French clubs bid for sensation only to discover he could be West Ham bound

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French clubs have bid for a sensation only to discover he could be West Ham bound in the summer transfer window.

New Hammers boss Julen Lopetegui has said he wants to make a ‘big noise’ with West Ham.

But off the pitch, it is in the interests of technical director Tim Steidten to keep his transfer activity quiet until he is sure he can get a deal over the line.

West Ham have been linked with a staggering number of players this summer.

So much so that some supporters are concerned the Hammers are adopting a scattergun approach to transfers.

Last summer Steidten was very cunning in the way he went about his business to get deals done for Mohammed Kudus and Edson Alvarez ahead of some top clubs.

Steidten famously lured Ajax into “beating” West Ham to Man City winger Carlos Borges knowing the Dutch club’s financial situation would mean they then had to sell Kudus.

West Ham are trusting Steidten’s judgement as he takes full control of transfers.

The German made Luis Guilherme West Ham’s first summer signing.

Clubs bid for star only to discover he could be West Ham bound

But those who were following the early throes West Ham’s window activity will know Guilherme was not Steidten’s first target while over in Brazil.

In the search for a new left-sided attacker – one of eight positions the Hammers want to strengthen this summer – Steidten flew to Brazil for talks with Corinthians over Wesley Gassova.

The 19-year-old is a Brazil Under 20 teammate of Guilherme. West Ham made a couple of offers for Wesley but Corinthians kept moving the goalposts over the price.

So West Ham moved on to other targets.

That’s when the likes of Jota Silva came into the picture while Jack Clarke, Jaden Philogene and Wilfried Zaha have been linked too.

Two weeks ago a report claimed the Hammers had reignited a move for Wesley as they continued their search for a new left-sided attacker.

Once again, though, that talk fizzled out as quickly has it has reignited.

Since then unrest has erupted at Corinthians with fans storming the club’s training ground angry about the team’s underperformance so far as they sit in the relegation zone after 12 games.

The unrest has seen several of the club’s star players linked with moves away.

Sensing a bargain or two, Ligue 1 sides have been sniffing around.

Now French clubs have bid for sensation Wesley only to discover he could yet be West Ham bound.

Hammers still in the mix for Wesley

In an exclusive for Foot Mercato, journalist Sebastien Denis has claimed Corinthians are now looking to sell Wesley.

The likes of Nice and others have contacted Corinthians after being told the player would be open to the idea of dipping his toe in Ligue 1 before moving to the Premier League.

But the Brazilian club informed them there would be no bargains because West Ham – and London rivals Chelsea – have both made official offers which remain live situations.

So it seems the reports from a couple of weeks ago about West Ham still looking to try and sign Wesley were true.

A report emanating from Italy at the weekend claimed Spurs were rivalling West Ham for his signature.

That report stated West Ham are refusing to go above £20m for the young attacker.

It remains to be seen whether that is still the case.

The Hammers are said to currently be working on four deals – with three potentially close.

So it may be that Steidten wants to try and get those concluded before turning his attentions back to Wesley.

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