Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek in action
West Ham United are readying a move to snatch Southampton defender Jan Bednarek away from Aston Villa’s clutches, according to The Sunday Mirror (via Hammers News).
The lowdown: Villa links
Fabrizio Romano reported on Friday that Villa were ‘optimistic’ over striking a deal for Southampton defender Bednarek ‘soon’.
Villa have been in discussions with the Saints over a loan deal that may also include an option to buy.
Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side view him as ‘expendable’, according to Jacob Tanswell of The Athletic.
West Ham have already signed two centre-backs this summer in the form of Thilo Kehrer (£10.8million) and Nayef Aguerd (£31.5million), though the latter is expected to be out until October with an ankle injury.
The latest: West Ham swoop in
The report states that West Ham are ready to attempt to hijack Bednarek’s proposed move to Villa Park.
David Moyes is still considering another centre-half deal and has not given up hope of landing the Pole, even though Villa’s move is already pretty advanced.
The verdict: Dawson replacement
Why might Moyes be in the market for yet another CB?
Well, it’s possible that he’s thinking about potential replacements for Craig Dawson, with The Daily Mail reporting that he could leave before the end of the transfer window.
The Scotsman want to keep Dawson at the London Stadium, but the player is said to be ‘unhappy’ with his situation.
Intriguingly, Aston Villa are named as an interested party, so perhaps there’s a scenario where they win the race for Bednarek and then wind up selling their own asset to Steven Gerrard’s side.
Bednarek has plenty of Premier League experience behind him, having played 153 games in the top flight up to this point.
Data from FBRef and WhoScored shows that he makes exceptionally high volumes of interceptions (72 in last season’s PL), blocks (27) and clearances (139), while he’s also a big goal threat, ranking in the 96th percentile across Europe for non-penalty goals from centre-back.
Having beaten Villa at the weekend, the Irons could be about to inflict even more misery on the Midlands outfit.
About the Author
