According to Football.London, West Ham United could be ready to let striker Jordan Hugill, rated at £7.2m by Transfermarkt, leave on loan this summer just a few months after they signed him, as long as they retain their Premier League status.
The Irons only brought the centre-forward to the London Stadium in a £10m deal from Championship club Preston North End during the January transfer window, but he has played just 22 minutes of Premier League football since then across three substitute appearances.
The latest of those came in the 3-0 win against Southampton last month, and it is certainly no surprise that Football.London reports that the east London outfit are ready to let the 25-year-old leave – albeit perhaps only on a temporary deal – at the close of the campaign.
Meanwhile, Leeds United looked to be one of the favourites for promotion to the top flight following a positive start to the season that saw them top the Championship standings in September, but they have fallen away gradually and now face a battle to even secure a top-half finish.
Manager Paul Heckingbottom will already be thinking about making changes to a squad that have once again underachieved this term over the course of the summer, and he will want players that can help the Yorkshire giants finish in the top six at the very least next year.
Hugill is certainly one of the players that should be on his radar, whether it is simply a loan deal or even a permanent one.
Here are three reasons Leeds must sign the out-of-favour striker…
It seems increasingly unlikely that Lasogga, who came under criticism from his own supporters on Twitter last month following comments he made about his future, will remain at Elland Road when his loan spell comes to an end at the end of the season, and Heckingbottom will be searching for a new target man to replace the Hamburg man – and Chris Wood, in truth – should he not return.
Even though he is only 6ft tall, Hugill has become well known for his strength and his ability to win the ball in the air, and the West Ham striker has all of the attributes needed to be a success for Leeds next term.
Heckingbottom may feel that he needs more individuals with that Championship experience and know-how next season if he is to finally get the club back into promotion contention, and Hugill would certainly fit the ball if that turned out to be the case.
The 25-year-old scored 23 goals in 100 matches at that level for Preston prior to his move to the London Stadium in January, while he showed that he isn’t afraid to battle with opposition centre-backs given he won 155 aerial duels in 27 league games for North End this term, as per WhoScored.com.
Hugill showed great enthusiasm via a post on the club’s official Twitter account when he signed for West Ham in January, and was clearly excited to have joined a big Premier League club.
While the move may not have worked out thus far, it’s clear that the 25-year-old has the right mentality to succeed and to want to prove a point, and he would certainly be similarly excited if he clinched a deal to join Leeds given the size of the club, their history and their passionate fan-base.
Do you agree, Whites fans? Let us know below.
