Saints fancy West Ham’s Ryan Fredericks
West Ham will be shaken by the news that first-choice right-back has caught the eye of Premier League rivals Southampton.
The Saints are in the market for a new right-back as Cedric has moved to Arsenal and current option Kyle Walker-Peters is only on loan. West Ham’s Ryan Fredericks according to SkySports news is an option for the south-coast side.
The Saints will surely prefer to make Walker-Peters move permanent, but that could prove costly due to Tottenham’s valuation of him. This valuation is likely to have risen since January, especially after his performances for the Saints.
The West Ham defender has become an option for the Saints through the rumours surrounding the Hammers transfer plans. There have been links to Matty Cash, Gonzalo Montiel and Timothy Castagne and it seems it would be only a matter of time until the Hammers make a move for one of those options. This would mean the Fredericks would become surplus to requirements.
Southampton will also be boosted by the fact Fredericks has the same agent as current player Che Adams. That agent is the same man that is one of David Gold and David Sullivan’s “trusted” men, Will Salthouse.
In a market where manager David Moyes will be forced to sell in order to buy. It would make sense to offload a player that can be improved on for a profit, especially as the 27-year-old arrived on a free transfer. Fredericks is valued at £3.6 million and if the Hammers can negotiate a figure of closer £6 million it could be a good sale to make.
Fredericks has produced a mixed bag of performances since signing from Fulham two season ago. The highs of a 10/10 performance against Southampton to making costly errors and suffering multiple injuries have optimized his time at the club. But his position at the club is looking shaky, the inconsistency has out shadowed a lot of the good performances.
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Furthermore, the emergence of Ben Johnson could force Fredericks out of the club quicker. Johnson has impressed in his limited time on the pitch and looks set to be a first-team regular next season.