West Ham have made approach to sign Arsenal midfielder Emile Smith-Rowe on loan in the January transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Hammers are looking to bolster their attacking department this month, and they are in talks with the Gunners to sign the 23-year-old midfielder.
The attacking midfielder has made just one start in the Premier League this season for the Gunners. The Hammers are looking to find a structured deal to sign him this month.
🚨🏴 West Ham have approached Arsenal to discuss loan deal for Emile Smith-Rowe.
Talks taking place to understand if there’s way to structure deal between the two club, as @ExWHUEmployee has called. pic.twitter.com/heTtylAK88
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 19, 2024
Meanwhile, Sky Sports journalist, Florian Plettenberg has suggested that at the moment, a loan deal between Smith-Rowe and West Ham is very unlikely. Arsenal have made clear that they want to keep the 23-year-old midfielder with them for the rest of the season.
Difficult
The Hammers are looking to be active in the final few days of the transfer window. According to Sky Sports, the Hammers are leading the race to sign Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips on loan.
David Moyes is still looking to add more quality players to the rank, and Smith-Rowe would be a terrific addition. Said Benrahma is attracting interest from French clubs, and there is a chance that he could be sold this month.
In case, Benrahma leaves, there will be a vacant spot for a new addition. Smith-Rowe is a fabulous player but his progress has been hampered mainly due to recurrent injuries. He is now fully fit and will hope to play a big role under Mikel Arteta in the second half of the campaign.
For Arsenal, it makes little sense to offload a quality player like Smith-Rowe. They should only consider selling him if the Hammers come up with a solid offer to sign him permanently.
