As West Ham and new manager Julen Lopetegui are gearing up for the 2024/25 Premier League campaign, transfer speculation continues to heat up, with the Hammers keen to improve their squad and equip Lopetegui for the season ahead.
Two big signings have already been made, with Max Kilman joining from Wolves, and talented Brazilian winger, Luis Guilherme also signing for the club. But rumours continue to circule, and it is very likely the Hammers will have more incomings this window.
After finishing 9th last season in the Premier League, Lopetegui will be tasked with guiding West Ham back into the European qualification spots, which they finished eight points off of last season.
West Ham transfer news
According to Foot Mercato, via Sport Witness, West Ham are interested in Lens defender Kevin Danso, who has been handed ‘an exit voucher’ by the club. His current contract with the French outfit is until June 2027.
Along with the Hammers, the report states Wolves are also monitoring the defender’s situation, whilst other European sides such as Napoli and Atlanta are interested in Italy.
Danso, who is said to be valued at €25m (£21m), made 38 appearances last season for Lens, scoring one goal, totaling 3,375 minutes, and contributing to 14 clean sheets.
Danso comparison to Aguerd and Kilman
Using the “similar players” feature on FBref, Danso is compared to both Nayef Aguerd, and Max Kilman from West Ham. However, both Kilman and Aguerd are left-footed centre-backs, whilst the Austrian titan is a right-footed central defender.
Danso stands at 6 foot 3 and was highly praised by Ben Mattinson as “rapid”, making him an excellent recovery defender, with good physicality, but also the ability to progress the ball.
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Danso vs Aguerd vs Kilman comparison |
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|---|---|---|---|
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Stats (per 90 mins) |
Danso |
Aguerd |
Kilman |
|
Passes Attempted |
54.93 |
59.89 |
60.76 |
|
Progressive Passes |
4.19 |
3.34 |
3.08 |
|
Progressive Carries |
0.88 |
0.44 |
0.58 |
|
Tackles |
0.79 |
1.19 |
1.24 |
|
Blocks |
1.45 |
1.59 |
1.68 |
|
Aerials Won |
2.03 |
2.62 |
2.26 |
|
Stats taken from FBref |
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Danso instantly stands out as the progressive one of the bunch, ranking highest in both progressive passes and progressive carries among the central defenders. This is something Lopetegui will want to add at West Ham, and you can assume Kilman was also bought in for this reason, due to his comfortability on the ball, shown by his 60.76 passes attempted per 90.
Defensively, the numbers are fairly close, with Kilman coming out on top for tackles and blocking metrics, whilst Aguerd excels in the aerial duels/aerials won metric. However, Danso still provides a very solid base layer, still providing close numbers in blocks and aerials won, but also having that extra recovery pace spoken about earlier.
Danso and Kilman could prove to be a very effective duo, offering that progressive passing and carrying from the £21m-rated star on the right side, the composure on the ball with passes attempted from Kilman, as well as a mixture of defensive traits, such as Kilman with more precise tackling, but the Lens ace with that extra recovery pace.
If the former Southampton man does sign for the Hammers, they could have acquired a very well-balanced centre-back pairing, arming Lopetegui with a strong tool kit ahead of the new campaign.
