West Ham have reportedly been informed that they will need to pay £20m to sign Southampton ace Kyle Walker-Peters in the summer transfer window.
The Hammers are embarking on a new era under Julen Lopetegui, with plenty of positivity in the air this summer.
David Moyes did an excellent job as West Ham manager, not least winning the UEFA Europa Conference League back in 2022/23, but the hope is that their new Europa League-winning boss Lopetegui can take them to even greater heights.
New signings are needed to aid that, with the likes of Max Kilman and Luis Guilherme already arriving at the London Stadium this summer, and Walker-Peters looks like another possibility to come in.
According to a fresh claim from Football Insider, Southampton have told West Ham that they will need to pay £20m if they want to sign their star right-back from St Mary’s Stadium ahead of next season.
Talks are already believed to have taken place over a move for the Englishman in the near future, but no agreement is in place currently.
Walter-Peters only has one year remaining on his current deal, meaning Saints know he will be available to leave on a free transfer this time next year, so they could feel the need to cash in now.
The 27-year-old could be a perfect summer addition for West Ham, acting as a younger alternative to Vladimir Coufal, having proven himself at a high level for many years now.
Walker-Peters has racked up 115 appearances in the Premier League, scoring twice and registering nine assists in that time, while Southampton manager Russell Martin has described him as a “brilliant” footballer in the recent past.
Given his age, and the fact that he knows English football inside out, £20m arguably feels like a bargain for the two-time capped England international’s services, considering he could be West Ham’s first-choice right-back for the next four or five years.
It is easy to see Walker-Peters slotting into Lopetegui’s team seamlessly, not to mention providing great competition for Coufal, so the Hammers should look at him as a primary right-back option ahead of the 2024/25 season.
