West Ham consider Aston Villa defender as Kurt Zouma replacement
West Ham were involved in negotiations for Aston Villa's young forward Jhon Duran in this transfer window. However, Villa remained firm on their £40 million demand for Duran and rejected West Ham's offer of £32 million plus sell-on clause and academy talent Lewis Orford. Julen Lopetegui's side signed Borussia Dortmund star Niclas Fullkrug instead as the new centre forward ahead of the next season.
Now, West Ham and Aston Villa may be involved in negotiations again on another Villa player. According to TheWestHamWay, West Ham are interested in Aston Villa's 31-year-old centre back Diego Carlos. The report suggests that manager Julen Lopetegui is a big admirer of the Brazilian defender during their time at Sevilla where they won the UEFA Europa League in the 2019/20 season.
The six foot tall defender has great pace and his physicality helps in defending set pieces. Although Carlos has struggled with injuries since arriving to the Premier League in 2022, he has proven himself as a top defender under Lopetegui and will want to reunite with the manager at West Ham.
Recently, French centre back Kurt Zouma left West Ham which has made way for signing a new central defender at the club. Thus, Carlos may be a quality replacement for the former Chelsea defender. However, Carlos still has two years remaining on his Aston Villa contract and looking at the negotiations for Jhon Duran recently, Unai Emery's side may demand around £26 million transfer fee for the 31-year-old, which they spent to sign him from Sevilla two years ago.
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Thus, West Ham need to consider other alternatives to Diego Carlos as well including Mats Hummels. With over hundred appearances for Sevilla as well as a UEFA Europa League title to his name, Carlos comes with a wealth of experience and quality that will improve the West Ham squad. With under two weeks remaining before the start of the upcoming Premier League season, it remains to be seen if the Hammers submit an official bid for Carlos to sign him this summer.
