It’s no secret that West Ham really need to sign a centre-back this January. 

With two forwards signed – Taty Castellanos and Pablo – fans have been hoping that Nuno Espirito Santo‘s attention will now turn to fixing his leaky defence, which currently boasts the worst record in the Premier League this season with 44 goals conceded after 22 games.

It’s arguably the only area of the squad which is in desperate need of recruitment, with the midfield and attack stacked with options.

While Jean-Clair Todibo has been much improved this season and Konstantinos Mavropanos is largely having a steady season by his own standards, Max Kilman continues to underwhelm at the centre of defence, and the feeling is that upgrades need to be made this month if the club is to have a serious chance of retaining its Premier League status come May.

So it’s somewhat confusing to see the club linked with more midfielders and wingers as the winter transfer window deadline day approaches fast.

West Ham interested in Premier League winner

West Ham’s midfield should be the least of Nuno’s worries. Mateus Fernandes, Freddie Potts, Tomas Soucek, Guido Rodriguez, Soungoutou Magassa and Lucas Paqueta provide the Portugeuse with an array of options.

And while both Paqueta and Rodriguez continue to be linked with a moves away this month, there are still four midfielders left who have impressed enough to be trusted to keep the midfield tight for the remainder of the campaign.

Indeed, another body wouldn’t go amiss but it should not be a priority at this stage of the window.

Or at least that’s what you’d think.

Instead, West Ham are now being mentioned as an interested party in the race for Al-Ittihad’s N’Golo Kante, who has been linked with a move to Fenerbahce for weeks now, as per reports from Sabah.

The Frenchman, who won two Premier League titles with Leicester City and Chelsea during his time in England between 2015 and 2023.

It’s claimed the Turkish giants are taking their time over a deal because they do not want to pay a fee for Kante’s signature, given his Saudi contract expires this summer. Al-Ittihad are insisting on receiving a fee for the midfielder.

According to Fabrizio Romano, via his YouTube channel, a deal between the two clubs remains on, with personal terms close to being finalised, and that West Ham, Everton and several other interested clubs may have left it too late to hijack the deal.

Reports in Turkey claim both West Ham and Everton have made it clear that a transfer fee wouldn’t be a problem, which may keep them loosely in the race for Kante’s services, but Romano’s report appears to suggest Fenerbahce are pushing to get the deal done quickly.

He said: “Fenerbahce are insisting because they know some Premier League clubs over the weekend called the agents of N’Golo Kante.

“Fenerbahce are aware of English clubs trying to understand if there is some space, some way, to enter into the Kante deal.

“[They] remain convinced that the player wants to join them, that the player wants to get his opportunity to move to Turkey and to go to Fenerbahce. Club-to-club, they are waiting to unlock the deal with Al-Ittihad, but the deal is on for Kante to Fenerbahce.”

Kante move raises questions over Nuno’s priorities

Kante’s reputation in England speaks for itself. After winning the Premier League title with Leicester in his first season with the Foxes, he earned a £30m move to Chelsea and won the league in his first season there, too.

He became known for his tirelessness in midfield, his ability to cover every blade of grass and his tidiness in possession.

Adding to his two Premier League winners medals, Kante also won the FA Cup, Champions League, Europa League, Super Cup and Club World Cup during his time in England, as well as the World Cup and Nations League with France.

So he would arrive in east London with pedigree, a winner’s mentality and extensive experience.

But do we really need the 34-year-old?

Fernandes and Potts have developed a solid midfield partnership with legs and tenacity, while Tomas Soucek has shown in recent weeks that he’s still capable of doing a job both in the starting XI or off the bench. Magassa has also impressed when called upon.

So adding Kante into the mix and potentially disrupting the one area of the squad which appears more settled than anywhere else, seems a strange move to make.

Perhaps Nuno is considering Kante as a player who can add energy and safety off the bench in games in which West Ham need to see out a lead in the final stages, offering much-needed protection in front of a defence which has kept just one clean sheet all season.

But even then, surely the priority should be to strengthen the defence instead of investing in protecting its weaknesses?

After all, if you have a leaking pipe at home, you look to replace it. You don’t keep spending money on materials to temporarily plug the hole.