West Ham have held exploratory talks with 6ft 3in Senegal star Formose Mendy and it could hold the key to Craig Dawson’s Wolves move.
The Hammers travel to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in a huge six-pointer down at the bottom of the Premier League this weekend.
West Ham are only outside the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference and – ironically – Aston Villa’s equaliser against Wolves the last time out.
With the January transfer window open, there has been renewed speculation ahead of the game that Craig Dawson could be set for the move to Wolves he came close to completing in the summer.
Wolves’ hopes of getting Dawson in at the second time of asking – understandably – hinge on West Ham being able to land a suitable replacement.
And it seems David Moyes and head of recruitment Rob Newman are on the case.
Because West Ham have held exploratory talks with 6ft 3in Senegal star Formose Mendy and it could hold the key to Dawson’s Wolves move.
That’s according to The Athletic, who claim West Ham have been monitoring the Amiens defender, who went to the World Cup with Senegal as a squad player.
Mendy has won two caps for his country and his seen as the natural successor to Kalidou Koulibaly.
And it seems he could be the successor to Dawson at West Ham if talks go well.
“The 22-year-old centre-back is on the club’s radar and is considered an option that they may pursue,” The Athletic reports.
“It is understood exploratory conversations have taken place.
“Amiens are currently fifth in the French second division and Mendy is considered a key player in their bid to win promotion back to Ligue 1. Lens have already made an initial offer for Mendy believed to be in the region of £7million that has been rejected, with Amiens valuing him higher.”
It is a huge step up from Ligue 2 to the Premier League. But Mendy clearly has ability and potential given his involvement with Senegal.
This deal sounds very much a big if and all depends on whether Wolves are given the go-ahead to sign Dawson, who wants to move to a club further north for family reasons.
West Ham have actually already signed a centre-back this month with the free transfer arrival of Luizao from Sao Paulo. But the 20-year-old is only being considered for the club’s development team for the time-being.