David Moyes has reportedly bid £9m for West Ham supporting midfield ace Flynn Downes who is like a young Mark Noble.
Moyes is facing a big rebuild at West Ham this summer following a raft of departures.
West Ham had the second oldest squad in the Premier League last season.
The Hammers have signed £30m defender Nayef Aguerd and made goalkeeper Alphonse Areola’s loan move permanent for around £10m.
A striker, central midfielder, attacking midfielder and left-back are next on West Ham’s transfer hit list.
Currently Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek are West Ham’s only senior central midfielders following the retirement of captain Mark Noble and departure of loan flop Alex Kral.
So what better way to replace homegrown Hammer Noble than with a fellow West Ham fan who bears striking similarities to the former skipper in his pomp.
That appears to be what the Irons are trying to do.
Because Moyes has bid £9m for West Ham supporting midfield ace Downes who is like a young Noble.
According to The Athletic, West Ham are competing with Crystal Palace for Swansea City midfielder Downes.
“Palace were the favourites to sign Downes last week, but Swansea had been holding out for a bigger fee and that has opened the door for West Ham to join the race,” The Athletic reports.
“Swansea are looking for close to £12 million for Downes, who joined the Championship club from Ipswich Town last summer and thrived under Russell Martin.
“Palace, who have had a longstanding interest in Downes that precedes his time at Swansea, are now prepared to offer £9 million plus add-ons. It is understood that West Ham are willing to match Palace’s fee.”
Born in Brentwood, Downes is reportedly a West Ham fan and anyone who has watched him play for Swansea or Ipswich will see obvious similarities between the 23-year-old and Noble.
The all-action midfielder has a remarkably similar style to Noble and – importantly – possesses a touch more agility and pace than the much-loved retired skipper.
Getting someone who loves West Ham in the building after losing Noble would be great for the dressing room.
And as Swansea fans will attest, Downes is a seriously tidy player who likes to take the ball off his defenders and build the play.
This is a very interesting move from West Ham that fits perfectly with Moyes’ Red Bull philosophy of looking to the Championship for top talent as he did with Jarrod Bowen.
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