{"id":643482,"date":"2024-07-19T18:46:16","date_gmt":"2024-07-19T22:46:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=643482"},"modified":"2024-07-19T18:50:27","modified_gmt":"2024-07-19T22:50:27","slug":"west-ham-express-interest-midfielder-ngolo-kante","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2024\/07\/19\/west-ham-express-interest-midfielder-ngolo-kante\/","title":{"rendered":"West Ham Express Interest in \u2018Fantastic\u2019 International Midfielder – Julen Lopetegui Is a Long-Term Admirer"},"content":{"rendered":"

West Ham United have expressed interest in French midfielder N’Golo Kant\u00e9 and are in talks with Al-Ittihad for a reported \u00a320 million fee, according to\u00a0<\/span>Will Unwin<\/span><\/a>\u00a0of The Guardian.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hammers Express Interest in\u00a0N’Golo <\/span>Kant\u00e9<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

West Ham Target Al-Ittihad Key Player<\/span><\/h3>\n

West Ham\u2019s interest in Kant\u00e9 appears to signify the club’s interest in strengthening their midfield. Since\u00a0<\/span>Declan Rice\u2019s move<\/span><\/a>\u00a0to London rivals Arsenal in July 2023, West Ham have been seemingly short in that area. Kant\u00e9\u2019s tireless work rate, defensive prowess, and ability to break up opposition attacks make him an ideal candidate.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 33-year-old described as\u00a0<\/span>“fantastic”<\/span><\/a>\u00a0needs no introduction. His performances for Leicester City and Chelsea have solidified his reputation as one of the best midfielders in the world. His relentless ball-winning abilities, exceptional passing range, and leadership qualities would significantly enhance West Ham\u2019s midfield. The Frenchman\u2019s\u00a0<\/span>Euro 2024 campaign<\/span><\/a>\u00a0helped remind the world of his midfield abilities, securing back-to-back Man of the Match awards against Ralf Ragnick\u2019s Austria and Ronald Koeman\u2019s Netherlands.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>West Ham to Join Race for Exceptional ‘One-on-One’ Defender<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

However, securing Kant\u00e9’s services won\u2019t be easy. The Saudi Pro League side, Al-Ittihad, where the Frenchman currently plays, values him highly and considers him a key player for the club. Negotiating a deal with the Saudi Arabian club will require West Ham to dig deep into their pockets. With Premier League clubs being cautious of FFP rules, it remains to be seen whether West Ham will fork out an amount higher than \u00a320 million should Al Ittihad demand more.<\/span><\/p>\n

Why West <\/span>Ham<\/span> Interest in\u00a0<\/span>Kant\u00e9 Makes Sense<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n

If the transfer goes through, West Ham fans can expect Kant\u00e9 <\/span>to seamlessly fit into their midfield<\/span>. His ability to shield the defence, intercept passes, and distribute the ball efficiently would improve the team\u2019s overall performance. Kant\u00e9’s presence would also offer tactical flexibility for new manager Julen Lopetegui.<\/span><\/p>\n

Read More:<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0<\/span>AC Milan <\/span>Have<\/span> ‘Concrete’ Interest in Champions League Finalist<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The Spanish manager has long admired the Frenchman and wanted to sign the 33-year-old during his brief spell at Real Madrid. The Hammers are interested in signing a new defensive midfielder after Englishman Kalvin Phillips didn’t meet expectations during his\u00a0<\/span>loan spell from Manchester City<\/span><\/a>, and it’s <\/span>highly unlikely<\/span> that West Ham will keep him on a permanent transfer.<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether they can persuade Al-Ittihad to part ways with their key midfielder remains uncertain. However, one thing is clear: Kant\u00e9\u2019s potential arrival would demonstrate West Ham\u2019s intent to compete at the highest level.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

West Ham United have expressed interest in French midfielder N’Golo Kant\u00e9 and are in talks with Al-Ittihad for a reported \u00a320 million fee, according to\u00a0Will Unwin\u00a0of The Guardian. The Hammers Express Interest in\u00a0N’Golo Kant\u00e9 West Ham Target Al-Ittihad Key Player West Ham\u2019s interest in Kant\u00e9 appears to signify the club’s interest in strengthening their midfield. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5151,"featured_media":643488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[27,3,7188],"tags":[175,9377],"class_list":["post-643482","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-west-ham","category-premier-league","category-rumours","tag-ngolo-kante","tag-west-ham-united-transfer-rumours"],"modified_by":"Ricky Carroll, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643482","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5151"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=643482"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/643482\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/643488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=643482"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=643482"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=643482"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}