{"id":567038,"date":"2020-09-24T06:16:46","date_gmt":"2020-09-24T10:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=567038"},"modified":"2020-09-24T06:16:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-24T10:16:46","slug":"report-west-ham-united-target-defender-joe-rodon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/09\/24\/report-west-ham-united-target-defender-joe-rodon\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: West Ham United Target Defender Joe Rodon"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Ham United<\/a> have joined Manchester United<\/a> in the race to sign Swansea City<\/a> defender Joe Rodon<\/a>, according to \u00a0Jacob Steinberg of The Guardian.<\/a><\/p>\n

Following three unsuccessful bids<\/a> for Burnley\u2019s James Tarkowski,<\/a> the Hammers appear to have turned their attentions elsewhere in the search for defensive reinforcements.<\/p>\n

Welsh international Rodon is reportedly one of several defenders on the club\u2019s radar, alongside highly-rated St-Etienne youngster Wesley Fofana<\/a> and Arsenal\u2019s<\/a> Calum Chambers.<\/p>\n

Joe Rodon the Latest Defender Targeted by West Ham United<\/h2>\n

Right Fit for the Hammers<\/h3>\n

Despite being limited to just 21 appearances last season through injury, Rodon has attracted interest from several Premier League clubs.<\/p>\n

After breaking into the Swans\u2019 first-team in 2018, the 22-year old has made 50 Championship appearances for the club and been capped four times for Wales.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

‘Depressed’ Owner Warns More Signings May Not Arrive<\/h3>\n

Despite being linked to several signings this summer, including Chelsea’s <\/a>Emerson Palmieri<\/a> and Brentford\u2019s Said Benrahma<\/a>, it has been a quiet summer at the London Stadium.<\/p>\n

Midfielder Tomas Soucek<\/a> is the only new arrival, joining from Slavia Prague in July following a successful loan spell with the Hammers last season.<\/p>\n

However, owner David Sullivan has suggested that, despite making several offers, the club\u2019s \u201climited funds\u201d could prevent any further spending.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Talksport (via The Guardian<\/a>), he said: \u201cWe have a number of bids in for players, but teams don\u2019t want to lose them. These are players at decent-sized clubs outside the UK.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a very unbalanced squad. We\u2019ve now got the funds to buy a player or two, but unfortunately the players the manager wants we can\u2019t get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referencing the failed Tarkowski bids, he added: \u201cWe\u2019ve got limited funds. If we had \u00a3400 million to spend and you spend 10% of it – \u00a340 million\u2013 on a 28-year old centre-back from a Premier League club who will remain nameless; at \u00a340 million you\u2019d probably get the player out.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor 10% of your budget it would probably made sense but to spend your entire budget\u2026 We\u2019ve also got the fact we\u2019ll probably get no gate money for the rest of the season and we\u2019ve got to keep the club afloat.<\/p>\n

\u201cI cannot say for sure that we are going to sign anybody. As each day passes I am getting more depressed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Main Photo
\nEmbed from Getty Images<\/a>