Club’s ambitions put to the test with Duran contract

The next few weeks are shaping up to be extremely important for West Ham United.

In Julen Lopetegui they have a manager who has already shown he is prepared to leave a position (at Wolves) if he is not convinced he will get the necessary support.

So far, the new man in charge has only seen Max Kilman, his former captain at Wolverhampton, an inexperienced and untested Luis Guilherme and an ageing goalkeeper, Wes Foderingham, through the door at the London Stadium.

Lopetegui may not attract his favourite targets at West Ham

This is not really the transfer business of a supposedly progressive team.

Indeed, the club’s true ambitions will soon be put under scrutiny.

The club appear to have lost out on the transfer of Bayern Munich’s Noussair Mazraoui and according to GOAL, Man United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka has turned down the opportunity to play for the club.

The Irons are understood to be keen to sign Colombian striker Jhon Duran from Premier League rivals Aston Villa. However, there remains one obstacle.

According to The Standard, Villa are expecting £40million for the hitman, more than double what they paid for him in January 2023.

Given that the Hammers had already offered £32m plus Lewis Orford, they are not that far off from where Villa want them to be – and yet it appears the club are still dragging their feet.

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For all the talk of West Ham being a great club, the proof will be in how they manage to get this deal done and give Lopetegui the players he needs.

If they continue to miss out on targets because David Sullivan is unwilling to take negotiations further, then fans will have their answer as to exactly where the Hammers sit in the food chain.