West Ham United earmark Kouadio Kone as a priority transfer target ahead of the January transfer window
According to Sport Bild, Premier League side West Ham United have identified Borussia Monchengladbach star Kouadio Kone as a priority transfer target.
The 21-year-old spent several years at various clubs in France before receiving his senior break with Toulouse in 2019. He moved to Gladbach in 2021 and has not started to show off his potential.
A central midfielder, Kone has scored three goals and assisted two more in 43 games for Monchengladbach across all competitions. Primarily a defensive-minded player, the 21-year-old can don the hat in an attacking role.
West Ham United are enduring a difficult season, all the more so given their extravagant summer transfer window. David Moyes’s side are closer to the bottom three than to the top four and have much to do post the World Cup hiatus.
The defeat to Blackburn Rovers at home in the Carabao Cup will only have compounded matters for Moyes and co. The Hammers play Leicester City in their final game of the season before the World Cup in what is an early relegation six-pointer.
Unless performances pick up, reinforcements could be needed in January. The midfield is an area that needs strengthening, and Kone has been earmarked for the role. An excellent passer and tackler, the 21-year-old would be the ideal foil for Declan Rice.
The duo could form the foundation for a stable double anchor that could launch West Ham to greater heights. Rice’s future at the London Stadium is also far from secure, meaning Kone could also develop into the Englishman’s long-term replacement.
The Hammers’ scouts have watched the player on several occasions and appear to be satisfied with what they have seen. Kone has all the minerals to be a top-level player but is far from the finished product.
Kone has picked up five yellow cards in 13 appearances this season, a rather troubling statistic for a player expected to fulfil a dominant role in midfield. Unless he can get his act together, the Gladbach ace could find himself provoked into making unnecessary actions in the Premier League.
Gladbach are unlikely to stand in the player’s way should any side fork out a club-record £39 million for his services. Liverpool and Newcastle United are also interested and could throw a spanner in West Ham’s plans for the midfielder.
