Aitor Karanka has spoken out on the club’s attempts to sign a new right-back this summer.
As well as confirming our interest in West Ham’s Sam Byram, the manager revealed that we may have to wait for a full-back to be signed with a loan deal before August 31st just as likely:
“He is one on the list. He is a West Ham player and we are not in a hurry. We have another few days to try to buy someone and another two or three weeks to try and bring someone in on loan.”
Karanka’s options at right-back are severely limited currently with Tendayi Darikwa the only player in the first-team squad who is a natural in the position.
Despite the number of signings this summer, nobody has come in to replace Eric Lichaj, but it seems the club are working hard behind the scenes to rectify the situation.
Negotiations for Byram seem to be pretty difficult, and it wouldn’t surprise me if we do move on to other targets. With just over three weeks to go before the loan window closes, the club are not under that much pressure to get a player in at the moment. Still, the manager would probably like to strengthen such a key position sooner rather than later.
