Need to Know Info About West Ham’s Latest Centre-Back Target
By Adam Smith
With Vladimir Coufal over the line, West Ham need to continue to complete business to strengthen the team before the deadline. This latest linked player would do just fine in claret and blue.
Half of the fullback depth West Ham need to improve has been taken care of with Vladimir Coufal joining the Hammers. With attention now spread to left-back, centre-back, and forward, David Sullivan has some hefty work to do to support David Moyes.
The latest name linked with a move to East London is Croatian centre-back Duje Caleta-Car from Ligue 1’s Marseille. Rumours of this deal emerged yesterday and have intensified overnight with the Hammers appearing set on completing this move.
The initial offer of £20m-£25m for Caleta-Car is believed to be too low based on Marseille’s valuation of him at £35m, however, a few external pressures could make this move more likely to happen.
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Firstly, financial fair play regulations put Marseille in a position where they need to offload some players to meet the requirements in order to not face sanctions or bans.
Secondly, Marseille, who paid £15m in 2018 for Caleta-Car from RB Salzburg, are in some financial worry at the moment. Cashing in on a player to balance their internal books now may allow them more freedom to operate in the future.
Third and lastly, Caleta-Car is believed to be pushing for the move to happen. He reportedly wants Champions League football with Marseille, but a move to the Premier League with West Ham has him putting pressure on his club to make the move happen, as confirmed by ExWHUemployee.
Need to Know Information
So, why should we all be excited at the prospect of signing Duje Caleta-Car from Marseille? Well, he is a centre-back and his name isn’t Craig Dawson! No shot at the player himself, but Caleta-Car is coming from a strong side in France and has marquee value to his name due to his strong resume thus far.
As mentioned, he has a strong history of top-flight football for a 24-year-old. He grew up in the Croatian Leagues before joining FC Leifering in Austria. This move ushered him to Austrian titan RB Salzburg where he then joined Marseille from three years later.
His move to Marseille was on the back of his emergence in the Croatian national team. He was capped 43 times in the U23 levels and earned a place in the 2018 World Cup team at the senior level where he has six caps now.
Having earned the title “The Croatian Sentinal,” Caleta-Car’s playstyle naturally relies on his size. At 6’4″, he is a monster in the air and impacts the game at both ends of the pitch relying on his physicality. This season he already has two goals in five matches for Marseille.
While he isn’t the most confident and settled on the ball, his interception rate sees him recover possession extremely well, and he will also maraud forward which would suit West Ham’s three-at-the-back style of play with two other centre-backs anchoring him.
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Overall, the potential signing of Caleta-Car would sort Moyes’ central defence, get supporters to ease up on the board’s lack of spending, and would allow for some low-cost or loan deals to fill out the rest of the squads’ needs. With little time left, there is no reason for West Ham to dither on this player.