West Ham want Adam Hlozek on loan & new central defender

Exclusive - West Ham want to sign Sparta Prague forward Adam Hlozek on loan in January, and are also keen to recruit a new central defender following Angelo Ogbonna's knee injury.

19-year-old Hlozek is a regular feature in the Czech Republic national team alongside Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Alex Kral - all of whom have joined the flying Hammers within the past two years - and has been on the club's radar for the best part of 12 months.

West Ham's interest in Hlozek - who can play up front but predominantly plays on the left flank - was first revealed by 90min in January and although a move did not materialise over the summer, the club remain keen to bring him to the London Stadium.

As was the case then, Hlozek has plenty of admirers from some of the biggest clubs from around Europe - including Juventus, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund - and it's only a matter of time before he moves on to a bigger stage.

90min has learned that Hlozek now feels ready to move on and West Ham are preparing a bid that could see him move to the capital in January on loan with an obligation to buy - built around similar performance based incentives used in the deal to sign Soucek from Sparta's rivals Slavia Prague in 2020.

The good news for West Ham - should any other interested parties come forward with an offer - is that they now have a powerful ally on their side in billionaire investor Daniel Kretinsky, who purchased a 27% stake in the club on 10 November.

He also has a 40% share in Sparta Prague and serves as the club's president, which should stand West Ham in good stead when it comes to negotiating a deal both clubs are happy with.

Were West Ham to persuade Sparta to let Hlozek join on loan, they would then be able to spend the money they will have available in January on a new central defender - and potentially another striker.

The Hammers hadn't planned to be in the market for a new centre-half but the serious knee injury suffered by Ogbonna in the 3-2 win over Liverpool, coupled with the club's ongoing involvement in the Europa League and hectic fixture schedule, has caused a rethink.

West Ham manager David Moyes may look to the Championship for potential targets - like he has done previously with Jarrod Bowen and Said Benrahma - but knows that the division's best players are likely to come at a premium price midway through the season.

Despite that, enquiries will be made over the coming weeks to ensure the club have sufficient cover for Kurt Zouma, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop.

There's also an outside chance of West Ham looking to sign another out and out striker to cover Michail Antonio.

The Jamaican, who scored a stupendous goal against the United States in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday, is currently the club's only recognised option up front, though Jarrod Bowen, Andriy Yarmolenko and others have filled in at times.

Hlozek is capable of playing in that role, though his impressive goal return at Sparta - which included 15 goals in 19 Czech First League games during 2020/21 - was delivered as a wide forward.

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