of getting someone in before the deadline, writes Dean Jones. Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard could join permanently at the end of the season.

West Ham’s push for South Korean Hwang Hee-Chan looks to be their last hope of signing a new forward after almost all other options hit a dead end.

Currently Michail Antonio is their only recognised striker and other options have fallen flat over the past week. They thought a deal for Reims forward Boulaye Dia would come through, but could not agree on the type of deal that would suit them. Olivier Giroud, and Youssef En-Nesyri are among other options that have not worked out.

There is still a very small chance that Bournemouth's Joshua King could arrive before the deadline but now West Ham are exploring whether they can get RB Leipzig’s Hwang through the door.

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He joined from Salzburg at the start of the season to help fill the void left by Timo Werner but has struggled for game time, partly due to contracting Covid-19, but there have also been difficulties finding him a role in the set-up.

Leipzig are looking for a temporary club to help him recover his form and West Ham believe he could play in a similar way to Antonio. They are hopeful they will reach a breakthrough on an agreement but know there is also interest from Mainz in the Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard has agreed to join West Ham on loan and has his medical on Friday. He is being brought in from Manchester United to play off the flank - but there is a feeling that Lingard’s versatility in the attacking positions could lend itself to him playing centrally in an emergency if they fail to land another forward.

The deal took a while to agree as West Ham refused to cave in to United’s initial demands over the size of the loan fee.

It is worth noting that West Ham have also been in talks with United about the potential option of signing Lingard on a permanent deal for £15m and that is likely to be something to look out for at the end of the season.

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