A third consecutive season of European football beckons for West Ham United, who must begin shaping their squad for yet another gruelling campaign.
Last summer, the Irons splashed a whopping £179m, and they are likely to replicate a similar level of spending this summer as they're set to land a monstrous £105m from Arsenal for Declan Rice.
Jonathan Tah is a player constantly linked with West Ham and could make the switch from Germany during this transfer window.
What’s the latest Jonathan Tah to West Ham?
According to the Rheinische Post (via Sport Witness), Tah’s desire to play in the Premier League has 'long been documented' and West Ham are keenly tracking his services.
This outlet also revealed that the 27-year-old has a €18m (£15m) release clause valid until 10 July and the Hammers are described as a 'hot candidate' in the race for his signature.
It is understood that even if this isn’t triggered, it is still 'conceivable' for the German to change clubs before the window shuts, allowing David Moyes the opportunity to pounce.
Negotiations could be made easier as West Ham has recently appointed former Bayer Leverkusen sports coordinator Tim Steidten as their new technical director.
Is Jonathan Tah a good signing for West Ham?
Last season, the centre-back notched 47 appearances in all competitions and formed a magnificent defensive triumvirate with Edmond Tapsoba and Piero Hincapie.
Standing at a colossal 6 foot 5, Tah is a pillar of calmness and composure. This is supported by his rank within the best 10% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for pass completion per 90.
Clearly highly competent with the ball at his feet, the £48k-per-week man is also extremely collected in defensive situations, having made no errors leading to a shot or a goal in the Bundesliga in the 2022/23 campaign from his 33 league outings, whilst also failing to concede a penalty.
Upon his arrival to Leverkusen, then-sporting director Rudi Voller described Tah as “quick, technically gifted but still robust.” Meanwhile, Christoph Kramer has labelled him as a “real battleship.”
If Tah can secure a move to the London Stadium he could form a solid defensive partnership with Nayef Aguerd, who when fit and available, has largely looked like a reliable asset, having been "playing well" in his short time at the club to date, according to teammate Kurt Zouma.
He was perhaps at his most impressive during Morocco’s history-making World Cup campaign, in which they became the first-ever African side to reach the semi-finals of the tournament.
In the four games he featured in, the 6 foot 3 centre-back was part of two clean sheets, averaging three clearances, one interception and one tackle per game, whilst winning 69% of his total duels and not being dribbled past across the campaign.
From a wider perspective, Aguerd has also performed admirably for West Ham as he ranks within the best 25% for clearances and blocks per 90 across the last 365 days. After a season to acclimatise and adapt to English football, he looks ready for a campaign of consistent football if he can stay clear of injury.
Moreover, a partnership with Tah makes sense as Aguerd is left-footed whilst the Leverkusen star is right-footed. With Angelo Ogbonna no spring chicken at the age of 35 and with the worrying injury record of Zouma, there is a high chance there could be a new-look defence for Moyes next term.