The World Cup finalists West Ham could’ve had

Three years on, not even an offer of £130 million was enough to tempt Atletico into selling their talismanic forward to arch rivals Real Madrid. Alvarez is one of European football’s premier attackers these days. Score the winner in Sunday’s World Cup final, and he will join Diego Maradona, Lionel Messi and co in the pantheon of Argentinian icons.

What would you say is West Ham’s biggest transfer REGRET? 😫

David Moyes snubbed Julian Alvarez for £14m…

“I brought in a new scout who said, ‘Look, you should go for Alvarez at River Plate’,” Moyes said on the Diary of a CEO podcast. “I watched him and I thought he was a very good technician and done so many good things as a centre-forward.

“But I thought, ‘(he’s) maybe not quite the one we want’. We had Micky Antonio who had been doing very well. I decided, ‘Nah, he’s not one I’m going to take’.”

At Hammers News’ count, Alvarez is one of seventeen World Cup finalists who, at one point or another, had been linked with West Ham United.

Some rumours were probably pure speculation, of course. But others – like when Moyes turned his nose up at Argentina’s current number nine – will have Hammers fans first in the queue on the day that time machines hit the supermarket shelves.

Argentina stars West Ham United might have signed

Gonzalo Montiel

West Ham reportedly failed with a number of bids back in 2021, before right-back Montiel left River Plate for Sevilla to the tune of £9.5 million. Manuel Lanzini even admitted that he had spoken to his fellow Argentine about a move to East London.

“I think Montiel would fit in well at West Ham,” Lanzini told Ole. “I know they looked at him and couldn’t bring him in. He asked me (about West Ham).”

A year later, Montiel would score the decisive penalty as Argentina edged past France in arguably the greatest game of football the sport has ever seen. On the other hand, a forgettable loan spell at Nottingham Forest in which he started just eight Premier League matches during 2023/24 should make the Hammers feel a little better about things.

Marcos Senesi

In the year of Argentina’s third World Cup triumph, Rotterdam-based publication 1908 reported that West Ham had ‘entered the fray’ to sign Marcos Senesi from Feyenoord. Despite later claims that the Hammers had matched Bournemouth’s £13 million offer, the elegant, left-footed centre-back chose the South Coast.

Four years on, Senesi joins Tottenham on a free having established himself as one of the more consistent Premier League defenders.

Nicolas Tagliafico

Per De Telegraaf, West Ham agreed a £10 million fee with Ajax to sign diminutive left-back Tagliafico in August 2021. The deal would reportedly break down in the final hours of the transfer window.

Now representing Lyon and as sprightly as ever aged 33, Tagliafico will hope to fare better than Lucas Digne did up against Lamine Yamal this weekend.

Nicolas Otamendi

This one is slightly more, well, speculative. Reports in Spain stated that West Ham were looking to offer Otamendi the chance to stay in the Premier League after the combative centre-back fell out of favour under Pep Guardiola at Man City.

Not to worry. Soon after, Angelo Ogbonna and Craig ‘Ballon’ Dawson would form one of the strongest centre-back pairings in modern claret-and-blue history.

Rodrigo dePaul

According to Marca, West Ham failed with a £21 million bid for Atletico Madrid enforcer Rodrigo de Paul in January 2025. A few months later, a man often dubbed Lionel Messi’s bodyguard would start his new role as the Argentine’s personal muscle over in Miami.

If anything kicks off on Sunday, if Messi comes in for some rough treatment, expect to see De Paul towering behind him like the Ser Gregor Clegane behind Cersei Lannister.

Giovanni Lo Celso

West Ham reportedly enquired about Spurs playmaker Lo Celso in the summer of 2024, per Charlie Goldson. Had he made the short trip across London, Lo Celso would have become the first player sold by Tottenham to the Hammers since Callum Davenport in 2007.

Now a teammate of Pablo Fornals’ under Manuel Pellegrini at Real Betis, Lo Celso scored a lovely free-kick against Jordan in the World Cup group stages.

Exequiel Palacios

Very much the back-up to grizzled veteran Leandro Paredes, Sky Sports claimed eleven months ago that Palacios was on West Ham’s list of targets for the central midfield position. Considering how successful Mateus Fernandes would prove to be from both a sporting and financial perspective – the Hammers sold Fernandes for a £45 million profit – not landing the Leverkusen ace is more forgivable than others.

Nicolas Gonzalez

Italian publication Calciomercato threw West Ham’s name into the mix before Gonzalez left Juventus for a loan spell with Atletico Madrid. Considering that the Hammers already had a pretty handy right-footed left-winger in the shape of Jarrod Bowen, take this rumour with enough salt to season a months’ worth of Five Guys fries.

Spain stars West Ham United might have signed

Mark Pubill

Given the source – AS Roma Live – this is another we’re happy to sneer at. A Rome-based publication reporting on a West Ham targeting defender from Almeria? You’ll forgive us for feeling a little sceptical.

Pubill is one of a number of World Cup finalists who has played under Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid.

Alejandro Grimaldo

Speaking of Simeone, the Colchoneros boss recently completed a £17 million deal to bring Barcelona graduate Grimaldo back to Spain after a stellar stint with Bayer Leverkusen.

Four years earlier, club insider ExWhuEmployee told The West Ham Way podcast that the Hammers were big admirers of the then-Benfica left-back. They would go on to sign Emerson Palmieri from Chelsea instead.

Fabian Ruiz

You have to go back all the way to 2018 for the start of this rumour. According to ESPN, Moyes made a trip to Spain to watch Fabian Ruiz in the flesh while he was strutting around in the green and white stripes of Real Betis.

Four years later, West Ham came calling again, only to see Italian giants Napoli rebuff their advances (Corriere dello Sport).

Now one of the most decorated playmakers of his generation – recently becoming a two-time Champions League winner with Paris Saint-Germain – Ruiz’s scalpel-like left boot has seen him do the unthinkable; he has ousted the inimitable Pedri from Spain’s starting XI.

Dani Olmo

Barcelona’s former RB Leipzig dynamo Olmo tends to save his best displays for the national team, and this summer has been no different. Arguably the most consistent member of Luis de la Fuente’s attack, it was his inspired flick which set up Pedro Porro’s killer second against France in the semi-final.

According to The Mirror, West Ham sent scouts to watch Olmo in action for Dinamo Zagreb after the peroxide playmaker made the brave, rather unique decision to leave the fabled The Masia academy for the hard knocks of Croatia.

Alex Garcia

We can mention Leverkusen’s free-kick specialist with a much greater sense of certainty. Because, unlike many on this list, Aleix Garcia actually confirmed West Ham’s interest.

“There was interest and some conversations (with the Hammers),” Garcia told Sport last summer. “But if it didn’t happen, it’s because it wasn’t meant to be.

“For me, the Champions League is key. I’ve worked hard, and competing for it was the most important thing. (West Ham) was an interesting option, but I’m comfortable where I am.”

Like with Leverkusen teammate Palacios, West Ham might not have signed Mateus Fernandes had they tempted ex-Man City prospect Garcia back to England.

Only £1m spent… How are you feeling about West Ham’s slow summer?

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Ferran Torres

Much-maligned in some quarters due to an unhelpful penchant for squandering golden opportunities. It speaks to the persistence of this walking chance magnet, though, that Torres still scored 21 goals for Barcelona in 2025/26.

West Ham were reportedly alerted to Torres’ availability in 2024, per The Sunday Express, when cash-strapped Barca were looking to sell anything that moved.

Mikel Oyarzabal

Did you know that David Moyes once gave a debut to Spain’s sixth-highest all-time goalscorer? Mikel Oyarzabal burst onto the scene during Scot’s brief tenure as Real Sociedad coach and, according to The Sun, Moyes would have relished an East London reunion.

Potentially now on his way to becoming a ‘one-club man’ in San Sebastian, the always-underrated, always-reliable Oyarzabal hopes to fire Spain to a second successive final triumph two years after breaking England hearts in Berlin.

Borja Iglesias

And finally, a familiar name to those who remember the days when Iglesias’ name popped up repeatedly in the West Ham gossip columns.

Per Estadio Deportivo, the towering centre-forward rejected West Ham in 2019. He was linked again in 2022, before the ill-fated £30.5 million acquisition of Gianluca Scamacca.

Now at Celta Vigo, the nail polish-wearing, politically-outspoken number nine may be the joker in Spain’s pack.