West Ham United and Julen Lopetegui spent heavily this summer to revamp the squad left behind by David Moyes.
The former Real Madrid boss, in tandem with Tim Steidten, moved quickly in his transfer window in charge at the London Stadium to bolster his ranks in almost every area of the field.
Particularly in attack, there was an emphasis on bolstering the quality of players at Lopetegui’s disposal, with the biggest piece of the puzzle being the signing of German international Niclas Fullkrug.
He wasn’t the only forward of interest to the Hammers however, with both Aston Villa’s Jhon Duran [Fabrizio Romano, 6 June] and Lille forward Jonathan David also catching the eye of those in charge in East London [Florian Plettenberg, 25 June].
Although neither move came to fruition, the Hammers will have been on red alert after David dropped a new hint about his future as he enters the last year of his Lille contract.
As quoted by The Athletic on Sunday (8 September) he said: “What am I waiting for? I guess now it’s easier to say. I’m in the last year of my contract.
“Eventually my contract is going to run out. So then we’ll see. We’ll see what happens next year. Right now we’re speaking with (Lille President Oliver Letang) about a possible extension, we’ll see how that goes.
“I’m open to anything, I think obviously the Premier League is regarded as one of the best leagues in the world. And for me, it’s not the Premier League or bust.
“I’m open to anything and every league has its challenges.”
Will Jonathan David exit Lille amid West Ham transfer rumours?
Although David may have insisted that it isn’t the Premier League or bust for him, his comments suggest that he would be more than open to a move to England in the near future.
Whether or not that will be with the Hammers remains up in the air, but Lopetegui’s project at the London Stadium is clearly enticing for players otherwise they wouldn’t have been this active in the summer.
It will be interesting to see whether or not Steidten and his team explore a move for the Canadian international again in January.
If David doesn’t pen a new deal with Lille, the Irons could secure an absolute bargain if they picked him up on a free transfer at the end of the season.
