West Ham United are reportedly in a battle with Everton over a deal to sign Brighton and Hove Albion star Tariq Lamptey, as per Football Insider.
After joining the Seagulls from Chelsea back in 2020, the 24-year-old had a promising start to his life at AMEX Stadium. But, injury problems have halted his development and he has now found himself completely out of favour this season.
The defender has now entered the final few months of his existing deal so if he doesn’t prolong his stay with Brighton over the coming weeks then he would be able to agree on a pre-contract agreement with foreign clubs in January.
Now, Football Insider states that Fabian Hurzeler’s side are willing to sell him in the winter to avoid losing him for free but Lamptey is planning to wait and run his contract down before leaving as a free agent at the end of this season.
Everton have issues in their right-back position and have identified Lamptey as a serious option to resolve the problem. They are ready to wait until the next summer to sign him for free.
Battle
However, the report says West Ham are also interested in him and have been keeping a close eye on his situation. They are even well-placed to beat the Merseyside club in this race.
Seamus Coleman has been the first-choice right-back option for Everton over the years but he has already turned 36 and his existing deal will expire at the end of this season. The defender has had injury problems in recent times so he is likely to leave the club for free next summer.
Ashley Young is also in the same contractual situation as Coleman and is set to turn 40 next year so he is also expected to leave Goodison Park at the end of this season.
Nathan Patterson is at Everton as well but he has struggled with injury problems in recent times so they need a new younger right-sided defender.
On the other hand, Vladimir Coufal might leave West Ham upon expiration of his current deal next summer and if that were to happen, then they would have to hire a new right-back to replace him.
It is going to be interesting to see who will eventually win the race to sign Lamptey if West Ham go head-to-head with Everton over this deal.
