The time is perfect for West Ham to make their moves with Chelsea

Move over Samir Nasri, Chelsea’s splash signing of Borussia Dortmund’s Christian Pulisic has taken all of the headlines in the early transfer window. With a ton of cash tied up in the deal, Chelsea could be ripe for the picking on their fringe players and West Ham could benefit from the opportunity.

There are three players of note that West Ham are linked with from Chelsea, all three varying in their probability of likeliness. The first is very unlikely – Ruben Loftus-Cheek, the second makes sense but is convoluted – Michy Batshuayi, and the third is most likely – Danny Drinkwater.

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Ruben Loftus-Cheek

Ruben Loftus-Cheek has been attracting a lot of attention at Chelsea after appearing in England’s World Cup squad in Russia and stepping out from the midfield shadows for the Blues in the Europa League. The powerful midfielder has defied odds and has not been sent on loan this season but isn’t getting regular playing time, opening the door for transfer rumors if not a move away from his club.

West Ham are serious contenders should the player become available for loan or transfer. Board member David Gold has stressed the importance for West Ham to bolster the team with a strong English core and with Mark Noble, Declan Rice, Jack Wilshere, Andy Carroll, Aaron Cresswell, and Grady Diangana all featuring in the first team, this plan is well on its well.

RLC is unlikely to go to West Ham as Chelsea seem reluctant to make a mistake on letting him go. This season he has scored 3 goals in 5 Europa League matches and has also added 3 goals in 8 Premier League games proving his value and making a decision to let him go difficult to make. He has taken his limited opportunities when they’ve come but needs regular starting time to make his transition to an elite level player.

A loan move seems like the only way this move would happen but the Hammers would we wise to negotiate a buy clause on the deal even if it stretched into the £20-£30m range. Having a midfield that features Rice and Loftus-Cheek could transform West Ham from midtable team to top-six contender, with a midfield duo that is young and tenacious. I would go all on for this player.

Michy Batshuayi

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The often loaned away striker has been linked with West Ham for the seemingly 600th time since his departure from Marseille. He joined Chelsea for £33m at 22-years-old but hasn’t come close to the heights they hoped he could reach. With his second loan in the same calendar year (Dortmund in January, Valencia in September), there seems to be no future for the Belgian striker with the Blues and the right offer could see him recalled and available this month.

He hasn’t had a strong year so far for Valencia in Spain’s LaLiga, scoring just 3 goals in 21 matches across all competitions. Valencia sit safely in 8th in the league and seem to be fine not using or relying on Batshuayi as their main offensive output. This regression has come as a surprise after Batshuayi’s breakout loan in Germany where he scored 7 goals in 10 matches.

Indicative of his career so far, Batshuayi has been unpredictable and thus unreliable, making it hard for Chelsea to commit to him. With West Ham low on striker options (even more so with Chicharito out a few weeks now) the Hammers should be in the market for centre-forwards. With funds tied up until September a loan-to-buy deal may be most likely should this deal come to fruition.

Danny Drinkwater

The most likely of the Chelsea trio is former Premier League winner with Leicester City, Danny Drinkwater. The midfielder was absolutely imperative in the Foxes unlikely rise to infamy, earning himself a move to Chelsea ahead of last season for a whopping £35m fee. Since then, Drinkwater appeared in just 12 Premier League matches under Antonio Conte, five starts and seven subs, and has only played in 30 minutes of one Community Shield match for Maurizio Sarri this season.

This is an utter waste of a talented midfielder who deserves more minutes in the Premier League. West Ham could provide that option for the player who would be an interesting option beside Declan Rice in the midfield duo. Again, West Ham would probably look for a loan deal for Drinkwater to see if he is worth signing before committing to the player in the summer where transfer fees are a bit more reasonable, but should Chelsea feel the need to recoup some of the money they spent on Christian Pulisic, a bargain price could seal a permanent move.

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There is a certain connection between the two London clubs who seem keen to do business together when they can. This mutual respect could land the Irons above other teams on the pecking order of loan recipients should they be interested.

With young striker Tammy Abraham rumored to have been recalled from Aston Villa and sold to Wolves, and the Premier League restricting the number of loans a club can have next season, the Blues may want to take up West Ham on a few offers to get players off their books. One man’s Drinkwater could be another man’s Kante, at least West Ham hope so!

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