"Should steer clear" - West Ham join transfer chase for Leeds United man: The verdict | OneFootball

Highlights

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Ham United are among the clubs keeping tabs on Middlesbrough loanee Sam Greenwood, according to a report by TEAMtalk.

The Hammers could be looking to bolster their squad in January ahead of the second half of the campaign, where they will be in both the Premier League and the UEFA Europa League, but if they were to sign Greenwood, it would be for the summer as he is on loan at Boro until the end of the 2023-24 season.

Michael Carrick's side have a £1.5 million purchase clause agreed with Leeds for the attacking midfielder, but he could turn down personal terms with the Teesside club if they do not make it back to the Premier League for next season.

Greenwood is in good form for Boro, scoring four goals in 14 Championship appearances so far, and his showings have led to club scouts tracking his progress, including from David Moyes' side.

Who else is interested in Sam Greenwood?

Per TEAMtalk's report, West Ham aren't the only club keen on a potential move for Greenwood in the summer.

A handful of other current Premier League sides are also looking at the 21-year-old and weighing up whether or not he would be a good fit, and they include the London trio of Crystal Palace, Brentford and Fulham.

There is also Championship interest as well in the attacking midfielder, with both Leicester City and Southampton eyeing him up ahead of the summer - the Foxes know all about him after he scored a world-class free-kick against them back in November.

Let's see what some of the FLW think about a potential move to the London Stadium for Greenwood.

Ben Wignall

Greenwood has plenty of technical ability, there's no denying that, but the step up to a club like West Ham could be too soon.

There's every chance that one day in the future, Greenwood could be good enough to play for a club chasing the European spots of the Premier League, but just not yet.

He was a bit-part player at Leeds last season as he mainly came off the bench in his 18 top flight appearances, and Daniel Farke did not think he was good enough to be starting for the Whites this season.

His performances for Middlesbrough have been impressive and confidence-boosting, but playing for a team like West Ham is a lot different.

David Moyes has plenty of options in the roles that Greenwood likes to play as well, such as Mohammed Kudus, Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, Maxwel Cornet, Said Benrahma and Pablo Fornals among others - it just doesn't seem like the 21-year-old would be a necessary addition so they should steer clear and spend their money elsewhere.

It's a bit too soon to talk about a Premier League move for Sam Greenwood.

The 21-year-old is a talented player and could well be a top flight player in the future but he needs to prove himself at Middlesbrough this season first.

He's a technical player that can play a range of attacking roles but he's miles off West Ham United's level at the moment.

It sounds as though they may just be monitoring his progress and we've seen them shop in the Championship before but you'd imagine he'll have to be pulling in Jarrod Bowen numbers before anything concrete materialises.

He is not at that level yet.