West Ham were close to signing midfield target last season

Recently, West Ham have completed the signing of Carlos Soler, which is the ninth new addition to the squad in this summer transfer window. Soler is a calm and composed box-to-box midfielder who can contribute in both attack as well as defence, making him a quality midfield option for manager Julen Lopetegui. The need to sign Soler stems from the fact that James Ward Prowse, who joined Nottingham Forest on a season long loan, isn't great at creating chances from the build up play despite being one of the best set piece specialists in the Premier League.

Ward Prowse arrived at the London Stadium last season in a £30 million transfer move from Southampton, and scored seven goals and provided eleven assists for the Hammers in his debut season. This is a great performance while joining a new club, however, West Ham could have signed their preferred midfield target over Ward Prowse last summer. According to The Athletic, West Ham technical director Tim Steidten wanted to bring in a versatile deep lying playmaker and considered the idea of signing French midfielder Youssouf Fofana.

West Ham were close to signing midfield target last season

However, manager David Moyes wasn't convinced of the former Monaco star and opted to sign Ward Prowse over the 25-year-old defensive midfielder. Fofana has been one of the best holding midfielders in the French league, with his blistering pace and the ability to win the possession and make several key passess from the midfield. The Hammers needed an all round midfielder who can contribute in the build up play as well as cover the base of the midfield, thus, were interested in signing him in this transfer window as well.

However, Fofana had agreed personal terms with Italian giants Milan, and joined the seven time UEFA Champions League winners this season. Therefore, West Ham signed Argentina star Guido Rodriguez on a free transfer and now added Carlos Soler on a season long loan transfer from Paris Saint-Germain as well. However, the report revealed that West Ham could have signed Fofana for a relatively less transfer fee last season than what Milan had offered Monaco to sign him in this transfer window.

Although West Ham missed out on signing Fofana, they have assembled a decent midfield for this season. Further, the Hammers need to improve their performance in the upcoming matches after conceding a 3-1 defeat against Manchester City, which is their second defeat in three games in the Premier League.