West Ham have bolstered their attacking options by signing the Brighton striker Evan Ferguson on loan for the rest of the season.
Graham Potter, who has also recalled the midfielder James Ward-Prowse from his loan spell at Nottingham Forest, was keen to bring in a forward because of injuries to Niclas Füllkrug and Michail Antonio.
West Ham explored a number of options before winning the race to sign Ferguson, who is fit again after an ankle issue. Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Everton and Tottenham also considered the 20-year-old, who made his professional debut under Potter at Brighton.
Ferguson, who has scored once this season, will hope to revive his career at the London Stadium. He is regarded as one of the best young forwards in England and will have the opportunity to play regular football at West Ham.
Potter has not pushed for major investment in his squad since replacing Julen Lopetegui as the manager last month. He wants to keep his powder dry for the summer and has held on to funds by bringing back Ward-Prowse. West Ham did not insert a recall option when they loaned the former Southampton midfielder to Forest last summer but the clubs have reached an agreement to bring the arrangement to an early conclusion. Ward-Prowse has been on the fringes at Forest but is an experienced competitor who will boost West Ham’s midfield options.
West Ham had a bid turned down for Celtic’s 18-year-old striker Daniel Cummings, who is expected to sign a pre-contract with them for a summer move. They also failed with an attempt to sign the Lorient forward Eli Junior Kroupi, who is likely to join Bournemouth at the end of the season. West Ham were also looking to sign a centre-back.
Brighton have acquired Stefanos Tzimas from Nürnberg for an undisclosed fee on a contract to 2030 but the Greece Under-21s forward will return to the Bundesliga 2 club for the remainder of the season. Brighton’s coach, Fabian Hürzeler, said: “Stefanos is an exceptional young talent, an out-and-out centre-forward with a natural ability to score goals.”
Newcastle defender Lloyd Kelly has joined Juventus on loan for the rest of the season, with the Italian giants having an obligation to make the deal permanent for around £20m in the summer. The 26-year-old only joined Newcastle on a free transfer last summer.
Chelsea have agreed a deal to sign teenage midfielder Mathis Amougou from St Etienne. The fee for Amougou is £12m. Chelsea have also enquired about Sporting youngster Dário Essugo, but that will now have to wait until the summer. Borussia Dortmund have completed the loan signing of Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka. The 21-year-old has only appeared in the Conference League and Carabao Cup for the Blues this season.
In the Championship, promotion contenders Burnley have pulled off something of a coup to sign the forward Marcus Edwards on loan from Sporting until the end of the season. The 26-year-old knows Burnley’s manager, Scott Parker, from his time in Tottenham’s academy.
Middlesbrough have signed former Leicester striker Kelechi Iheanacho on loan from Sevilla for the rest of the season.
