West Ham ready to battle Fulham for defender with bargain £9m release clause

West Ham are said to be interested in a new left-back ahead of this summer as they look to add competition for Emerson Palmieri. A big summer awaits for the Hammers, with Graham Potter needing to put his own stamp on his group.

It has been a tough few months for Potter, who has failed to deliver improved results after taking over from Julen Lopetegui. The Irons are currently in 17th place having been leapfrogged by Wolves, and with only 35 points to their name, they are very fortunate that the bottom three has been so far off the required standard to survive in the Premier League, with at least 38 points usually required to survive.

West Ham have won just two of their last 11 games, and while Potter will be given until next season, he is certainly adding pressure to the start of next term, likely needing to hit the ground running to avoid questions being asked of his position almost instantly.

A number of players have been linked as the Irons look to improve their squad this summer, and Sky Sports Germany say Werder Bremen full-back Felix Agu is one of the latest to come onto the Hammers’ radar. Florian Plettengburg says West Ham and Fulham are considering a deal, with Agu reportedly having a release clause worth just £9million.

That could be an error on Bremen’s part, given they only extended his contract last year, tying the full-back up until 2027, albeit with that release clause in place. Agu said when extending his Werder Bremen contract last year: “I simply thought that I’ll be able to keep developing nicely as a player here. Working in a pleasant environment day in, day out, and being part of a good team with great coaches. I think I’m still improving as a player; there’s still more to come from me, and so I hope to achieve that here in the future.”

He added on his aims for the season: “I’d certainly like to build on my performances and constantly be improving. Naturally, I’d like to stay injury-free and enjoy my time playing on the pitch with the team. I believe that we always perform well when we’ve been enjoying ourselves on the pitch.”

Agu has made 17 Bundesliga appearances this season, scoring three times and providing an assist. Werder are currently in ninth place and within three points of the European spots. Though, it’s worth noting that he spent much of last season out injured, and he also had a ligament issue this season, raising potential red flags as far as his injury history goes.

Then again, it would be a cheap risk to take for West Ham given the increasing price of players these days. The Hammers do have Oliver Scarles at left-back to compete with Emerson, with the youngster having shown real promise, while Aaron Cresswell is also naturally a left-back, but he has regularly played in a back three under Potter. It would be interesting to see where Agu fits in if he does sign.

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