West Ham United are set to be beaten to the punch by Chelsea in the race to sign a striker on deadline day.
Chelsea and West Ham actually face each other tonight in a flagrant display of unacceptable scheduling from the Premier League.
It is what it is though – Graham Potter and Enzo Maresca will just have to get on with it.
Deadline day is now upon us, with around 16 hours remaining before the January transfer window slams shut.
The Hammers are already on the verge of getting one deal done, with James Ward-Prowse set to be recalled from his loan spell with Nottingham Forest.
However, Chelsea have thrown a spanner in the works regarding another potential Hammers deal for a striker.
Chelsea stun West Ham by hijacking deadline day striker deal
The Blues are set to flex their muscles in the transfer market it seems.
And unfortunately for the Hammers, it means that we are set to miss out on one of our key transfer targets.
The Sun claims that Chelsea are close to signing Hammers target Eli Junior Kroupi from Lorient for £30 million.
The Hammers were said to be deep in talks to bring the teenager to the London Stadium only two days ago.
Now he’s set to join Chelsea unfortunately.
It is unclear as to whether the 18-year-old will remain with the Blues for the remainder of the season after making his move to Stamford Bridge, or return to Lorient on loan.
I’m just not sure what to think about this one.
Have we missed out on a future superstar or avoided taking a big £30 million+ risk on someone who’s unproven in the Premier League?
Chelsea take Eli Junior Kroupi risk that West Ham couldn’t afford
Eli Junior Kroupi may well end up being a £100 million player with Chelsea, and then West Ham will obviously regret not pushing harder to sign him.
There’s no doubt that he’s a real talent. He has blistering pace and incredible movement in abundance.
Oh, and he’s a pretty accomplished finisher as well.
However, it is worth noting that there are absolutely no guarantees that he will succeed at the very highest level of the game.
Chelsea can afford to take the risk of splashing out £30 million to sign a teenager on deadline day, whilst West Ham probably can’t.
That’s just the reality of the contrasting situations at the two clubs.
