West Ham bid for Filip Kostic of Eintracht Frankfurt

Filip Kostic, who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt and featured against West Ham in the Europa League last season, has become a target for the Hammers.

The Sun has reported that “West Ham have launched a bid for Eintracht Frankfurt wing-back Filip Kostic after missing out on David Raum.” (Raum who plays for Hoffenheim is now expected to join RB Leipzig).

“Hammers boss David Moyes is keen to improve on Aaron Cresswell at left-back and has identified Kostic as an option,” the Sun added.

Cresswell was sent off in the semi-final tie against Frankfurt last season which the German side would go on to win 3-1 on aggregate. They then defeated Rangers in the final on penalties to lift the trophy in Sevilla.

West Ham face task to tempt Europa League winner Kostic

Winning the competition results in qualification for the Champions League. Kostic has never played in Europe’s premier competition so the Hammers would de well to prize him away from that. This is especially as he was so key to Frankfurt last season where he also won UEFA Europa League Player of the Season and had the most assists in the competition with six.

Swapping playing in the Champions League for the Europa Conference which West Ham is in does not make sense. However, a chance to play in the Premier League which Kostic has not done could be tempting for the Serbian international.

Kostic started his career at FK Radnički in his homeland of Serbia. Here he made 59 appearances, scoring five times and completing nine assists.

He then moved to the Swiss side Groningen where he had a similarly impressive record with 12 goals and nine assists in 50 appearances.

This form got Kostic a move to Germany joining Stuttgart where he made 59 appearances in the Bundesliga for the club but joined Hamburg following their relegation in 2016.

He made 69 appearances for Hamburg but suffered another relegation and he was on the move again to join Frankfurt in 2018. He has been there ever since and has scored 33 goals and produced 63 assists in 169 appearances for the club.

Where is Filip Kostic’s best position?

Kostic’s main position is left midfield but he can also play on the left or right wing. He has scored and assisted goals wherever he has been in his career and has also amassed 48 caps for his country.

He played in all three of Serbia’s games at the 2018 World Cup and has helped them qualify for this year’s tournament in Qatar. They are in a group with Switzerland, Brazil and Cameroon.

It would be a big coup for West Ham to sign the player especially after missing out on Jesse Lingard yesterday. West Ham also suffered a blow in their friendly against Rangers earlier in the week as new signing Nayef Aguerd limped off injured.

However, Hamburg would be reluctant to let him go given how well he has performed for them. The player may also want to stay and embark on a Champions League campaign next season with the club especially as he was so key to getting the club there.

Kostic has also lived in Germany since moving to Stuttgart in 2014. He must be settled there and leaving the country after eight years there would be a tough decision.