Six months after Steidten arrived at the London Stadium<\/a> in 2023, he made his first appointment to the recruitment staff at West Ham.<\/p>\n Max Hahn was brought to West Ham by Steidten in February 2024<\/a>, joining as Head of Technical Recruitment and Analysis.<\/p>\n Hahn is active on social media, often giving a clue to his influence on transfers when he reposts West Ham\u2019s announcements of certain signings.<\/p>\n Steidten left West Ham with a hidden gem in scout Hahn<\/p>\n The highly-rated recruitment specialist has impressed so much at West Ham he was retained after Steidten was sacked.<\/p>\n Since then several German sides, including Schalke, have looked at Hahn as someone who could step into a Sporting Director role while Championship clubs Southampton and Blackburn Rovers have also been credited with an interest.<\/p>\n What do West Ham need to do to EMULATE Brighton\u2019s success? <\/p>\n Signing Tochukwu Nnadi might be a very good start\u2026<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc47 Join the debate; share your insight. Use the comment button on the bottom left to have your say <\/p>\n Word is that Hahn played a key role in the identification of El Hadji Malick Diouf and Soungoutou Magassa in the summer while he also pushed for the signing of brilliant midfielder Mateus Fernandes.<\/p>\n But anyone working in recruitment at West Ham will not have proved themselves until they finally get the right striker into the club.<\/p>\n Niclas Fullkrug will leave the Hammers in January as the club\u2019s latest in a long line of striker flops.<\/p>\n Since David Sullivan arrived at West Ham in 2010, a total of 57 strikers have been signed.<\/p>\n Most have failed to work out with slow, immobile, injury-prone and ill-fitting Fullkrug being a prime example.<\/p>\n A move back to Germany or Italy is on the cards for the Germany international.<\/p>\n West Ham\u2019s focus is on finally getting it right in the striker stakes in January, not least because their Premier League lives depend on it.<\/p>\n Now the brainbox West Ham scout has sprung a surprise by picking Swansea star Zan Vipotnik as his choice for a January striker signing.<\/p>\n West Ham\u2019s board confirmed who is calling the shots on transfers<\/a> heading into the January transfer window<\/a>.<\/p>\n Brainbox West Ham scout picks Vipotnik as striker signing<\/p>\n One of the biggest things to come from that Hammers News conversation with the top spokesman for the club\u2019s owners is that Hahn will very much have his input alongside the manager Nuno Espirito Santo<\/a>.<\/p>\n West Ham have been linked with a host of forwards including Joshua Zirkzee, Promise David, Ivan Toney and several Brazilians.<\/p>\n But Vipotnik is a new name on the list, right out of left-field \u2013 at least to the untrained football mind perhaps.<\/p>\n Hammers News understands the 23-year-old Slovenian is the name Hahn and the recruitment team have put forward as their pick for the striker position in January. <\/p>\n![\"Zulte](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Tochukwu-Nnadi-Image-819x1024.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Slovenian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2211524478-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Athena Pictures\/Getty Images<\/p>\n![\"Swansea](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2242878798-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Athena Pictures\/Getty Images<\/p>\n