Twist in West Ham and Spurs transfer race with Serie A star Ruslan Malinovskyi set to confirm move next week

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There has been a huge twist in a West Ham and Spurs transfer race with Serie A star Ruslan Malinovskyi set to confirm his move next week.

West Ham and rivals Tottenham Hotspur have been linked with mutual interest in a number of players in recent transfer windows.

From Djed Spence and Yves Bissouma to Filip Kostic and Nikola Milenkovic, it seems Hammers boss David Moyes and Tottenham’s Antonio Conte appreciate a similar profile of player.

Another player both West Ham and Spurs have been heavily linked with of late is Ukraine midfielder Malinovskyi.

It had been reported that Tottenham had stolen a march on West Ham in the race to sign the Atalanta ace in the January transfer window.

Calciomercato and Corriere di Bergamo claimed Tottenham were pushing forward with a move to sign the 29-year-old for just €15 million (£13 million) this month.

Hammers boss Moyes had allegedly made contact to bring the 51-capped Ukraine international to the London Stadium in the winter window (Calciomercato).

Atalanta have reportedly been keen to move Malinovskyi on this winter.

Spurs then looked to have a free run at the player after West Ham were ruled out of the running earlier this week.

But there has been a twist in the West Ham and Spurs transfer race with Serie A star Malinovskyi set to confirm his move next week.

And it seems to be bad news for Moyes and Conte because the Ukrainian has snubbed West Ham and Spurs to hook up with ex Hammers star Dimitri Payet at Marseille.

Malinovskyi is a talented and powerful player who has bagged 30 goals and 28 assists in 143 games for Atalanta (Transfermarkt).

But according to transfer reporter Fabrizio Romano, he will confirm a £10.5m move to Marseille next week after agreeing a long-term deal.

“Olympique Marseille will pay around €12m (£10.5m) fee with add-ons to Atalanta for Ruslan Malinovskyi deal, it’s gonna be a permanent move,” Romano revealed on Twitter.

“Deal almost done, to be signed next week between clubs — Malinovskyi has agreed a long term deal with OM.”

West Ham and Tottenham will have to look elsewhere now with one week of the window having already ticked by.

Given his knack for scoring goals from midfield, £10.5m is something of a bargain for a player of Malinovskyi’s quality.

Yes he is approaching 30, but as a short to medium term boost West Ham and Spurs may have missed a trick here.

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