West Ham expected to make offer for star & he’d replace Bowen as captain

They are by no means down yet, but even amid their recent upturn, West Ham United are in danger of getting relegated from the Premier League.

Despite cutting the deficit between themselves and 17th-place Nottingham Forest to just two points with Saturday’s win, they are certainly struggling for consistency.

If they do go down, their first-team squad could be raided by Premier League sides looking for some cheap purchases. Club captain Jarrod Bowen is someone who could be on the shopping list of several top clubs, with the England winger very much in the Three Lions’ fold for the World Cup.

Even if they do avoid the drop, the Hammers skipper may well still decide to depart, and the club could be lining up the perfect candidate to replace him.

West Ham expected to make offer for future captain

It seems like the Hammers are already thinking ahead to the future, regardless of survival or relegation. They look set to sign Nuno Espirito Santo’s former winger, Adama Traore, who will join this month.

Indeed, it seems that the free agent route could be one the East Londoners look to go down.

According to CaughtOffside, they are one of the clubs vying to sign Manchester United and England star Harry Maguire, upon the expiry of his contract.

His deal runs out at the end of the season, and it is unclear if he will sign a new deal at Old Trafford.

Thus, he ‘could get offers’ from multiple clubs in the Premier League, including West Ham. Serie A sides Napoli and Roma are also monitoring his contractual situation.

Why Maguire would be a good signing

If the Hammers were to bring Maguire to the London Stadium, they would very much know what they are getting. Described as a “colossal” defender by Statman Dave, the Man United star is a great progressive passer, a good box defender and provides leadership.

This season has been tough for the Red Devils’ number five, who has struggled with injury for much of the campaign. He’s only played 11 times, but he does have two goals to his name, with his set-piece threat a real asset.

There were several occasions in which Maguire bailed out former manager Ruben Amorim with a late goal. He hit the back of the net five times under the Portuguese boss, proving his worth from dead-ball situations.

Despite the fact that this season offers a small sample size, some of the stats highlight just what he can add to the Hammers’ backline.

Maguire averages 17.7 forward passes each game, showing excellent progression, and has won an average of 5.6 duels per 90 minutes.

With that being said, it is leadership, arguably more so than anything, that Maguire will bring to the London Stadium.

Potentially losing Bowen will be a blow for West Ham because of how important he is as a footballer, but he also brings character to the dressing room that could be seen as, in many ways, irreplaceable.

He has been highly talked about as a leader in the past. The right-winger was lauded by former manager Julen Lopetegui, who said he was “exemplary” and credited his “work, behaviour, responsibility” as reasons why.

That comes across well in interviews like this.

If they were to lose him, then signing Maguire as the replacement and seeing him step into the shoes of captaincy, would be a smart piece of business from the Hammers.

Having previously skippered the Red Devils and England, he has been described as a “very good leader” by Bruno Fernandes.

He would bring bags of experience, personality and another voice in the dressing room. That is not even touching on what he could add on the pitch. Even if Bowen were to remain, perhaps a more natural leader like Maguire could take over the armband regardless.

Given he’d be free at the end of the season, the Hammers might not want to miss out on this deal at any cost.

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