West Ham appear to be moving closer to the signing of centre-back Dan-Axel Zagadou.
David Moyes has already brought in Nayef Aguerd and Thilo Kehrer to strengthen his options in defence but with uncertainty surrounding the future of Craig Dawson, who could be let go in January, it appears that the east London club are intent on bringing in a replacement.
According to te Portuguese transfer guru Pedro Almeida, who posted on Twitter, the Hammers are in ‘direct talks’ with the former Borussia Dortmund defender having been previously linked with the Frenchman this summer.
He tweeted: “Zagadou (to) West Ham. English club is in direct talks with French player’s agent.”
The 23-year-old made 92 appearances for Borussia Dortmund before his contract expired at the end of last season.
That was across a span of five seasons though, as Zagadou struggled with injury.
Knee surgery back in 2021 kept him out for almost 200 days but the underlying numbers suggest that when he is available he can be a very dependable player at the back.
Over the past year, he ranks in the 99th percentile among centre-backs across Europe for passes attempted with a 89.2% pass completion rate, while also ranking in the top 10% for aerials won (4.66), progressive carries (5.14), and progressive passes 4.58 per 90 minutes (Fbref).
His ex-teammate Julian Brandt dubbed his performance against Union Berlin earlier this year as ‘unbelievable’ and he could prove to be a fantastic pick-up for the Irons, especially on a free transfer.
