West Ham United have missed out on German defender Mats Hummels, with the former Borussia Dortmund star heading for AS Roma for a medical today, according to Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg.
The Times reported yesterday that the Hammers technical director Tim Steidten wanted to get a deal done after a proposed move to AS Roma stalled over wages.
However, the Serie A club have now reached an agreement with Hummels, and West Ham will now have to look elsewhere for the defensive reinforcements they crave, with the 35-year-old now on his way to Italy.
🚨🎥 Excl | Mats #Hummels leaving Munich Airport as regular passenger on a scheduled flight to Rome 🛫
Medical booked for today. Signing of his one-year contract at @OfficialASRoma after that!@hannessude | @berger_pj |@SkySportDE 🇩🇪 pic.twitter.com/iviwr5B1RQ
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) September 4, 2024
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui wants a fourth centre-back option behind Maximilian Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Jean-Clair Todibo, and Hummels would have been perfect for them.
The Irons let Nayef Aguerd and Kurt Zouma leave last week, and could now go after former Liverpool star Joel Matip and ex-Sheffield United defender John Egan.
The duo are also free agents on their radar, but West Ham have doubts over the former Cameroon international.
Matip had been out with a cruciate ligament injury since last December before Liverpool released him, and it remains to be seen if he can prove his fitness going forward having suffered frequent injuries in recent seasons.
Lopetegui has started the campaign with Kilman and Mavropanos as his first-choice centre-back pairing, with Todibo coming off the bench to make all his three appearances across all competitions so far.
Missing out on Hummels is a blow, but bringing in Matip, Egan or another free agent to help bolster their ranks will be huge for the London Stadium club.
