West Ham urged to take Cardiff City transfer punt on forward who 'Nuno likes' | OneFootball

West Ham United have been urged to try and sign Cardiff City striker Yousef Salech in this summer transfer window.

West Ham United are heading down into the Championship for the first time in well over a decade and it is expected to be an extremely busy summer transfer window for The Irons.

Having circled the drain in the Premier League before eventually plummeting last season, there has been some upheaval at the London Stadium but manager Nuno Espirito Santo has confirmed he will remain for the Championship campaign, having won England’s second-tier with Wolverhampton Wanderers back in 2018.

West Ham have a lot of work to do to build their squad and put together what they will believe can challenge for promotion at the first attempt and that will involve a busy summer.

At the start of this summer’s window, West Ham have been linked with several Cardiff players, such as Dylan Lawlor, Ronan Kpakio and Rubin Colwill.

Now, another Bluebirds star has been linked with a move to East London and West Ham have been encouraged to try and sign Yousef Salech.

West Ham urged to try and sign Yousef Salech

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Having been a huge part of the Cardiff side that won promotion back to the Championship last season under the management of Brian Barry-Murphy, Yousef Salech has now been linked with a move to West Ham.

As West Ham seek to re-stock their striking department after the departure of Callum Wilson at the end of his contract, FLW’s West Ham Fan Pundit Ryan Horn believes Salech is well worth a ‘punt’ this summer, believing he could thrive under Nuno.

Ryan says: “Can the club aim higher? Yes, most certainly.

“I do believe that we still have quite a pull, even being in the Championship.

“But, is Salech worth a punt? 100%.

“He’s done very well at Cardiff. Ever since we were linked with him, I’ve seen some of his highlights and looked at stats and stuff and, looking at what Cardiff fans say about him, he seems like a really great player.

“Nuno likes the big target man. Chris Wood had a great season under Nuno. Salech is younger, he’s got a bit more legs to him – he is absolutely worth a punt, 100%.”

Yousef Salech could be a masterstroke of a signing for West Ham

Cardiff supporters will head into next season that the continued development of their young squad and improvement of Barry-Murphy’s style of football could see them challenge for the top eight and the play-off places next season.

The fact that so many of their players are being linked with a West Ham side that many will deem as pre-season title favourites would be indicative of the strength of City’s squad.

Yousef Salech is perhaps the star man at Cardiff, or at least a player with the most pedigree to prove that he is more than capable of not only competing but thriving at Championship level.

Having arrived at the Cardiff City Stadium in January 2025, moving from Swedish outfit Sirius, Salech enjoyed an impressive end to that season from an individual perspective.

Salech scored eight goals in 20 appearances for a City side that would succumb to relegation and so to hit those numbers having moved to a new country and league mid-way through a season and for a struggling side is enormously impressive.

His 14-goal season in League One, for a side often stifled by playing against deep defensive blocks, was also a strong return, in a season blighted by a couple of injuries.

As he hits his mid-20’s, turning 25 in January, Salech could well propel himself into being one of the most highly-rated strikers in the second-tier and West Ham poaching him this summer could prove to be a masterstroke.