Report: West Ham begin talks to agree £17m target for Newcastle this summer

West Ham United could have joined Premier League rivals Newcastle in the race to sign Ferdi Kadioglu, valued at £17m. Talks are reportedly ongoing between Fenerbahce and David Moyes’ side.

The UEFA Conference League finalists find themselves in a rather strange position. West Ham already have a handful of right-backs but none of them have really secured a place under Moyes this season.

Vladimir Coufal, Ben Johnson and Thilo Kehrer all have their strengths, yes, but they also have their weaknesses.

That’s why the reports linking Manchester United’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka – one of the players with the biggest progress this season – with a return to London won’t go away.

Turkish Super League"Fenerbahce AS vs Galatasaray AS" — Photo by ANP via Getty Images

Turkish soccer, meanwhile, say initial talks are underway with another potential target as United are likely to stick with Wan-Bissaka. West Ham have reportedly started negotiations – via ‘agents’ – to sign Kadioglu from Super League giants Fenerbahce; We expect discussions to pick up speed after the Conference League final against Fiorentina on June 7th.

Is Ferdi Kadioglu really a West Ham United target?

However, it has to be said that the Turkish press has had a rather erratic record when it comes to reporting on high-priced Premier League transfers. And the scale certainly tends toward “failure” rather than “hit.”

Aksam reported a week ago that Newcastle are close to a deal with Kadioglu, former Derby County target, but so far such claims are unfounded and – for the most part – unreported.

However, there is no doubt about Kadioglu’s talent and potential.

The versatile 23-year-old, born in the Netherlands, easily plays at right-back, right wing and even at the other end when the need arises. It can also be used between a four-man and a five-man defensive line. Such flexibility could come in handy for a manager like Moyes, who likes to adapt his line-up to the nature of West Ham’s opponents.

Coufal, meanwhile, is most likely to start for the Hammers against Fiorentina. He’s a man who has been revived since January’s talks of a move to Bayer Leverkusen.

“Now I want to stay in England for as long as possible,” Coufal said recently.

“Of course (the interest from Germany) appealed to me in a certain way. Leverkusen is a German elite team, there are two Czech guys in the squad (Adam Hlozek and Patrik Schick). They play interesting football.

“But maybe it would be a step backwards. Not from a team perspective, but from a competitive perspective. In my opinion, the Premier League is the best. So I preferred to stay. I’m glad I’ve earned a place in the West Ham squad.”