West Ham United have confirmed that they will focus on promoting academy players in defence.
The Hammers did not bring in as many defensive recruits as fans may have expected.
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However, boss Julen Lopetegui is not too concerned, as he believes there are promising talents at the club who can shine.
“We lost (Nayef) Aguerd and didn't sign a center-back so that is why we have to look towards the academy players for this position,” he said to reporters.
Per Evening Standard, the Hammers did have defensive targets late in the window.
They did chase after Sheffield United defender John Egan and ex-Liverpool center-back Joel Matip.
However, they lost Nayef Aguerd, Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer and only signed Max Kliman and Jean-Clair Todibo.