Striker Boulaye Dia, who has been relentlessly linked with West Ham United since the sale of Sebastien Haller, is set to sign for Villarreal.
When West Ham sold Haller to Ajax in January, Dia emerged as one of David Moyes’s supposed prime targets (Sport.fr).
A move never materialised in the winter window.
Instead Moyes elected to bank the money for this summer to make a more informed decision on West Ham’s 50th striker signing of the David Sullivan and David Gold era.
Senegalese striker Dia relentlessly linked with Hammers move since Haller departure
The Dia talk went quiet in recent months. But it has never gone away.
Just yesterday, a report from The Athletic claimed Reims could now sell the West Ham target.
But it appears he won’t be joining West Ham.
That’s after RMC Sport reported last night that La Liga side Villarreal are in advanced negotiations to sign the signing of the Senegalese striker.
Another one bites the dust as Villarreal close on reported Moyes target?
The 24-year-old is said to be ‘in talks that are very far along with Unai Emery’s side’.
RMC Sport claims fee negotiations are underway and Reims want just under £13m for the forward who scored 14 goals in 36 Ligue 1 matches in 2020/21.
If Moyes was still interested in Dia it will come as another blow to West Ham’s transfer plans this summer.
Villarreal can offer Dia Champions League football after winning the Europa League.
West Ham eyeing other targets?
But West Ham would undoubtedly have been able to offer the player bigger wages and the chance to play in the Premier League – a proposition The Athletic claimed was attractive to him.
So it is perhaps more likely that Moyes has other targets in mind to fill the striker void, namely the likes of Tammy Abraham and Youssef En-Nesyri.
And Moyes is reportedly keen on a former Everton man as a plan B in defence.
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