Tim Steidten has ‘strapping’ signing lined up for West Ham after Julen Lopetegui call

Tim Steidten has ‘strapping’ signing lined up for West Ham after Julen Lopetegui call

The summer transfer window may be closed but West Ham technical director Tim Steidten is already planning the next signing.

The Hammers board gave Tim Steidten and Julen Lopetegui plenty of backing to overhaul the West Ham squad in the summer window.

Over £155m was committed to signing nine new players.

That is of course assuming Jean-Clair Todibo’s deal is made permanent when he starts five Premier League games.

Although who is to say given the rate Lopetegui is using him right now.

In reality it seems only a matter of time before Todibo comes into the Hammers starting XI.

Many fans think that should be against Chelsea this weekend.

Centre-back – and perhaps up front – are two areas West Ham have left themselves a touch light after the big rebuild.

Twelve players departed and four of those – if you include utility central defender Ben Johnson – could play centre-back.

Max Kilman and Todibo came in for a combined total – when the obligation clause is activated – of around £70m.

Steidten has ‘strapping’ signing lined up for West Ham

Lopetegui has made it clear he wants two senior players in every position at West Ham.

But he currently only has three central defenders fitting that description in Todibo, Kilman and Konstantinos Mavropanos.

West Ham’s new head coach recently confirmed he and the club were looking at out of contract players after the transfer window closed.

West Ham were linked with moves for defenders Mats Hummels, Mario Hermoso, John Egan and Joel Matip.

Egan even played a behind-closed-doors friendly for West Ham against Dagenham and Redbridge.

But Lopetegui made the decision not to sign him or – as things stand – Matip.

Instead the club knows Edson Alvarez can fill in there and Academy youngsters Kaelan Casey and Ezra Mayers are waiting in the wings too.

The jury is still very much out on Mavropanos after an inconsistent first year at the club.

Regardless it seems West Ham may need to eventually bring in that fourth central defender.

West Ham putting groundwork in for 6ft 3in Duncan

Now Steidten has a ‘strapping’ signing lined up for West Ham after the Lopetegui call.

The Hammers boss made the ultimate call to go with what he’s got at centre-back. Until January at least.

That has given Steidten time to plot a more sensible signing who can be a player for the future rather than bringing in a player the wrong side of 30 with questionable injury record.

It seems West Ham have already identified the ideal candidate for that role.

That’s according to Sun journalist Alan Nixon.

Because West Ham want to sign a 16-year-old who already stands at a whopping 6ft 3in tall, who is regarded as a potential future England star.

Nixon says Rotherham United centre half Harrison Duncan is on the radar of West Ham.

The only problem for West Ham is that Duncan is so highly-rated Man City want him too.

Therefore Steidten is putting the groundwork in early to try and win the race for a player dubbed the ‘new John Stones’.

Duncan is said to be so good he is on the verge of breaking into Rotherham’s first team under Steve Evans.

“Both Hammers and City are already checking him out in the under-18s as his eye-catching performances cause a stir,” Nixon states on his Patreon.

“Duncan, a strapping 6ft3in, can also score from set pieces and Millers are bracing themselves for major offers.”

Duncan is said to have already caught the eye by dealing with experienced strikers.

This fits Steidten’s Red Bull-esque recruitment philosophy down to the ground. Signing a young, talented star before the elite can get their hands on him.

Man City’s interest is a concern. But a far greater chance of first team football in the near future and involvement in the first team squad would surely give West Ham the edge.