According to L’Equipe, West Ham and Brighton are interested in signing Spanish midfielder Carlos Soler, but Paris Saint-Germain has placed a price tag of €20 million.
After struggling to get playing time at the Parc des Princes, former Valencia midfielder Soler might be added to West Ham United’s summer shopping binge.
In the last weeks of the transfer window, Jorge Mendes, Soler’s agent, is reportedly working on his departure for PSG in order to get more playing time, according to a report from Sport Zone. According to L’Equipe, Real Sociedad, Brighton, and West Ham are all interested in signing the Spaniard. Turkish powerhouse Fenerbache is reportedly also interested, according to a report from A Spor, as the team tries to bolster the roster for incoming boss José Mourinho.
The Parisians are reportedly seeking €20 million from any potential buyer for the 27-year-old, who still has three years left on his contract, according to Loic Tanzi of L’Equipe. For a highly regarded player who has made 15 appearances and scored 4 goals for the Spanish national team, the cost seems very fair.
While the midfielder hasn’t played a match under Lopetegui, he will know him very well from his time LaLiga with his hometown club Valencia. Soler played 226 matches for Los Ches, scoring 36 goals and providing 31 assists, before joining PSG in 2022 on a cut-price €18m deal with his contract set to expire in a year. Soler had a €50m market value at the time.
Julen Lopetegui picked Carlos Soler in his squad for the 2018 world cup, however, he was sacked just two days before the tournament after holding talks with Real Madrid. Lopetegui is clearly a huge fan and he has expressed his desire to bring him to the London Stadium.
However, despite this interest and in my opinion, the Hammers’ need for a more box-to-box midfielder it’s unlikely the club will make a move after signing Guido Rodriguez. The Argentinian will likely be partnered with Edson Alvarez and Lucas Paqueta as things stand. However, while it may work, Lucas Paqueta would be relied on totally for creativity. If you could drop one of those defensive midfielders in games we will likely dominate possession, Soler could be a perfect option to form a trio with Paqueta and Alvarez/Rodriguez.
The Irons have had a brilliant window so far, spending over £100m already with a further £50m to be spent on the incomings of Wan-Bissaka and Jean-Clair Todibo. So, if a deal for Soler can’t be done, Hammers fans would far from complain. A move could be done if the club were to move on another player like Nayef Aguerd or even a midfielder like Tomas Soucek who like Soler, has been linked to a move to Fenerbache.
