£6.4 million Ex-West Ham transfer target thriving in the Europa League

Although West Ham brought a new right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, in this summer transfer window, the Hammers had been inconsistent at the right side of the defense in the previous two seasons. Last season Vladimir Coufal struggled to defend against quality Premier League forwards having blistering pace; however, his inconsistent start two seasons ago in the 2022/23 league campaign led the Hammers to consider bringing in another fullback to provide more quality and squad depth to the defense. 

£6.4 million Ex-West Ham transfer target thriving in the Europa League

One of the players who attracted transfer interest from West Ham was Switzerland international Kevin Mbabu. Mbabu joined Premier League side Fulham in 2022 in a £6.4 million transfer move from Bundesliga side Wolfsburg but often played as a second-choice right-back for Marco Silva's side after Kenny Tete. 

Thus, in search of more playing time, Mbabu wanted to join a new club on a loan move in January last year, and West Ham was also involved in transfer talks with Fulham during the final week of that transfer window. Although a move to West Ham didn't materialize, Mbabu joined Servette on a six-month loan transfer instead, where he became the regular starter at the right side of the defense. 

Mbabu gave three assists in 18 league matches as Servette finished second in the league table. After that, Mbabu joined Augsburg on a loan move next season, and this season, he signed for Danish side Midtjylland on a free transfer, where he is currently thriving. 

The 29-year-old made his Midtjylland debut in a memorable 2-1 win over Copenhagen and has started in all five league matches for the club since his arrival. Recently, Mbabu scored his first Midtjylland goal in a 2-0 win over Aarhus to lead his team to the first position in the league table after 13 matches.

Further, Mbabu has also kept two UEFA Europa League clean sheets for Midtjylland, as they are currently seventh in the European competition after two wins and a draw from the first three matches. Hence, signing Mbabu could have been a great decision from West Ham, as the Switzerland international is an all-round fullback who can contribute in both the defense as well as the attack. 

Moreover, Mbabu can play as a left-back and could have provided more squad depth to Julen Lopetegui's squad after Emerson's inconsistent start in the ongoing Premier League campaign. However, that isn't the case, and it remains to be seen whether West Ham will decide to bring in a new left-back in the January transfer window if Emerson's defensive struggles continue in the upcoming league fixtures.