West Ham have completed the signing of the free agent Kyle Walker-Peters, whose Southampton contract expired this summer. The former Tottenham full-back joins up with Graham Potter to continue the Hammers’ summer business, which has been slow-going so far.
“He was a big, big part of me making the decision,” said Walker-Peters of Potter. “I’ve always liked his style as a coach and I think it’s going to suit me best. He spoke about trying to make the club like, a real family feel and that’s what I’m all about and I’d like to think I’m a good fit.”
Walker-Peters, who won two caps for England in 2022, spent five years at Southampton, enduring two relegations, and now joins a club whose previous summer signings were El Hadji Malick Diouf, a left-wingback from Slavia Prague, and the youngster Daniel Cummings from Celtic. Walker-Peters will likely play on the right.
Potter said: “He is a player I’ve always thought highly of and been impressed by whenever he has faced one of my teams. He has a really good pedigree, a top professional who has established himself as a respected Premier League player and still has his best years in front of him.”
Meanwhile, Brighton have put distance between the club and reports that Evan Ferguson, the Republic of Ireland striker, has concluded a loan move to Roma. A move to the Serie A club is, though, understood to be in progress with a number of formalities still to be completed.
In Italy, there have been reports a deal has been agreed for an initial loan with a €40m (£34.5m) option to buy the player. Ferguson spent half last season on loan at West Ham for a disappointing spell in which he started just one match and was unable to score.