West Ham eye £14.5m duo to revitalise starting XI under Julen Lopetegui

West Ham supporters are beginning to get clues as to how the London club will look under the stewardship of new coach Julen Lopetegui as the summer transfer window edges closer and closer.

Priorities for the former Wolves manager remain adding youth to an ageing defence, recruiting a long-needed striker and finding an added bite in midfield that Manchester City man Kalvin Phillips failed to bring on his loan spell.

West Ham have now been linked with a move for Brazilian defender Vitao, who is on loan at Internacional from Shakhtar Donetsk. The 24-year-old has made just three appearances from Internactional's opening seven league matches in the Brazilian league so far and is also a target for La Liga club Villarreal.

The Daily Mail reports that the Hammers have enquired about the player's availability to make a move to the Premier League. The defender came through the Palmeiras academy in Brazil before moving to Shakhtar Donetsk in 2019. He has been capped by Brazil at under-17 and under-20 level.

GiveMeSport adds that West Ham are willing to pay £6.8 million for the defender, while Villarreal have already made a £7.6 million bid and are frontrunners to complete a deal. Any negotiations this summer look set to happen directly with Internactional with Vitao's loan move set to become permanent next month - he was initially loaned to the club due to the Russia-Ukraine War in 2022.

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Internacional could drive a hard bargain for the talented defender, knowing that West Ham were willing to pay £11.5 million for compatriot Fabricio Bruno before that move collapsed.

While Vitao would certainly bolster defensive options for Lopetegui, a potential arrival up front could come in Ludogorets forward Ruan Seko.

According to Tema Sport, West Ham have already tabled a £7.6 million offer for the 23-year-old, who bagged 19 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions for the Bulgarian side last season. The report suggests that fee won't be enough to convince Ludogrets to sell, but the Premier League side may be reluctant to splurge more with the striker unproven at Premier League level.