West Ham United fans will be hoping Graham Potter finds his groove in the Hammers’ hot seat this coming Premier League season, after experiencing an underwhelming start to life in East London.
Potter won’t want another blunder damaging his managerial CV, akin to his Chelsea misfire, with only five victories coming his way last season from 19 games.
He will be nervous about what lies ahead, therefore, especially as he grows accustomed to not having Mohammed Kudus at his disposal, with the ex-Irons star costing London rivals Tottenham Hotspur £55m to snap up.
Still, there’s plenty of time for West Ham to make a splash in the transfer market with some of their own exhilarating signings, as a new £35m ace emerges on their radar.
West Ham weighing up £35m transfer
In all fairness, away from the disappointment of Kudus leaving, West Ham have made some impressive signings here and there.
Indeed, Jean Clair-Todibo has now made his Hammers move permanent this summer, alongside both El Hadji Malick Diouf and Kyle Walker-Peters joining in quick succession to further bolster Potter’s options at the back.
Now, the task at hand will be to improve the attack at the London Stadium in the wake of Kudus upping and leaving, with reports now suggesting West Ham are weighing up a £35m move for Manchester City outcast James McAtee.
The Telegraph has stated that this is City’s asking price amid interest also coming from Nottingham Forest, but the Hammers and the Tricky Trees, who are pushing to seal his signature, would much rather do a deal around the £20m-25m price range instead.
Potter’s side might just have to bite the bullet if Pep Guardiola’s outfit isn’t willing to budge, with McAtee perhaps going down as a bigger talent to obtain than Harvey Elliott, who has also consistently been talked about as another West Ham target this summer.
How McAtee could be a bigger talent than Elliott
Both midfielders in question are at a crossroads in their careers, having been talked up as shining, homegrown talents once upon a time, only to now find themselves stuck on the periphery.
Between them last season, both McAtee and Elliott would only start a meagre five Premier League clashes, with a fresh move to the London Stadium just the switch the ex-Sheffield United loanee needs to show off his class on a more consistent basis.
Despite such limited opportunities, McAtee still managed to chip in with a high seven goals in all competitions, with three of those efforts coming his way in the bread and butter of the top-flight, on top of also managing to break his initial City duck in the illustrious Champions League.
Elliott falls just behind McAtee in his regard, with a slightly lesser five strikes managed on his end, with the hope now that the 22-year-old can come in and fill Kudus’ hole effectively, having displayed more of a flexibility across his fledgling career to date than his Reds counterpart has shown off.
AM
68
24
14
CM
47
26
14
RM
12
4
3
CF
8
3
3
RW
6
3
1
SS
4
0
1
LM
2
0
0
LW
1
0
0
McAtee could well morph into a new Kudus-like figure for Potter on his arrival, with the Salford-born talent an adaptable presence.
Indeed, he can line up as a number ten, as a right winger, or as a left winger, much like the Ghanaian, as seen in his impressive 38 goal contributions from the central number ten slot, on top of his equally high 40 goal-and-assist count as a traditional central midfielder, further highlighting his malleable nature.
On the contrary, the Liverpool number 19 has amassed just 12 goals and assists himself as an out-and-out number ten, with plenty more to frighteningly come from McAtee if he’s handed consistent minutes in East London.
The “incredible” number 87, as he’s been labelled previously by Guardiola, will be champing at the bit to be a leading man for a Premier League side – after also just lifting the Euros with the England U21s alongside Elliott – with West Ham perhaps gifting him that opportunity very shortly if £35m is coughed up.
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ByBen GrayJul 18, 2025