West Ham United are in ‘negotiations’ to sign free agent midfielder Adnan Januzaj, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.
The lowdown: Career so far
Having burst onto the scene under now-Irons’ boss David Moyes at Manchester United back in 2013, Januzaj has struggled to live up to early expectations but still mustered up an impressive career.
The 27-year-old Belgium international followed Moyes to Sunderland in 2016 after a loan spell at Borussia Dortmund before joining Real Sociedad on a permanent basis.
Now, after 44 direct goal contributions in 168 outings for the La Liga outfit, Januzaj is currently a free agent and has been linked to West Ham and Everton this summer, with east London seemingly a potential landing spot…
The latest: ‘Negotiations’
Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jones – a journalist for Eurosport – has claimed that West Ham are in ‘negotiations’ to sign the 15-cap ace.
He said: “Januzaj and [Alexander] Isak have actually been very close throughout the summer. They’ve been training on their own for a lot of the summer together, they both were looking to leave Real Sociedad and they both travelled over together and they stayed in the same hotel in London last night.
“Januzaj has been looking to join West Ham. About a month ago, it looked like that a deal might be close and then West Ham switched to other options. I’m told that negotiations are going on right now with Januzaj.”
The verdict: No brainer
Adding a player of Januzaj’s proven top-level calibre to the ranks without a transfer fee truly is a no-brainer for GSB, particularly given the preexisting relationship already between Moyes and the Belgian.
Linked with the likes of Hans Vanaken and Lucas Paqueta as Rob Newman attempts to strengthen the entire squad, the versatile attacker would add much-needed quality cover for multiple positions.
Last season, the man hailed as ‘very special’ and ‘gifted’ by journalist David Cartlidge scored five times and provided one assist in 44 appearances across all competitions, earning a 6.81 SofaScore rating whilst winning 3.8 duels and successfully completing 1.4 dribbles on average per Spanish top-flight outing.
Capable of operating on either wing and in central areas, signing Januzaj – who still has a market value of £10.8million – for nothing, would be a sensational piece of business.
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