On transfer deadline day, West Ham United were desperate to bring in a centre-back. They were linked with Wout Faes and Ben Cabango. However, they ended up signing Morato on loan from Nottingham Forest.
Morato, whom West Ham have the option to buy permanently, has so far been deployed as a left-back. Dinos Mavropanos and Max Kilman have been the starting partnership in the centre. Mavropanos has continued his great form from last season. Kilman looks to have his confidence back playing at the Championship.
Faes ended up staying at Leicester City, but has since joined the UAE Pro League side Shabab AlAhli Dubai FC. Cabango has continued to captain Swansea City, so they are unlikely to let him go in January. The Hammers have also been linked again with Dylan Lawlor of Cardiff City.
Rav van den Berg of FC. Köln was reportedly also a target for West Ham over the summer. EXPRESS has revealed (translated from German) that "the London club will make another attempt in January and submit a concrete offer to FC Köln. There are even specific figures circulating, exceeding €15 million."
Van den Berg's value will have dropped after a difficult spell in the Bundesliga. He began his career with PEC Zwolle in the Netherlands before transferring to Middlesbrough. There, he played under former Hammer, Michael Carrick, and was Boro's player of the season for the 2023/24 campaign.
Rav van den Berg would be a versatile option for West Ham United
The centre-back then joined Köln last year, but has played just 14 times for the Bundesliga side. The Netherlands Under-21 player has yet to feature for them this season. A return to the Championship, where he excelled for Boro, could be what the player needs.
He is predominantly a centre-back but can also play on the right. Therefore, he will also provide competition for Kyle Walker-Peters and Joel Veltman. The Dutchman is from a footballing family and is the brother of Brentford player Sepp van den Berg.
West Ham needs defenders to help them get out of the Championship. It is a gruelling campaign, so additions may be needed in January. This is despite West Ham's director of player recruitment, Nils Koppen, downplaying much movement in the window in the recent episode of Iron Cast.
Koppen said, when chatting with Chris Scull and James Collins, "You don’t want to do too much in January. I think we have very like in-depth squad right now. I think it’s quite balanced. We’re assessing right now with the manager like what are the positions where like if you want to make a step again."
Van den Berg, who is just 22, could be a great long-term option for West Ham. His versatility could be a real asset for Nuno Espírito Santo in the second half of this Championship campaign.
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