A super summer start for West Ham both on and off the field…
Walker-Peters thrived last season in Russell Martin’s side’s promotion charge, making 43 Championship appearances and contributing to six goals. The former Tottenham full-back is expected to leave St Mary’s this summer, with West Ham said to be one of a number of interested parties.
The Hammers could now be in an ideal position to land the player, with Southampton closing in on the signing of Japanese right-back Yukinari Sugawara from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar. This evident succession planning suggests the club are preparing for life without Walker-Peters, with West Ham understood to be advancing in talks to sign the England international.
Southampton are reportedly proposing an interesting deal involving West Ham’s Flynn Downes. TalkSport suggest that the south coast club want £10 million plus Downes in exchange for Walker-Peters, with the latter entering the final 12 months of his contract.
Downes spent the duration of last campaign on loan at St. Mary’s, making 37 appearances throughout the successful Saints season. Martin views the English midfielder as an integral part of his possession-oriented system, and is eager to secure his services on a permanent basis.
With the likes of James Ward-Prowse, Edson Alvarez and Tomas Soucek all already at Julen Lopetegui’s disposal, the Spaniard may feel Downes is surplus to requirements, thus making this proposal appealing to the east Londoners. Lopetegui is keen on upgrading Vladimir Coufal, with the Czech entering the latter stages of his career, and believes Walker-Peters is the ideal replacement.
