West Ham United have joined Manchester United in the race to sign Swansea City defender Joe Rodon, according to Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian.
Following three unsuccessful bids for Burnley’s James Tarkowski, the Hammers appear to have turned their attentions elsewhere in the search for defensive reinforcements.
Welsh international Rodon is reportedly one of several defenders on the club’s radar, alongside highly-rated St-Etienne youngster Wesley Fofana and Arsenal’s Calum Chambers.
Joe Rodon the Latest Defender Targeted by West Ham United
Right Fit for the Hammers
Despite being limited to just 21 appearances last season through injury, Rodon has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs.
After breaking into the Swans’ first-team in 2018, the 22-year old has made 50 Championship appearances for the club and been capped four times for Wales.
The right-sided centre-back could be the perfect fit for the Hammers, who desperately need to strengthen their defence after dropping 26 points from winning positions last season.
‘Depressed’ Owner Warns More Signings May Not Arrive
Despite being linked to several signings this summer, including Chelsea’s Emerson Palmieri and Brentford’s Said Benrahma, it has been a quiet summer at the London Stadium.
Midfielder Tomas Soucek is the only new arrival, joining from Slavia Prague in July following a successful loan spell with the Hammers last season.
However, owner David Sullivan has suggested that, despite making several offers, the club’s “limited funds” could prevent any further spending.
Speaking to Talksport (via The Guardian), he said: “We have a number of bids in for players, but teams don’t want to lose them. These are players at decent-sized clubs outside the UK.
“We’ve got a very unbalanced squad. We’ve now got the funds to buy a player or two, but unfortunately the players the manager wants we can’t get.”
Referencing the failed Tarkowski bids, he added: “We’ve got limited funds. If we had £400 million to spend and you spend 10% of it – £40 million– on a 28-year old centre-back from a Premier League club who will remain nameless; at £40 million you’d probably get the player out.
“For 10% of your budget it would probably made sense but to spend your entire budget… We’ve also got the fact we’ll probably get no gate money for the rest of the season and we’ve got to keep the club afloat.
“I cannot say for sure that we are going to sign anybody. As each day passes I am getting more depressed.”
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