Sead Haksabanovic signed for West Ham United in 2017 and was seen as an investment for the future.
He cost around £2.7m, which was a relatively big investment for an 18 year old arriving from Swedish football. Unsurprisingly he failed to breakthrough at the Hammers and was then sent on loan to Malaga.
The Spanish spell didn’t go as planned, and in January 2019 he moved on loan to IFK Norrköping, where things have gone much better.
Haksabanovic’s West Ham contract runs until June 2022, and a solution needs to be found for next season. He doesn’t want to go on loan again, so with regular games at the London club unlikely, a permanent exit is on the cards.
Sweden’s FotbollDirekt report IFK Norrköping would like to find a solution to keep the 21 year old, however, they’re facing competition from elsewhere.
Five ‘foreign clubs’ (outside of Sweden) are keen, and one even made a SEK60m (£5m) offer in the winter transfer window. This was rejected, even though it would have seen West Ham nearly double their money.
A lot will be down to the player, and he’s likely to be tempted away from Sweden if an attractive proposal comes in.
