There has been a late twist as Everton pounce to derail a deal while West Ham hesitate over a move for a top target.
Whenever West Ham are linked with a player at the moment it seems Premier League rivals Everton are lurking too.
The Hammers and Toffees have already been linked with alleged mutual interest in a number of players this summer window.
It was reported ovr the weekend that Everton have been trying to hijack West Ham technical director Tim Steidten’s plans to sign Lyon centre-back Jake O’Brien.
And it seems O’Brien is not the only Hammers target Everton boss Sean Dyche has his eyes on.
Everton’s financial situation dictates they must cut their cloth carefully when it comes to transfers.
But they have some money to invest after selling Ben Goddfrey to Atalanta for £10m.
Toffees and Hammers doing battle in window
Meanwhile scepticism surrounding West Ham’s transfer budget has been dismissed this week after Steidten insisted the club is in an excellent financial position – as previously reported extensively on Hammers News.
As well as O’Brien, it was claimed recently that the Toffees are trying to beat West Ham to the signing of Hull’s Jaden Philogene.
There appeared to be a big blow for both West Ham and Everton overnight, though, when it was confirmed that Hull City defender Jacob Greaves – another Hammers target – and their attacker Philogene were both in talks to join newly-promoted Ipswich.
Crucially Ornstein noted that while a double deal was likely, Philogene’s move was less certain.
Now Everton have pounced to derail that deal while West Ham hesitate over a move for a top target.
Everton pounce to derail deal while West Ham hesitate
Greaves and Philogene have been linked with moves to West Ham all summer.
Particularly with the club keen to sign the best talent from the Championship and recruit homegrown player.
Steidten has stated he wants young, talented players who can play across multiple positions. The Hammers also want more homegrown talent.
So Philogene – who can play across all attacking positions – ticks several boxes.
There has been a major development, though, according to The Daily Mail’s Simon Jones.
Because not only have Everton swooped to agree a deal with Hull, they have been told the player has indicated he wants to join them ahead of other clubs in the mix.
Philogene has indicated he wants Everton move
Jones claims West Ham ‘admire’ Philogene – who had looked set for a shock move to Barcelona just last week.
But he states the Hammers have failed to match the drive of their rivals such as Palace, Ipswich and now Everton in pushing to bring the 22-year-old Hammersmith born star back to London.
The 11th hour twist will leave fans asking what are West Ham waiting for? Especially as the last attacking player the Hammers signed from Hull didn’t work out too badly – a certain Jarrod Bowen.
Everton are of course a massive club in their own right. But West Ham are far more ambitious and stable than the Toffees right now.
The Hammers also have the lure of London for Philogene.
West Ham may take some comfort in an update from journalist Alan Nixon, who has questioned whether Philogene is a ‘Dyche player’.
Nixon says the developments over the last 24 hours suggest the player is being ‘offered around’.
Why Jaden Philogene is so coveted
Why are West Ham, Everton, Palace and Ipswich fighting for Philogene?
He recorded an impressive average match rating of nearly 7.5/10 last season. That’s some going for an attacking player.
That officially made him the third best player in the Championship behind two other alleged Steidten targets – Jack Clarke and Crycensio Summerville.
Philogene provided six assists and scored 12 goals for Hull last term.
One of those goals was a simply stunning solo effort which was deemed worthy of a nomination for the famous Puskas award – given to the scorer of the best goal in the world for that year.
Philogene put the ball through a defender’s legs in the box, cut back inside and then produced a delicate chipped Rabona finish into the top corner of the goal in a packed area.
The goal, which you can see in the video below, was denied entry for the Puskas award because it was deemed to have taken a slight deflection on its way into the net.
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