And after collecting information from various newspaper stories, internet forums and twitter, a list of 25 possible names has been made. The list includes 9 defenders, 9 midfielders and 7 strikers.
Names of players in the list courtesy http://www.westhamfootball.co.uk/.
- Kane Ferdinand (Southend United):
The 19 year old defensive midfielder plays for League two team Southend United. The youngest of four Ferdinands – Les, Rio and Anton – Kane has represented Republic of Ireland U19 side. A bid of £500,000 will be sufficient to bring Kane to West Ham.
- Sébastien Squillaci (Arsenal):
The 31 year old center back has failed to prove his worth at Arsenal since joining the Gunners in the beginning of last season. It is being rumored that Arsene Wenger is keen to offload the French international and West Ham are ready to offer a loan deal for the misfit.
- Liam Ridgewell (Birmingham City):
The 27 year old defender has been on Allardyce’s wish list for quite some time now. With Birmingham City willing to lower their wage budget, West Ham just need to ward off Newcastle’s interest to acquire the services of the versatile defender.
- Lewis Dunk (Brighton and Hove):
The 20 year old Brighton and Hove defender is also on Aston Villa’s wishlist, with manager Alex McLeish being a big admirer of the youngster. The 6’4″ defender is a regular at his club and was called up to the England U21 squad for Euro qualifiers against Iceland and Belgium.
- Andy O’Brien (Leeds United):
Leeds United’s Carlos Tevez. Leeds manager Simon Grayson has made it clear that the 32 year old Irishman will never represent the club again after he refused to play against Burnley. Will be available for cheap.
- Danny Simpson (Newcastle United):
The former Manchester United right back has had a decent season thus far with Newcastle United and it is rumored that the Hammers sent their chief scout to watch the 24 year old defender in action at Stoke City.
- Ricardo Costa (Valencia CF):
The 30 year old Portuguese defender is a transfer target of many clubs, including Real Betis. Costa has played for Portugal at various levels and joined Valencia in the beginning of the 2010-11 season on a four year contract.
- Moustapha Bayal Sall (Saint-Etienne):
Allardyce is trying to convince the 26 year old 6’5″ Senegalese defender to move to Upton Park during the January transfer window. Sall will be out of contract at Ligue 1 side this summer and West Ham will need to outbid fellow Championship side Doncaster to sign him.
- Sol Bamba (Leicester City):
The former PSG, Dunfermline Athletic and Hibernian defender recently signed an extended contract with Leicester that will keep him at the club until June 2014. Bamba made his debut for the Championship side by scoring with his first touch in a 2-2 draw against Manchester City in the FA Cup. His fine form has left West Ham and Blackburn Rovers vying for a signature.
- Jonjo Shelvey (Liverpool):
The Liverpool youngster was recently recalled from his loan spell at the recently relegated Blackpool after Lucas Leiva was ruled out for the season with an injury. With Steven Gerrard returning to first team football following an injury layoff, chances are that Liverpool will allow Shelvey to go out on loan at West Ham in January.
- Craig Noone (Brighton and Hove):
The 24 year old is a transfer target of fellow Championship side Southampton FC who are reportedly preparing a bid in the range of £100,000 for the winger.
- Mervan Celik (GAIS):
The Swedish U21 international plays for Allsvenskan club GAIS. His contract with Swedish side GAIS expires on New Year’s Eve and West Ham look to have beaten Fulham for the midfielder.
- Ryan Hall (Southend United):
The 23 year old was recently sentenced to 20 weeks imprisonment following an incident outside a nightclub at the club’s Christmas Party on December 19th. However, his sentence was reduced and suspended for a year and the midfielder is on the transfer wishlist of Big Sam.
- Adam Lallana (Southampton):
West Ham are reportedly after Southampton’s England Under-21 attacking midfielder Adam Lallana, 23, who has scored 30 goals in the last two seasons. Lallana has a contract till the summer of 2015 and West Ham will need to come up with a sizable offer to lure him away.
- Peter Whittingham (Cardiff City):
Cardiff City have reportedly rejected an approach from the Hammers once but Allardyce is adamant on bringing the 27 year old to Upton Park and will make an improved bid for the former Aston Villa man. Cardiff have earlier rejected offers from Nottingham Forest and Burnley for the player.
- Albert Adomah (Bristol City):
Adomah came close to signing for West Ham in 2008 when he left his old club Harrow Borough but joined Barnet instead. Following successful spells at Barnet and later Bristol City, manager Sam Allardyce is ready to make an offer for the 24 year old Ghanaian midfielder.
- Victor Moses (Wigan Athletic):
Considered to be the next big thing in English football, Moses has found it tough to break into the first team following an injury marred 2010-11 season. A short term loan deal at West Ham might work wonders for the 21 year old winger.
- George Baldock (MK Dons):
The 18 year old, younger brother of West Ham United’s Sam Baldock joined Northampton Town on an emergency loan in September and returned to MK Dons at the end of October. The midfielder has impressed many in his few outings and is being looked as a player with good potential.
- Ryoichi Maeda (Jubilo Iwata):
One of the best strikers in Japan’s football league, West Ham have reportedly offered a transfer deal for the 30 year old. Maeda is set to become free agent after his current two-year contract with Jubilo expires and the J-League club is expected to let Maeda leave in January.
- Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace):
The 19 year old Ivorian born, England U19 international has already made a place in starting XI at Crystal Palace and was named the club’s Young Player of the Year last season. The £5m rated forward, who recently signed a 5 year contract, is highly regarded by the Eagles and will not be sold cheaply.
- Nicky Maynard (Bristol City):
Maynard has been put up for sale in January transfer window after the 25 year old forward failed to negotiate a new contract at Bristol. West Ham reportedly had a bid of £2million for the player rejected in the summer but the circumstances have changed a lot since then and the manager will be keen to add some experience to his side.
- Billy Sharp (Doncaster):
The 25 year old has managed to score 9 goals in 15 appearances thus far in a season where his team has constantly been criticized for putting in below average performances. Sharp has a £3million release clause in his contract and is also being targeted by Fulham manager Martin Jol.
- Bobby Zamora (Fulham):
The England international might make a dramatic comeback to the club he played at for 4 years between 2004-08 before leaving for Fulham. The player has fallen out of favor at Fulham after a rift with manager Martin Jol. West Ham will need to ward off interest from Everton, Sunderland and Aston Villa to sign the £8million rated striker.
- Andrew Johnson (Fulham):
West Ham are keen to add the 30 year old Johnson to their strike force but are adamant that the player needs to lower his wage demands of around £2?million a year. With Johnson in the final year of his contract at Craven Cottage, Fulham are eager to offload the player in January and premier league clubs QPR and Blackburn are also interested in the player.
- Jordan Rhodes (Huddersfield Town):
With 20 goals in his last 20 league appearances, the 21 year old Scotland international is the hottest property in the transfer market and West Ham have had their £3million bid rejected already. Earlier today, Big Sam accepted that, with Huddersfield reluctant to sell, he might be forced to give up on the starlet.
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