Since the departure of Lucas Paqueta, West Ham have been void of a creative attacking midfielder. There was some thought that Mateus Fernandes could bear the burden in the interim, but after being relegated, Tottenham swooped in with 85 million pounds and eliminated that possibility. For those of you wondering why Nuno Espírto Santo was so keen on keeping Paqueta for the season, it is because his system needs and relies on a number 10.
If Saturday’s pre-season draw with Southend United was any indication, Nuno needs that position filled and fast. He used three options to help the attack; one was using Kieber LaMadrid in various switches and attacks from the left and center of the pitch. The other was playing Lewis Orford in a more attacking position, even though he’s more adept at being a deep-lying midfielder. The last option is wavering with each practice. While George Earthy had 2 decent spells in the Championship, he hasn’t been a fit in Nuno’s system.
The need for an attacking midfielder was also made evident when we saw Pablo Felipe, a natural forward, playing behind Taty Castellanos. That spot was meant for Paqueta or, at the very least, a creative midfielder who can open lanes and distribute appropriately. No offense to Pablo, but he just isn’t that. A return to a more familiar number 9 role, whether in rotation with Taty or coming off the bench to replace him when necessary, should actually do him some good. You may even see Nuno switch to a 2-forward system even with a number 10. No matter which way he decides to line up his squad, he will need one.
GSH lined up the best options for Nuno and Technical Director Nils Koppen. Here are some realistic targets to fill the role, some West Ham may already be in talks with.
1. Evander — FC Cincinnati (Major League Soccer)
Replace one Brazilian playmaker with another. West Ham are considering a £15 million move for FC Cincinnati's Evander, the Brazilian playmaker who has produced nine goals and six assists in 14 MLS appearances this season, competing with Napoli for his signature.
Koppen will be aware of Evander's talents as he shone during a spell at Copenhagen's Danish rivals Midtjylland, where he scored an impressive 50 goals and laid on 38 assists from midfield before earning a move to MLS with Portland Timbers. A brilliant 24 goals and 19 assists saw Cincinnati pay £10.5 million for Evander's services, and his unbelievable goal contribution record continued apace as he notched up 22 goals and 17 assists in 43 appearances last season.
At 28, under contract until December 2027, this is a player at the peak of his powers and a genuine number 10 who can unlock defences and score goals. Whether MLS numbers translate directly to Championship physicality is the honest question. But Koppen knows him. The interest is real. This could be Evander’s last chance to join a big project with aspirations to be promoted to a league he’s always dreamed of playing in.
2. Sydie Peck — Sheffield United (The Championship)
This is one of the most sourced pursuits of West Ham's entire window. "West Ham continue to explore transfer options and the interest in Sydie Peck of Sheffield United remains," ExWHUEmployee stated. "He was a target prior to the appointment of Nils Koppen and he remains one now. It is thought the club could test the Blades' resolve in coming days with an offer."
Peck made 40 Championship appearances last season and chipped in with five goals and four assists. He is 21, born in London, a product of Arsenal's academy, and was nominated for the Championship's young player of the year award.
The honest concern: Peck's contract at Bramall Lane runs until at least 2028, with Sheffield United holding an option for another year. Paying close to £25 million as a straight fee would be a much bigger statement, especially with other areas of the squad still needing work. But he is Championship-proven, England under-21 level, and London-born.
3. Christoph Baumgartner — RB Leipzig (Bundesliga)
He’s a name that we haven’t heard about in the transfer rumors. It would also be hard to believe that Baumgartner would leave a Champions League qualifying club for The Championship. However, the 26-year-old Austrian attacking midfielder has just completed the best club season of his career. He tallied seven league goals in his first two seasons at Leipzig following his six-year stint at Hoffenheim, and finished 2025/26 with 13 Bundesliga goals and eight assists, partly filling the voids left by both Xavi Simons and Benjamin Šeško following their summer 2025 departures. That is a 21-goal-involvement season in the Bundesliga.
His current market valuation sits between €13.6 and €16.6 million, but he’s now trending upwards because of last season’s performance. Leipzig paid €25.5 million for him in 2023, and while he performed well last season, reports say they are not happy with the output they’ve been getting since he joined. Coming off his best season, this might be a chance for the German club to get back close to what they spent. His contract runs until June 2028.
For West Ham, this is a player whose profile fits Nuno's 4-2-3-1 like a glove. He’s right-footed, technically elite, a genuine goal and assist threat from the 10 position, and experienced in high-pressure football. The Championship would be comfortably below his ceiling, but it's exactly what you want in your number 10. This might be the kind of deal Koppen is looking for.
4. Lazar Samardžić — Atalanta (Serie A)
Samardžić is 24, technically elite, has Champions League experience, and Atalanta are open to selling at around €20-25 million. This is a fee West Ham can now discuss seriously following the Fernandes sale. He has been used as an advanced playmaker, shadow striker and box-to-box midfielder.
The honest concern: he has never nailed down a regular starting role at a top club, spending large portions of the Atalanta season on the bench. But a player of that calibre, dropped into a Championship 10 role where he starts every game, has the profile to be the difference between promotion and the play-offs. At £20 million, the Fernandes money makes it doable.
5. Gio Reyna — Borussia Mönchengladbach (Bundesliga)
Reyna is riding the wave of the World Cup. His goal in stoppage time against Paraguay has many clubs wondering if he’s been misused at his most recent stops with Nottingham Forest and Borussia Mönchengladbach. His club career shows a stark difference in play from his international career with USA. He played just 510 Bundesliga minutes this season, four starts, one goal. He is under contract at Gladbach until 2028 with a market valuation depressed by limited minutes; the fee is achievable, and the profile for Nuno's ten role is almost perfect.
The Championship would provide 46 games, which means there will be enough playing time to see if he can make the most of his last chance in Europe. A loan move might suit both clubs with an option to buy if he helps West Ham achieve promotion. Someone will call Gladbach about Reyna this summer, most likely for a loan. West Ham should be first.
6. Rubin Colwill — Cardiff City (The Championship)
Here is the one name on this list guaranteed to thrive in the second tier, because he already does. Colwill is a Welsh international attacking midfielder who has consistently produced creative output in the Championship and who, at 23 years old, is approaching his peak. He is left-footed, technically refined, and carries the kind of physical resilience, built through years of Championship football, that a player arriving from continental Europe might take months to develop. Cardiff might want to keep the player now that he has helped them get promoted, but Cardiff needs to also offload one or two players so that they can fill some needs and keep themselves from going back to League One. He is the realistic, Championship-proven option if Koppen's continental targets don't materialise. He shouldn’t be overlooked.
7. Harvey Elliott — Liverpool (Premier League)
A move to Aston Villa last season backfired. Because of a clause that would obligate Villa to buy Elliott should he exceed 10 Premier League appearances. Villa manager Unai Emery knew within 5 appearances that while Elliott certainly could feature at the club, buying him and committing to him was not something he was prepared to do. Elliott suffered from riding the bench all season until he was recalled. The loan spell was a failure, leaving him in limbo. Liverpool aren’t prepared to commit to Elliott, so this should be a clean loan opportunity.
Before Villa came in for Elliott and before West Ham confirmed the services of Fernandes, a deal for Elliott was talked about. He’s certainly on their radar; all he needs now is the playing time. Several top-flight clubs have shown an interest, with Brentford, Brighton and Newcastle all taking a wait and see how the summer window goes. None can offer Elliott what he needs most: playing time. He does fit Nuno’s system. He’s a left-footed, technically precise player whose best football came while at Blackburn during the Championship. He was only 17 years of age but knocked in 7 goals and assisted on 11 more. A return to the second tier should give him the reps he needs.
8. Arne Engels — Celtic (Scottish Premier League)
Nils Koppen got a really good look at Arne Engels while he served as the Director of Recruitment at Rangers. Engels has developed into one of the best creative players in Scotland’s top tier. At 22, the Belgian has been a consistent creative player in a league that demands both technical quality and physical robustness; he carries a profile that translates to the Championship.
His ability to dictate tempo, find passes in tight spaces and arrive late into the box makes him a natural ten in a 4-2-3-1 system. Celtic's asking price won't be cheap — Scottish clubs have learned to command serious fees for their best assets — but for a player of his age and trajectory, the investment is justified if the club structures the fee correctly.
9. Diego Luna — Real Salt Lake (Major League Soccer)
GSH has looked at Luna before, in a post about five Americans who can help West Ham through this season’s Championship campaign. At 22 years of age, he was the centrepiece of Nike's World Cup promotional campaigns, a USMNT regular with 16 caps and seven goal contributions in 2025 alone. Then Mauricio Pochettino left him off the final 26-man squad, choosing Gio Reyna instead. As stated above, Reyna was a player who had scored just one goal in 510 Bundesliga minutes all season. The omission is still mystifying to USMNT fans.
Real Salt Lake manager and former USMNT international, Pablo Mastroeni, could barely contain his disbelief: "In 2025, the national team really leaned on him, both as an attacking player and as a mentality piece. I just think that in a World Cup where you need a difference maker… some guy who's gonna come into a game where the stage will never be too big, I just thought that Luna made sense."
Luna is left-footed, cuts inside from the right, presses with ferocity, creates chaos in tight spaces and scores goals. He recorded 10 goals and three assists in 32 appearances in the MLS last season. His market value sits at €6-8 million. It won’t be easy to pry him away, but the rage, the hunger, the chip on the shoulder and a chance to play for a big London club, albeit in the Championship, should raise his profile. Meaning it should be a move he wants to make. His motor is non-stop, clearly a quality Nuno likes based on his trust in players like Pablo, Taty and Adama Traorè. He’s the type of player West Ham fans will fall in love with because of effort, and it's the type of energy that is infectious on the pitch.
10. Gustavo Sá — Famalicão (Liga Portugal)
Earlier in the transfer window, he was linked to West Ham, but then everyone got wise to it and realized it was just a way for super agent Jorge Mendes to bring some attention to a newly signed client. While some other clubs seem to be closing in on Famalicão midfielder Gustavo Sá, the West Ham whispers have cooled. The Portuguese midfielder is valued at around £17.5 million.
He does play as a creative central midfielder in a style that suits Nuno's system. However, the rumors began before Koppen was hired. Since joining, there have been no indications that Sá coming to East London is even possible. While he would be a glamour signing, he would be incredibly effective in the Championship. He is exactly the type of number 10 the club needs, but he may want a move to FC Porto or Sporting Lisbon first. This is the one move that would excite fans over all other options.
In a summer window where patience is wearing thin among 50,000 season ticket holders waiting for news, West Ham’s biggest void is pace and creativity in the middle of the pitch. An attacking number 10 is not just a need; it’s an absolute must.
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