West Ham will explore a deal for Ajax’s Steven Bergwijn this month as they sweat on injuries to Lucas Paqueta and Jarrod Bowen, but remain reliant on player sales for their January business.
Both Bowen and Paqueta were hurt during Sunday's 1-1 draw with Bristol City in the FA Cup third round, with the club due to carry out further assessments on Monday.
There is hope that top scorer Bowen’s ankle injury will prove minor, but concern over Paqueta, who lasted only 10 minutes before suffering a recurrence of the knee problem that had seen him limp off at Arsenal last month.
David Moyes is already without winger Mohammed Kudus, who is away with Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations, and striker Michail Antonio, who suffered a setback in training on Friday as he closed in on a return from the knee injury that has kept him out since mid-November.
Moyes was always keen to add another wide player to his squad this month, though even after Sunday's injuries things appear unlikely to move quickly, with the club needing to first raise transfer funds as they wait on offers for the likes of Said Benrahma, Maxwel Cornet and Pablo Fornals.
Nonetheless, former Tottenham man Bergwijn, who scored in Ajax's 2-1 friendly win against Hannover 96 on Sunday, has emerged as a leading target and the player is thought to be keen on a return to the Premier League, 18 months after leaving Spurs to return to the Netherlands.
West Ham have a good relationship with Ajax, having signed both Edson Alvarez and Kudus from the Eredivisie outfit last summer, while Hammers first-team coach Johnny Heitinga was also working for Ajax as recently as last term.
While preliminary discussions with Bergwijn's representatives were reported to have taken place last week, it is understood that negotiations between the clubs are not advanced.
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A loan deal would suit West Ham, who have little Financial Fair Play wiggle room after successive summers of significant spending, but Ajax would want to recoup some of the Dutch record £26.5million fee they paid two summers ago.
Despite Sunday’s injuries, though, the Hammers will not be rushed into a deal. Any new arrivals will not be eligible for next week’s replay at Ashton Gate under FA rules which stipulate that players must have been registered for the original tie, while the Premier League’s midseason break means the Irons currently have only one other game scheduled between now and the end of the month.
Asked on Sunday whether injuries to Bowen and Paqueta, as well as centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, would change his January plans, Moyes said: “I don’t think so, I don’t think it would necessarily play a part.
"Obviously, if we’re going to lose people long-term but I’ve not heard anything to suggest anybody’s severe.”
