West Ham United claimed their first win of the Premier League season last weekend as Graham Potter’s men picked up a 3-0 success against Nottingham Forest, courtesy of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Callum Wilson.
In spite of clinching the three points with an emphatic scoreline, the Hammers are lacking in quality and were easily undone by Chelsea and Sunderland in their first two games of the campaign, with their engine room particularly struggling with the ball.
A slow and sluggish game in possession has meant that the board might be prepared to sign a midfielder in January with Caught Offside reporting that Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has emerged as an option for the Londoners.
Tottenham Hotspur had also come very close to signing him this summer after triggering his £60 million release clause, but the Nottingham eventually kept hold of the Englishman, who scored seven goals and provided 10 assists in the league last season.
West Ham could have advantage but difficult move to execute
Nottingham Forest highly value Morgan Gibbs-White and their swift response to Tottenham Hotspur’s interest by renewing his contract without a release clause is a testament to how crucial he is for the Tractor Boys.
Although he is rated at £43 million on Transfermarkt, Nottingham could set an exponentially high asking price for the 25-year-old in order to see off interest from elsewhere, so West Ham might need to pay through their nose to sign him in the winter.
Yet, they could hold the advantage over Tottenham Hotspur as the Lilywhites were not only left red-faced by Nottingham’s handling of the situation, but they also went and signed Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig.
Thomas Frank does not need a new midfielder at the moment, not least a player that would exhaust the lion’s share of his transfer budget, so West Ham could actually have the upper hand over their crosstown competitors.
It will be interesting to see if West Ham have the resources to afford Gibbs-White, however.