West Ham plotting Middlesbrough transfer raid for £7.5m star | OneFootball

West Ham United are eyeing up a transfer for Middlesbrough forward Morgan Whittaker

West Ham United are eyeing up a potential raid of their Championship rivals Middlesbrough to sign versatile forward Morgan Whittaker, it has been reported.

The Hammers are looking to bounce back to the Premier League at the first time of asking, having suffered relegation on the final day of the 2025-26 season, and they have already cashed in on certain stars, such as Mateus Fernandes and Crysencio Summerville.

What it has done though is given manager Nuno Espirito Santo some funds to spend, as well as being able to keep the likes of club captain Jarrod Bowen, with individuals such as Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Taty Castellanos and Konstantinos Mavropanos all also remaining at the London Stadium for now.

Nuno will be eyeing fresh faces though, having failed to bring in any new players so far this summer, and they have players from their potential promotion rivals in their sights.

West Ham eyeing Middlesbrough swoop for Morgan Whittaker

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TalkSPORT are reporting that the Hammers are eyeing up a raid of Middlesbrough, with Morgan Whittaker on their radar.

Whittaker has been a success in terms of goals and assists since his January 2025 move from Plymouth Argyle, for a fee which could reach £7.5 million.

Despite failing to find the back of the net in his first half-season on Teesside, Whittaker notched 14 goals in the Championship for Boro in 2025-26, as well as providing seven assists.

A left-footed right-winger, who can also play in the number 10 role and as a centre-forward, Whittaker still has three years remaining on the deal he signed a year-and-a-half ago, but Boro are undergoing somewhat of a transformation at the top end of the pitch.

Will Lankshear has been a marquee signing this summer in the centre-forward position, whilst Kyle Joseph and Myles Peart-Harris - who can both play in wide positions - have arrived too.

Max Arfsten is also set to arrive from Columbus Crew having played plenty of football as a winger, and Boro have now been linked with a move for Tottenham attacker Mikey Moore, which could potentially open the door for a Whittaker sale for the right price, even if the North East club would not want to particularly cash in on one of their star players.

West Ham signing Morgan Whittaker could produce Jarrod Bowen issue

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West Ham have been linked with a number of Championship players this summer already without actually getting any deals done, and Whittaker is the latest in a long line that is said to be on their radar.

Primarily a right-sided attacker though, Whittaker's best position would surely be a clash with West Ham's star player in the form of Jarrod Bowen, although as mentioned, the Boro star is equally adept as a number 10, and England international Bowen can operate as a centre-forward.

It is not clear as to how much Boro would value Whittaker at whilst having three years left on his contract, but West Ham are not exactly short of money after landing a combined £140 million for Fernandes and Summerville from Tottenham and Al-Hilal respectively, so they'll be almost certainly able to test the resolve of their second tier rivals.