Football
Exclusive: West Ham Look to Help Morocco’s Souffian El Karouani Engineer Premier League Move
Exclusive: West Ham are looking to help Morocco's El Karouani move to the Premier League to revive his international career. The Hammers want to strengthen their leaky defence with the 25-year-old left-back who is hungry for a new challenge after a surprise AFCON snub.
FC Utrecht v AFC Ajax - Eredivisie by NurPhoto | Getty Images
West Ham are looking to help unsettled Morocco international Souffian El Karouani engineer a move to the Premier League to help him revitalise his international career, SportsBoom can exclusively reveal.
The Utrecht defender was a surprise omission from Morocco’s Africa Cup of Nations squad gunning to win the title on home turf over the next month.
And after criticising Morocco head coach Walid Regragui’s decision to leave him out, our sources have discovered El Karouani is hungry to get his career back on track with a high-profile move to England.
The 25-year-old left-back is out of contract in June and, after three seasons in Holland, believes now is the perfect time for a new challenge.
"I think I should have been included,” reflected Karouani, battled by his AFCON omission.
“It's the coach's decision, I respect it, but I'll keep working hard. Last time, I wasn't selected either, with no explanation at all. I had no contact about it."
“With another coach, maybe it would have been different. What I show on the pitch speaks for itself.”
In other news, West Ham are preparing to cut their losses on Luis Guilherme following his struggles since arriving in England.
LEAKY DEFENCE
And it is that drive which El Karouani which has attracted the Hammers who are trying to set up a deal when the transfer window re-opens next month.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s struggling side are languishing in 18th place in the Premier League after a worrying start to the season.
Nine defeats from their opening 16 league fixtures has rightly given Espirito Santo and the club’s loyal supporters cause for concern.
And the boss Portuguese boss wants to tighten up in defence, an area he knows must improve if the Hammers are going to climb out of the relegation zone and push for mid-table security.
The Hammers have leaked an alarming 32 goals in the Premier League this season, the third highest in the top-flight this season behind fellow strugglers Burnley (33) and basement boys Wolves (35).
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.