Lorient striker U-turn overnight all but confirms Terem Moffi is on his way but will it be to West Ham as hopes hang in the balance

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Lorient’s striker U-turn overnight all but confirms Terem Moffi is on his way but will it be to West Ham as hopes hang in the balance.

West Ham’s pursuit of Moffi is entering the end game now with less than 72 hours to go until the transfer deadline.

Hammers News brought you bang up to date with the latest twists and turns in the saga last night.

But since then there has been yet another significant development.

On Thursday evening Lorient’s intended replacement, Bamba Dieng, failed a medical casting doubt over whether Moffi would be allowed to leave with West Ham and Nice watching on.

Lorient’s preference has always been to sell to West Ham rather than rivals Nice.

But the player’s preference – it is reported – has always been to join Nice.

Moffi was left out of Lorient’s squad for their game against Rennes on Friday night – a sure sign they are protecting their asset ahead of an impending sale.

Then there was a Lorient striker U-turn overnight which all but confirms Moffi is on his way, but will it be to West Ham as hopes hang in the balance.

The French club suddenly announced the signing of Dieng last night on a four-and-a-half year deal.

It is now almost certain Moffi will leave. The good news for West Ham is that they already have a deal in place with Lorient for the 23-year-old Nigerian for £20m plus.

The bad news is word in France is that he still only wants Nice.

And worse still, Nice – who have been struggling to get close to matching West Ham’s offer – have offloaded striker Andy Delort to Nantes, raising guaranteed funds and indicating they are expecting to make a signing before the deadline.

So you would have to think at this stage that West Ham’s hopes look bleak.

Unless David Moyes and the Hammers can persuade Moffi to move to the London Stadium, it seems likely he will end up at Nice given the developments there and at Lorient in the last 48 hours.

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