wicked.football

West Ham now have a better chance of signing long-term target Hans Vanaken, according to reports in his native Belgium.

Vanaken is a 29-year-old midfielder who has spent his entire career in his home country. He has also been capped 17 times by the national team. But he could yet get the chance to experience a different footballing culture.

The Club Brugge player has been a target for West Ham throughout the course of 2021. They were unable to convince him to join, though.

According to Voetbal24, though, the situation is changing. Vanaken was previously sceptical about West Ham’s ability to compete at the top. However, after they qualified for the knockout stages of the Europa League, they are becoming a more attractive destination.

Furthermore, the Hammers are maintaining their form domestically. They are in contention to qualify for continental football for the second season in a row.

They know they will need reinforcements in January to help them over the line again, though. Adding someone with the experience of Vanaken could be helpful.

He has played for Club Brugge since 2015, scoring 94 goals from 313 appearances. He has also provided 65 assists across that spell.

West Ham wanted to strengthen in attacking midfield over the summer after the impact Jesse Lingard made on loan from Manchester United. They were not able to buy him permanently, so turned to Nikola Vlasic instead.

The summer signing is yet to hit the heights expected of him. Therefore, it may not harm to find further competition.

Now, it seems Vanaken is more open to a move to fill such a role. The challenge would be convincing Club Brugge to sell a player they have under contract until 2025.

Even so, Voetbal24 say a transfer is not “out of the question” for Vanaken.

Vanaken not only West Ham priority

That said, West Ham have other areas to strengthen that may be more of a priority. For example, they are still looking for another striker to support main man Michail Antonio.

West Ham sold Sebastien Haller to Ajax in January 2021 and waited before signing a replacement. Nearly a year later, that wait is still ongoing.

Reports have revealed that the club have negotiated with at least seven different strikers, only be to disappointed by all of them. Some have reservations about how much gametime they would be able to share with Antonio.

But the club will still try to find some support for the Jamaica international. They will also be aiming to strengthen at the other end of the pitch.

West Ham need new defenders after Angelo Ogbonna and Kurt Zouma both suffered injuries. The duo will both be out for a number of months. In the meantime, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop will be the only senior centre-backs available.

Therefore, the Hammers could look to plug the gap in January and have already been linked with a number of options.

READ MORE: Double deal on as pair make transfer to West Ham their No 1 priorities

The post West Ham hopes increase as long-term target warms to Moyes move appeared first on TEAMtalk.