With Pablo Zabaleta leaving the London Stadium at the end of his contract and, following Jeremy Ngakia’s decision to turn down a new deal, the search has been stepped up for another fullback.
Wague is currently on loan at Nice but, despite the Ligue One side having the option to buy the 21-year-old on a permanent basis, they have decided to send the defender back to Spain.
Barca are said to be open to loaning the player out once again or even selling him outright, so he would be a realistic target for the Irons.
West Ham won’t be making major moves in the market when the transfer window reopens due to the current financial climate and taking Wague on a temporary basis could be a good solution to their issues at right-back.
“He’s a good young player,” said Birmingham City manager John Eustace. “We got him in when he was injured, without a pre-season, so we were still unsure whether he could get to the performance levels we expected — and what we have seen — but we knew that if he is fully fit then we have got a good, young, hungry player.”
Longelo, who was named in the Championship Team of the Week earlier this month, is entering the final year of his contract.
Oko-Flex was an unused substitute for Swansea in their 2-2 draw with Longelo’s Birmingham last week. The attacker had been tracked by manager Russell Martin for 18 months before his arrival, initially appearing on his radar when he was manager of MK Dons. When Flynn Downes joined West Ham from Swansea there was a discussion about potential loans. Oko-Flex was considered the best option and Downes helped convince him to make the move.
“Flynn spoke really highly of the gaffer and just hearing it from him and knowing the way Swansea play made my mind up,” said Oko-Flex.
