West Ham target PERFECT move for Arsenal ace

Cameron Smith

• 19 Jan 2024 13:21 GMT
• 4 min read

West Ham United are set for a busy end to the January transfer window, with David Moyes’ side eyeing up two mega deals.

Firstly, they are targeting a move for out-of-favour Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who has barely featured since joining Pep Guardiola’s side in 2022.

The England international is hoping to be included in Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s European Championship in Germany and is likely to leave Man City on loan in order to improve his match sharpness.

Newcastle United and Juventus have also been linked, although neither club are close to an agreement and West Ham appear to have jumped to the front of the queue.

Furthermore, the Hammers are also pursuing a loan move for Arsenal star Emile Smith Rowe, as first reported by ExWHU Employee.

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has confirmed West Ham’s interest, stating that they have approached Arsenal to discuss if a loan deal is likely.

Moyes has used a fairly settled starting XI for the majority of this season, with Edson Alvarez, Tomas Soucek and James Ward-Prowse in midfield, Mohammed Kudus and Lucas Paqueta out wide, and Jarrod Bowen up front.

However, Paqueta and Bowen are currently injured, while Kudus is representing Ghana at the Africa Cup of Nations. As a result, Moyes is without his first-choice front three.

The pursuit of Phillips therefore makes little sense, but Smith Rowe is a very sensible target.

The Englishman has typically played as an attacking midfielder at Arsenal, but he was used as a left midfielder in a 4-4-2 system during England U21s’ triumphant Euros campaign last summer and could replace Paqueta on the left flank at West Ham.

The Brazilian is currently injured, as mentioned, and has been touted to leave the club in 2024 following Manchester City interest last year.

Signing Smith Rowe on loan may not solve the issue of finding a loan-term Paqueta replacement, if he does leave, but it will help cover for the ex-Lyon man while he’s injured.

Furthermore, data analytics experts SciSports believe Smith Rowe is well-suited for a move to the London Stadium.

Why West Ham should sign Arsenal’s Emile Smith Rowe

According to SciSports’ Career Advice tool, West Ham are currently Smith Rowe’s second most well-suited club.

Their tool takes into account several different factors, including potential development and club status, to decide which club any given player should join.

For Smith Rowe, Italian giants Inter Milan are the club that rank as his best destination, closely followed by West Ham.

While the Nerazzurri would be able to offer Smith Rowe a more realistic chance of playing centrally, the Paqueta role at West Ham would also suit him to a tee.

It would allow Moyes to continue deploying a more solid midfield base and provide Smith Rowe with the creative freedom that Paqueta has exploited this term.

It’s clear that Mikel Arteta isn’t Smith Rowe’s biggest fan and the summer arrival of Kai Havertz has pushed him even further down the pecking order.

As a result, moving to West Ham and capitalising on an open spot on the left flank seems like the perfect next step for Smith Rowe as he looks to rebuild his career after a tricky 18 months.

Paqueta has two goals and five assists in 18 Premier League games this season - combined with some incredible defensive numbers - and there is no reason why Smith Rowe can’t match that output.

Although he has been sat on the sidelines at Arsenal over the last two seasons, the Englishman scored 10 goals and provided two assists in the 2020-21 Premier League season and simply hasn’t been trusted since.

A loan move to West Ham would still provide Smith Rowe with the chance to play European football and if he could replicate Jesse Lingard’s loan spell at the London Stadium, then he could make a late charge for England’s European Championship squad.