West Ham tipped to make January raid on Chelsea for wantaway Maresca misfit

After a struggling start to the 2024/25 Premier League season, West Ham have been advised to make a January swoop for a Chelsea outcast.

The Hammers have lost four of their eight league fixtures to begin the campaign, conceding 15 goals in the process.

But one former England international believes a loan for Ben Chilwell would suit all parties, strengthening Julen Lopetegui’s defensive options at the London Stadium while offering the exiled Blues star a route back to regular playing time.

“A loan deal [to West Ham] would do the trick,” former Leeds, Tottenham and Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson said on The Inside Track podcast. “Ben Chilwell is a very, very good player who has been frozen out at Chelsea.

“For his international hopes as well [he needs to leave]. Location-wise it works for him too, it’s another London club so you’re not uprooting your family.

“We do see some big deals done in January. A move like that could be a summer one but that would be a short-team solution for Chilwell and Chelsea.

“I don’t know his situation but I suspect he’s desperate to get back on the football pitch and playing again.

“I wouldn’t say he’s the answer to West Ham’s problems but I certainly think he improves that side. I think West Ham fans would take Ben Chilwell and I think he would play there.”

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Chilwell’s Bundesliga option

Deemed surplus to requirements by new boss Enzo Maresca, Chilwell has made just one appearance for Chelsea so far this season, a 45-minute outing against Barrow in the EFL Cup.

The England international full-back was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge over the summer, but no switch materialised for the 27-year-old.

As exclusively revealed by TEAMtalk earlier this week, Borussia Dortmund have added Chilwell to their list of potential left-back recruits ahead of a move to improve their options in the position during the January transfer window.

Last season, BVB took then-Chelsea full-back Ian Maatsen on loan and this past summer they were offered the chance to sign Chilwell.

The German club declined at the time but relations between the two sides remain strong and Dortmund have placed Chilwell alongside Bournemouth left-back Milos Kerkez on their list of potential mid-season targets.

TEAMtalk sources understand that Chelsea are keen to sell Chilwell in January in order to fund further transfer spending. Despite his lack of action, there is interest from the Premier League and around Europe in the former Leicester man.

Latest West Ham transfer news: Fullkrug to stay, two defenders linked

According to Sky Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Niclas Fullkrug has no plans to return to the Bundesliga after a slow start to life in the Premier League.

A recent report by talkSPORT claimed West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui is not convinced by his current options up front and that the club could move for a new No9 when the transfer market reopens in January.

But this latest claim from the player’s homeland suggests both West Ham and Fullkrug are determined to make their big-money summer move a success.

The Hammers are one of seven Premier League clubs in the race to sign Lens centre-back Abdukodir Khusanov, according to TBRFootball.

A 20-year-old Uzbekistan international, Khusanov has impressed in the French top flight this term and the £25m-rated (€30m/US$32.4m) defender is also attracting interest from Bayer Leverkusen, RB Leipzig, Napoli, Atalanta and Marseille.

And Khusanov is not the only burgeoning defensive star linked with a switch to the London Stadium.

Bologna’s 25-year-old centre-back Sam Beukema has talked about his desire to play in the Premier League while revealing he was a childhood West Ham fan.

“I also have ambitions and hope one day to be able to play maybe in the Premier League or another big club,” he said (via Corriere dello Sport).

“I was a fan of West Ham. I once visited Upton Park with my father and I was really impressed, because the atmosphere was similar to that of Feyenoord or Go Ahead Eagles.

“But there are so many fantastic teams in England, so if another great club like Liverpool came along I would be happy to go there one day.”

READ MORE: West Ham in agreement with summer signing over January move