NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO is in need of reinforcements at West Ham, and his top target in January is a player he knows very well.
The Hammers are currently in 18th place and look set to face a relegation battle.
It’s expected Nuno will seek to strengthen his squad after the New Year.
According to Sky Sports football correspondent Rob Dorsett his top target is Fulham heavyweight Adama Traore.
Today, Dorsett wrote on X: “#whufc interested in a possible deal for #fulham Adama Traore in January. Nuno has a very close relationship with the winger from #wwfc days, and has tried to sign him before. Deal could be done, with Traore contract expiring this summer.“
Traore enjoyed a successful spell working under Nuno at Wolves between 2018 and 2021.
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The Spanish winger was a key part a team that were a solid Premier League outfit.
In their debut season back in the Premier League in 2018-19, Nuno’s Wolves finished seventh and earned 16 points against the top six in the process.
The Midlands club then matched their feat again a year later, again finishing seventh in 2019-20.
A key feature of their play was being devastating on the counter-attack, with Traore at the heart of it.
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Right now, raw pace is something that West Ham lack in their team, especially since the departure of Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham over the summer.
It has been a difficult start to the season for West Ham, who only picked up one win from their opening nine Premier League games.
Ironically, this came against Nuno’s Nottingham Forest at the end of August.
This bad run of form led to Graham Potter’s sacking at the end of September, with Nuno taking the reigns.
Although he picked up just one point in his first four matches in charge, the Hammers have turned a corner in recent weeks with back-to-back victories at home to Newcastle and Burnley.
Despite this, they are still in the Premier League relegation zone and Nuno knows he needs to strengthen his side if they are to improve in the second half of the season.
Given his pedigree, the West Ham board are ready to back him in January in order to land his top targets.
The Portuguese boss matched his seventh place finishes of 2019 and 2020 last season with Nottingham Forest, where once again fast wingers were crucial to the way he wanted to play.
The likes of Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi were excellent for Forest, and suited Nuno’s style of play.
It’s easy to see why he wants to sign Traore, who is one of the fastest players to ever play in the Premier League.
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Traore has spent the last two years at Fulham with mixed results.
This season, he’s played in nine league games, but seven of those have been from the bench.
