West Ham are scouting Ajax goalkeeper Charlie Setford, along with three other Premier League teams, according to TEAMtalk.
The website reports that the Hammers have been “looking closely” at the England Under 20 international’s progress.
Setford has already been handed his professional debut, with Ajax’s Under 21s playing in the Keuken Kampioen Divisie, which is the Dutch second division.
The 19-year-old has made 30 appearances in the competition over the last three seasons, having also captained the team on multiple occasions.
Setford is close to making his first-team debut for Ajax
Although he has yet to make his first appearance for the senior side, the teenager has been named on the bench on multiple occasions so far this campaign.
In the Eredivisie, Setford has been a substitute 7 times, while in the Europe League, he was named in the matchday squad for two qualifiers and three group games, including both fixtures against Brighton.
West Ham will have competition for the keeper
As already mentioned, there are multiple Premier League clubs keeping an eye on Setford’s progress. Like the Irons, both Arsenal and Liverpool have been scouting the Englishman for a while.
However, TEAMtalk claim Chelsea have also recently started watching Setford, and the Blues have been pretty aggressive in terms of their youth recruitment strategy since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the team last year.
David Moyes’s side could still arguably offer Selford a better route to playing first-team games. While they do have two talented senior goalkeepers in Alphonse Areola and Lukasz Fabianski at the moment, the latter could leave the London Stadium when his contract expires next summer.
It could leave room in the squad for someone like Selford, who could become second-choice if he is good enough.
