West Ham want to use Maxwel Cornet as makeweight for a new CB transfer | OneFootball

West Ham United have a trio of talented center backs in Max Kilman, Konstantinos Mavropanos, and Nice loanee Jean-Clair Todibo, but with Nayef Aguerd likely on the outs with a loan to LaLiga, the Hammers remain in the market for another center back target this summer.

It looks like young Genoa star Koni De Winter, who is still just 22 years old despite having a few years of experience under his belt, is the new top wish of Graham Potter. The West Ham manager has the Hammers joining a host of other Premier League clubs in the race to sign the touted Serie A standout, who is enjoying a fine breakout season in 2024/25.

According to a report from ExWHUEmployee, West Ham are hoping to use 28-year-old winger Maxwel Cornet in a swap deal to acquire De Winter from Genoa, because the Italian side's manager Patrick Vieira is reportedly very interested in signing Cornet permanently at the end of the season.

Koni De Winter is worth 30 million euros

Although Cornet isn't exactly a breakout star at the age of 28, veteran players do tend to age more gracefully in Serie A, and the Frenchman has, per this report, made a positive impression so far on Vieira in a rotational role.

West Ham would surely have to pony up some cash in addition to Cornet in order to sign De Winter, whose valuation appears to be around 30 million euros, based on recent reporting out of Italy. That's actually a reasonable price for a quality young center back, and even though Cornet can't offset the final price tag by all that much, any little bit helps.

De Winter has been even more impressive for Genoa this season than Radu Dragusin was for them last season, and Dragusin actually moved in the middle of the campaign to Tottenham. The current Genoa starter is averaging 2.2 combined tackles and interceptions per game with 4.2 clearances per match, 3.8 aerial duels won, a pass completion percentage of over 85, and even 3 goals scored. He's only been dribbled past 0.3 times per game.

Honestly, De Winter has what it takes to develop into a starter for West Ham, and he could even push for starts in the 2025/26 Premier League season. If Cornet can get the price down to even 20 million euros or make West Ham favorites over the likes of Wolves and Nottingham Forest, then that's all the better for Potter and Co.