West Ham United were well aware that they would be losing Declan Rice this summer. They held on to the England midfielder for as long as they possibly could and it was inevitable that the 24-year-old would finally be moving on to bigger and better things in this transfer window.
Rice ultimately got his switch to Arsenal last month, with the Gunners forking out an eye-watering £105 million for the West Ham captain’s services — making him the most expensive English player ever and the second most expensive player in Premier League history behind Chelsea’s winter signing Enzo Fernandez.
The Hammers have the resources to find a suitable replacement for Rice but have thus far failed to attract anyone to the London Stadium, and with the start of the Premier League season just around the corner, alarm bells might start ringing for David Moyes and the club’s hierarchy as they begin to look less favourable in the football betting.
West Ham are also in desperate need of a new forward and a defender, and as time goes on, they might find themselves going down the route of panic buying. Before they get to that stage though, let’s take a look at some of the suitable options that are out there to fill the void of Rice.
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Conor Gallagher
A player West Ham have reportedly already submitted a bid for, with Chelsea turning down their £40m offer, Conor Gallagher appears to be at the top of Moyes’ list. The England midfielder made everyone sit up and take notice during loan spells at West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace before finally breaking into the Chelsea squad last season — making 35 league appearances for the Blues.
He’s been heavily involved under new Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino during the West London side’s summer tour of the United States and is believed to want to fight for his place at Stamford Bridge. But with talk of Moises Caicedo arriving from Brighton still on the cards, Gallagher’s head could be turned by West Ham.
James Ward-Prowse
Another English midfielder the Hammers have been chasing in this transfer window, West Ham looked to capitalise on the fact Southampton were relegated last season by reportedly submitting a bid of just £20m for the Saints’ captain James Ward-Prowse — which was immediately rejected by the St. Mary’s board as they are not willing to be lowballed.
It is believed they would be willing to listen to offers of around £35-40m, which doesn’t seem too unreasonable for an England international with plenty of experience in the Premier League and promise of goals through his elite dead-ball ability. But the latest reports are West Ham have walked away from that deal.
Scott McTominay
The Eric ten Hag revolution has continued at Old Trafford this summer as the Dutchman aims to build a squad capable of being one of the favourites in the Premier League winner odds and he is willing to do whatever that takes. That’s proven by the fact he has already shown Red Devils stalwart David de Gea the exit this summer and Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay could follow.
Both could be plying their trade at the London Stadium this coming season, with West Ham already having a bid rejected for Maguire. McTominay has been a first-team regular for Man United for a number of seasons now, but he made his lowest number of Premier League appearances since 2019 last year and with Mason Mount’s arrival, the 26-year-old has fallen further down the pecking order.
Fulham’s Joao Palhinha, Denis Zakaria — who had a failed loan stint at Chelsea last season — and Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez are some of West Ham’s other targets.
