Watford player could replenish West Ham's midfield
West Ham United face losing Edson Álvarez, George Earthy, and Soungoutou Magassa. The Hammers will need to replace them in midfield, and this could be done by signing Imrân Louza from Watford.
According to Africafoot, "Southampton and West Ham United are pushing hard to secure the services of Moroccan midfielder Imrân Louza."
Louza has extensive Championship experience after being relegated from the Premier League with Watford in the 2021/22 season. In total, the midfielder has played 111 times in English football's second tier, scoring 15 goals with 21 assists.
He was not in Watford's squad as they beat Southampton in their opening Championship game of the season. He wants to leave the Hornets despite being their captain last season. It is believed that Louza prefers a move to West Ham over Southampton. This is no surprise as West Ham stand a much better chance of promotion back to the Premier League than Southampton. This is especially true as the Saints are down four points as a punishment for the 'Spygate' scandal.
Watford's Imrân Louza is in demand
Louza is a former Moroccan international, but he is from France and represented Les Bleus at the Under-20 and U21 levels. He began his career in his home City of Nantes in Ligue 1. Louza also returned to France on loan at Lorient in 2024.
This season, Louza has been linked with a return to Ligue 1, with Paris FC and Nice reportedly interested. Nice just avoided relegation last season, but their location on the French Riviera makes them an attractive destination. Paris FC too would be tempting, especially as they are backed by the Arnault family and Red Bull. They are an ambitious club, which now has former Chelsea manager Liam Rosenior in charge.
Louza is only 27, so he should, in his prime, be playing top-flight football. This could happen in the best division in the world, the Premier League, if he achieves promotion with West Ham. Louza's ability to play central midfield, in both defensive and attacking roles, could make him a good fit for the Hammers.
Álvarez looks set to depart for Real Sociedad, so the Hammers are losing an experienced holding midfielder. Another defensive midfielder, Magassa, has been linked with Olympique Lyonnais recently. This comes after he deleted all of his West Ham content from his Instagram page. Attacking midfielder Earthy is also to leave the Hammers for Reading.
With all these outgoings, West Ham need to strengthen, especially as the Championship season has already started. The Hammers dropped points against Burnley in their opening game and cannot afford many more slip-ups if they are to achieve automatic promotion.
