Oh no no Amadou Onana what are you thinking as huge new Everton claim is made in tussle with West Ham for midfield giant.
What a difference a day makes… 24 little hours.
Well when it comes to West Ham and the transfer window sometimes it takes just 24 minutes.
And that was the case last night when West Ham’s Premier League rivals Everton came out of nowhere to enter the race for Lille midfield ace Onana.
Persistence looked set to pay off for David Moyes as it was widely reported that West Ham had finally seen a bid accepted by Lille for Onana.
It has been widely reported that Moyes wants to bring another central midfielder to West Ham this summer following the arrival of Flynn Downes.
And Onana is clearly the one the Scot wants alongside Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek in a mouthwatering midfield.
But it seems former Hammer Frank Lampard has a touch of the Eddie Howe’s. Because the desperate Everton boss launched an 11th hour bid to hijack West Ham’s move for Onana last night.
The story broke via reliable Italian transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano late last night.
“West Ham have full agreement with Lille for Amadou Omana on £33m fee but there’s no agreement on personal terms,” Romano said on Wednesday night.
“Been told Onana prefers Everton as destination, as of now – this is why West Ham deal is stalling.”
Given the Toffees are weaker than last season – when they narrowly avoided relegation – it looks set to be another difficult campaign at Goodison Park.
So West Ham, who also have European football to offer, would surely not be unduly concerned by Everton’s interest?
After all the Hammers have already seen off moneybags Newcastle for Nayef Aguerd and Alphonse Areola this summer.
But it is a case of ‘Oh no no Amadou Onana what are you thinking’ as a huge new Everton claim is made in the tussle with West Ham for this midfield giant.
Because new reports this morning claim the 6ft 5in Belgian prefers a move to the Toffees because of a superior financial package, putting Everton in the box seat to snatch him away from West Ham.
It seems the incentive is more money at Everton than West Ham are willing to give the 20-year-old.
Everton have matched West Ham’s bid for Onana and also have also offered him a more lucrative wage package according to The Daily Mail.
The Mail has revealed that the Lille midfielder is more inclined to link up with Frank Lampard at Goodison Park.
Furthermore, Belgium journalist Sacha Tavolieri has suggested (via Twitter, 3 August) that personal terms are almost finalised between Onana and Everton.
Having chased Onana all summer and finally had a bid accepted at the fourth attempt, this would come as a massive blow to West Ham.
Perhaps it is Onana’s agent working the room to get his client a better package with West Ham.
You do get this kind of brinkmanship in mega money deals after all.
But the noises we are now hearing today certainly do not bode well for the Hammers.
Perhaps Onana also believes he will play more at Everton with West Ham possessing one of the strongest starting midfield partnerships in the Premier League.
Working with a midfield great like Lampard would understandably appeal to a young player. But is Lampard even going to be at the club long-term if Everton struggle again?
Onana and his representatives need to seriously think about what they do next.