Everton push to sign Conor Coady amid injury crisis but West Ham have been alerted
West Ham have been “sounded out” over signing Wolves captain Conor Coady as Everton “push hard” for a deal, according to talkSPORT’s Alex Crook.
Manager Frank Lampard was already very keen on the 29-year-old defender, who is suddenly available after years leading the Midlands side, but will be even more so after an injury crisis struck in the opening loss to Chelsea.
Ben Godfrey and Yerry Mina both went off in the 1-0 defeat at Goodison Park, with the former’s looking serious from the off and the latter’s seeming so innocuous it could be bad itself.
The Toffees appear to still be in the driving seat for a replacement, despite the potential threat from the Hammers, as Crook writes in his latest transfer notebook: “Everton are pushing hard to sign Conor Coady, with Wolves reluctantly set to allow their captain to leave.
“Wolves fans have reacted in uproar at suggestions Coady, 29, is on his way out of the club after seven years loyal service.
“talkSPORT understands West Ham have been sounded out as a potential destination for Coady but Everton manager Frank Lampard is keenest to snap him up.
“Lampard believes Coady’s character and mentality would provide a major lift to the Goodison Park dressing room.”
Priority
If this deal is going to get done at all it needs to get done as a matter of urgency now, for the duel reasoning of the potential threat from the London Stadium, and because the issue he was being targeted to cover has already happened.
Both Mina and Godfrey missed extensive time in the relegation threatened 2021/22 season, which Lampard wanted to avoid when he set his sights on England international Coady.
James Tarkowski has already arrived, but behind him is only Michael Keane and Mason Holgate, and the defence was frequently terrorised last year in that situation.
Coady sat on the bench for his current side’s 2-1 loss at Leeds, after being virtually ever-present for the last seven seasons.
That clearly shows that he is there for the taking, but must raise the question as to why Bruno Lage no longer sees fit to use him.
The question of whether he was an upgrade on the two now-injured Toffees would have been a valid debate, but since it has already become a question of whether he is more reliable than the pair of Everton back-ups it is a moot point, and it looks like this needs completing as quickly as possible as a result.