Julen Lopetegui has been on a quest to upgrade his West Ham squad this summer, and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe may now feel the power of the Spaniard’s ambition.

The Hammers’ head coach has already recruited Luis Guilherme, Wes Foderingham, and Max Kilman to the London Stadium, and he is reportedly interested in signing Aston Villa attacker Jhon Duran as well.

Lopetegui will be acutely aware of the enormity of his challenge at West Ham, after David Moyes left behind an incredibly unbalanced and elderly side.

Aside from the right wing, the Spaniard needs to significantly improve in almost every position at the club.

Despite the recent arrival of Kilman from Wolves, central defence remains an area in need of improvement.

Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd are simply not good enough anymore, and Lopetegui must bring in another top-tier defender.

This summer, it appears he intends to do just that, which might be detrimental to Newcastle.

Newcastle blow as West Ham move to sign colossal Federico Gatti

According to Tuttosport, West Ham and Newcastle have both expressed interest in Juventus’ Federico Gatti.

While the Magpies are substantially more rich than the Hammers, our interest in signing the Italian will cause some discomfort for the Tyneside club.

West Ham were linked with a move for the 26-year-old centre-back in the summer of 2023, but he ultimately remained with the Turin giants.

I believe the Juventus player would be an excellent addition to Lopetegui’s squad at the London Stadium, and if we can beat Newcastle to his signature, it will be a huge statement for us.

Gatti scored four goals in 32 appearances for Juventus last season. In those appearances, the defender averaged one tackle, 1.6 successful aerial duels, and 2.6 clearances per game. He averaged 40.6 passes per game and had an amazing completion rate of 86.1%.

Standing 6ft 4in tall, the former Frosinone player has the right physique for success in the Premier League due to his strong physical temperament.

He would be an ideal centre-back partner for Max Kilman at the London Stadium.

The former bricklayer (The Athletic) understands what it means to work his way to the top.

And if West Ham buy him this summer, Newcastle will undoubtedly consider it a major blow.

West Ham and Villa have previously been connected this summer, with Julen Lopetegui preparing a move to capture Villans striker Jhon Duran.

Meanwhile, the Villans have been planning moves for several of the Hammers’ transfer targets, including Youssef En-Nesyri, Raoul Bellanova, and, most recently, Nice star Jean-Clair Todibo.

Unai Emery could be about to strike another major blow to West Ham United.

Lopetegui has a number of transfer targets in mind for this summer, and one area in particular that requires improvement is his central midfield department.

The Hammers’ head coach requires more power, pace, athleticism, and dynamism in his engine room.

If Lopetegui is to make genuine progress at the London Stadium, he will need to bring in someone who can play with Edson Alvarez in a box-to-box role.

The ideal player for us is out there, playing for one of our Premier League opponents

Fabrizio Romano claims that Aston Villa are close to signing Everton midfielder Amadou Onana.

Villa signing the Belgian would be a huge blow to the Hammers. After losing Onana in the summer of 2022, former West Ham manager David Moyes attempted to lure him back to the London Stadium in 2023, but was unsuccessful.

The 22-year-old powerful midfielder possesses everything needed to win in the Premier League.

Onana possesses outstanding strength, stamina, and the athleticism that West Ham are looking for in midfield.

Furthermore, he possesses all of the qualities that the Hammers now lack in the middle of the field.

Really, failing to pay the Belgian international what he demanded in the summer of 2022 was West Ham’s death knell.

When he joined Everton, it appeared that our chances of signing the midfielder in the future were almost non-existent.

The coup de grace for West Ham might be Aston Villa’s formal £50 million approach for Amadou Onana.

Unfortunately, there is no way we will be able to match such an offer.

And if Villa signs Onana, it will indicate that they are working on a completely different level than us right now.

The Hammers have chased Steven Bergwijn since the January transfer window earlier this year, but he remained with Ajax in the end.

With Julen Lopetegui now at the helm, I fully expected him to succeed where David Moyes failed, by signing a proper left winger.

The West Ham head coach should be prioritising the addition of a right-footed left winger, now that Said Benrahma has left the club on a permanent basis.

Jota Silva was thought to be Lopetegui’s major aim, but talks with the Portuguese winger have since cooled.

Enter Steven Bergwijn. The former Tottenham Hotspur player is currently at the pinnacle of his abilities.

He may return to London this summer if the Hammers resolve a major issue.

Same old story as West Ham eye Steven Bergwijn deal

The excellent Dutch winger appears ready to leave Ajax this summer, with the Eredivisie club looking to raise some finances.

It appears that he may return to the Premier League from Holland before the start of the new season.
According to De Telegraaf, West Ham are interested in Bergwijn again, and Ajax are asking for between £21-25 million for him.

However, in their pursuit of the 26-year-old former Tottenham winger, the Hammers face a major stumbling block.

Numerous Saudi clubs, as well as Ligue 1 club Marseille, are interested in signing the Dutchman this summer.

Saudi interest in our transfer targets has become a major issue for us this summer. It appears that Youssef En-Nesyri was first, followed by Arthur Theate, and now Bergwijn.

Hopefully, West Ham will win the race to sign Steven Bergwijn, who is exactly the type of player we need.

First and foremost, he is a right-footed left winger. We have plenty of choices out wide on the right side of the attack, but we are severely lacking on the left.

The 26-year-old scored only eight goals and dished out ten assists in 83 games for Tottenham, but he’s fared much better at Ajax, with 29 goals and 11 assists in just 76 appearances.

Steven Bergwijn has scorching pace, great technical skills, can play anywhere along the front line, and would elevate West Ham to another level.

In my opinion, Lopetegui needs to finish this one this summer.

Although Hammers fans had been aware for some time that Rice would be moving, many were outraged by their captain’s decision to reject Manchester City in favor of Arsenal.

Rice has never concealed his affection for West Ham.

Even while on England duty for Euro 2024, Rice has spoken warmly of his time at West Ham and lauded Three Lions teammate Jarrod Bowen, characterizing him as a Hammers icon.

But there’s no denying that Rice’s declaration that he was leaving for the Gunners to ‘fight for and win the biggest trophies’ enraged some Hammers fans.

Being viciously mocked by some of their Arsenal peers for luring away their beloved captain hasn’t helped matters either.

Rice has been an amazing revelation for Mikel Arteta’s side, just as West Ham fans predicted he would be.

He helped Arsenal come agonisingly close to capturing the Premier League title.

The Gunners did not, however, and finished the season with the same number of trophies as West Ham.

Rice’s last taste of a major prize came with the Hammers.

That was a little over a year ago.

West Ham had waited 43 years for a major trophy, and Rice guided them to an amazing 2-1 victory over Fiorentina in the Europa Conference League final in Prague.

Rice says England must summon spirit of West Ham for Euro final

It is a memorable moment for everyone associated with the Hammers, including Rice, who commemorated the milestone with a nice greeting to West Ham.

And until Rice wins a title or two with Arsenal, West Ham fans will always hold that against their north London rivals.

Now, the midfielder hopes Gareth Southgate can utilize the Hammers to help the Three Lions end their own trophy drought.

Arsenal star Rice believes England must channel the spirit of West Ham for the Euro 2024 final.

Rice smiled when a journalist suggested Southgate should bring in West Ham’s European goal hero Bowen in the final few minutes if England needed a goal against Spain.

“Yes,” Rice told a crowded press conference in a video available below.

“Well, I can accept it (winning a European trophy with West Ham).

Rice believes Southgate will draw inspiration from his experience at West Ham United. “That was one of the best days of my life, and there’s a chance to have that again.”

“Again, that was a nasty, grueling, rollercoaster of a final, going 1-0 up, going 1-1 five minutes later, and scoring a late victory.

“There’s so much you can handle. I believe all finals are always tight and tense.

“But it’s about being locked in for 90, 120 minutes and remaining focused. Sticking to the process.

“And like we did at West Ham, and how (David) Moyes set us up that day, we exactly did that and I’m sure that’s exactly how Gareth’s going to set us up.”

Rice may have irritated many Hammers fans by departing for Arsenal.

However, he has only had positive things to say about West Ham since.

And for him to lift West Ham to this level before of England’s Euro 2024 final against Spain should fill every Hammer with pride.

Let’s hope Rice adds another European medal to his cabinet by Sunday night.