West Ham have a “strong interest” in signing Chelsea youngster Carney Chukwuemeka, according to insider ExWHUEmployee.
Amid reports of possible January exits for star duo Lucas Paqueta and Mohammed Kudus, the club are seemingly exploring the market for possible replacements.
Our international recruitment has been somewhat hit-and-miss of late. Guido Rodriguez has struggled since signing on a free transfer from Real Betis, while the jury is still out on Jean-Clair Todibo despite showing flashes of brilliance early on this season.
Meanwhile, our domestic recruitment has been a lot better. Max Kilman has proven to be worth every penny of the £40m we paid for him last summer, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka has been a solid addition at right-back.
As a result, it’s believed the Hammers are focusing more of their scouting efforts closer to home, with domestic players potentially taking priority over the coming transfer windows.
That strategy appears to have led Tim Stiedten and his scouting team to west London, where there is an array of young, talented players who are not getting the game time they need at Chelsea.
One of those players is Chukwuemeka, who signed for the Blues from Aston Villa for £20m in 2022. Since then he’s made just 32 first-team appearances, scoring twice and registering just one assist. He’s averaged a little over 23 minutes of action-per-game in that time, suggesting he’s struggling to force his way into Enzo Maresca’s first-team plans.
The English youngster is a central midfielder who is also capable of playing as a No.10, in a more defensive role or as a left-sided midfielder.
Given West Ham’s midfield struggles this season, it would perhaps make sense to bring in another option, especially if Paqueta is allowed to return home to Brazil.
It was a particular surprise that West Ham allowed James Ward-Prowse to leave the club on loan last summer, so signing a player like Chukwuemeka would help fill the gap in squad depth left by the former Southampton star’s absence.
It’s believed West Ham could seek a loan deal with an option to buy from Chelsea and, given the youngster’s lack of game time this season – where he’s only featured from the bench in the Conference League and EFL Cup and hasn’t been named in any Premier League matchday squad – it might be a proposal the Blues would be interested in entertaining.
Chukwuemeka has one Premier League goal to his name, which came against West Ham at London Stadium last season when David Moyes’ Hammers ran out 3-1 winners.
