West Ham believe that their attempted £30m move for Saïd Benrahma could still happen despite the deal running into complications because of a sticking point between the winger and his current club Brentford.
David Moyes is keen to strengthen his attack and West Ham, who have also bolstered their defence by signing Craig Dawson on a season-long loan from Watford, have agreed to pay an initial £25m plus £5m in add-ons to sign Benrahma. While the deal has stalled in the last 24 hours, the east Londoners remain confident that the Algerian will join them.
West Ham could revive their interest in Bournemouth’s Joshua King if the transfer falls through and it is believed that the delay has been caused by a disagreement between Benrahma and Brentford. However West Ham, who are yet to discuss personal terms with the player, remain hopeful that the 25-year-old will be in position to have a medical on Wednesday.
The Hammers ramped up their interest in Benrahma, who was one of the standout players in the Championship last season, and had a £13m bid for King rejected on Sunday. Bournemouth are holding out for £17.5m for the forward, who is out of contract next summer. King wants to return to the Premier League following Bournemouth’s relegation and West Ham have not ruled out making an improved offer for the Norway international.
West Ham, who signed the Czech Republic right-back Vladimir Coufal for £5.4m from Slavia Prague earlier this month, have focused more on outgoings this window. They raised funds by selling Grady Diangana to West Brom for £18m and made further space on their wage bill by loaning Felipe Anderson to Porto last week.
However business in the opposite direction has been slow. Moyes was keen to sign a commanding centre-back after selling Diangana, a winger, and switched his focus to Dawson after missing out on a host of targets. Dawson wanted to leave Watford following their relegation to the Championship and the 30-year-old will give West Ham experienced cover in defence.
Moyes said: “It’s no secret that we have been trying to add more quality to the squad in defensive positions, not only for the longer-term but also to ensure we are well protected right now, and the opportunity to bring in Craig on loan was an addition that will make the group stronger through this period.”
from Football | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3jUND65
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