Four days ago, De Telegraaf reported West Ham United want to sign FC Utrecht’s Souffian El Karouani in the winter market.
On Monday, the left-back said West Ham are a “great club” when asked about the chances of joining them next month.
Later that day, the West Ham target said interested clubs have made contact with Utrecht technical director Jordy Zuidam. He also made it clear a January move is possible.
De Telegraaf journalist Valentijn Driessen has been critical of the 25-year-old’s defensive skills. He’s been speaking about the defender for Vandaag Inside and Voetbal Zone have relayed his comments.
Driessen believes the Moroccan “can’t defend”, but his fellow panellist René van der Gijp dismissed this criticism.
“Yeah, that’s not so bad. Look, Daley Blind may have been too slow, but he was a fantastic footballer. If you compensate for it in another way, that’s perfectly fine,” he said.
Voetbal Zone then cover claims about West Ham, Eintracht Frankfurt, Bologna, FC Porto and Benfica interest. They also indicate the Hammers are said to be a ‘concrete option’ for El Karouani.
The pundit warned El Karouani not to join Nuno Espírito Santo’s side in January.
“You just shouldn’t do that, because they’ll be relegated. Then you’ll end up in the Championship,” Driessen explained.
West Ham are now 18th in the table, five points behind 17th placed Nottingham Forest.
