West Ham could use forgotten bagsman to beat Tottenham and Man Utd to £25m transfer

West Ham could use forgotten forward Maxwel Cornet to leverage their position over Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves in a potential transfer race for Genoa defender Koni De Winter this summer.

The Hammers paid £17.5 million to bring Cornet to the London Stadium from Burnley in 2022 but has failed to ever really make an impact, despite lifting the Europa Conference League with the side in 2023. The forward has scored just one goal in 37 Hammers appearances and was shipped out on loan to Southampton at the start of the season.

That temporary stay on the south coast didn’t work out for the player, who made just four appearances, and it was terminated in January. Cornet then headed over to Italy on a short-term loan to play for Genoa.

West Ham star finds shooting boots in Serie A

The forward picked up an assist on his Serie A debut and goals followed in his third and sixth league outing. Cornet earned his first start against Cagliari Calcio earlier this month but has now picked up a thigh injury.

The Ivory Coast international is contracted at the London Stadium until 2027 but ExWHUEmployee claims that his efforts so far at Genoa could be enough to make the Serie A club want to sign him this summer. That could be a major coup for the London club, not only in getting the player off their books, but helping lure De Winter the other way.

SportWitness names West Ham as one club interested in signing De Winter with Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves also linked. Manchester United, Napoli and Roma are all also said to be looking at the 22-year-old defender.

The Belgian international can play at full-back as well as centre-back, making him a versatile prospect for a Premier League club. A product of the Juventus academy, De Winter moved to Genoa in 2023 on a loan that was obligated to become permanent at the end of that season.

Tottenham Hotspur and Wolves linked with De Winter

A fee of more than £25 million has be touted for De Winter according to GiveMeSport but, if West Ham can offer to send Cornet the other way, that figure may be reduced. The Hammers’ chiefs will no doubt be hoping that Cornet returns to fitness and finds form again at Genoa, should that trade be a potential offer for the upcoming transfer window.

De Winter has been compared with Manchester City legend and compatriot Vincent Kompany thanks to his playing style and is aware of the similarities. He told The i Paper: “All my life I have been told I play like Vincent Kompany.

“I have this ability to make runs with the ball like he did, I have the same technical side. It’s a really big name, so I one day hope to be able to live up to him. You look at the other big names [Belgian internationals] and it is only right that they ended playing up in the best competitions.”

In other news, AI has told West Ham to sell a £35 million first team star and pursue a Chelsea midfielder to fix Graham Potter’s problems.