West Ham have switched their focus to an exciting alternative to Jacob Ramsey — only to discover Leeds United are on the verge of snapping him up.
Things seem to be going from bad to worse for West Ham boss Graham Potter in the transfer market this week with Leeds United now adding to his window pain.
Last week Potter stated he needed more signings as West Ham closed out their fourth signing of the summer in the shape of goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
Daniel Farke joined Potter in making his feelings clear to his bosses as he said Leeds have not brought in enough quality, especially up front, to cope with a long Premier League season.
It seems Farke’s words of warning have struck a chord in the Leeds boardroom and it’s bad news for the Hammers.
Potter and Farke make it clear they need more signings
Potter is currently working on the single most important part of his summer rebuild at West Ham – the midfield.
The middle of the park has been the club’s major issue for the best part of two seasons, ever since Declan Rice departed the London Stadium.
Attempts to replace Rice have been nothing short of laughable.
Ill-planned and poorly devised recruitment has left West Ham with a slow, immobile collection of ageing midfielders who do not complement each other in the slightest.
The Hammers were just grateful one of their post Rice signings did not have a permanent option on his loan when ex Leeds star Kalvin Phillips flopped spectacularly in east London.
Potter is trying to revamp West Ham’s midfield and had made Aston Villa star Jacob Ramsey and Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes his top targets.
West Ham are in a poor position financially this summer and are having to sell in order to buy.
That has actually seen Hammers fan favourite Tomas Soucek linked with a shock move to Leeds over the last few months.
Nothing has come of that and Soucek is said to be happy to stay at West Ham despite not being a starter under Potter.
The Hammers boss was hit by a crushing blow when news emerged overnight that Ramsey has chosen Newcastle over West Ham.
West Ham turn to Ramsey alternative but Leeds set to pounce
On the same night, the Irons saw a £30m bid for Fernandes rejected by Southampton – with claims they won’t listen to offers below £50m.
With Everton signing reported West Ham targets Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Forest beating them to James McAtee too, Potter’s midfield rebuild plans have taken a serious hit this week.
Running out of options, and time, in the summer transfer window, the Hammers have turned to an exciting alternative – only to be told Leeds are signing him.
Since controversially selling Mohammed Kudus to bitter rivals Spurs, West Ham have been looking for more creative spark and flair.
That has seen Bilal El Khannouss on West Ham’s lengthy midfield target list.
And circumstances with other targets means the Moroccan star has worked his way up that list by default.
Hammers News exclusively revealed last month that West Ham wanted Bilal El Khannouss as their plan B to replace Kudus if the Ramsey move didn’t come off.
The tricky 21-year-old playmaker is said to be pushing for a move back to the Premier League and cash-strapped Leicester need money.
West Ham found that out to their benefit when making their star goalkeeper Hermansen their fourth summer signing for less than £18m despite Leicester initially demanding more than £30m.
Lines of communication are open between the Hammers and the Foxes after that deal.
And journalist Ben Jacobs claimed last week that West Ham are set to approach Leicester over a deal for El Khannouss, claiming it would be a ‘relatively easy’ for them to do because of the attacking midfielder’s £22.5m release clause.
Except Leeds have now come out of nowhere to leapfrog West Ham into pole position for El Khannouss.
Like West Ham, Newcastle had El Khannouss on the back-burner as their own Ramsey alternative.
Leeds close on El Khannouss to leave Potter’s plans in tatters
But as the Hammers go to press redial to Leicester, it emerges Leeds are in ‘pole position’ to make him a long-term investment signing.
Sources have told CaughtOffside that Leeds have offered El Khannouss £50k per week and have held talks with his representatives.
It is stated Leeds see El Khannouss as a long-term investment to ‘boost their technical quality and depth in midfield’.
West Ham provided an eyebrow-raising transfer update after the Ramsey and Fernandes blows.
Leeds are clearly prepared to trigger El Khannouss’ release clause if they are already discussing salary and their vision with the player.
It remains to be seen whether West Ham will match the bid because if they do then Potter has London life and undoubtedly a bigger wage packet he can offer.
According to the sources quoted, though, the move to Leeds looks like it is quite far down the line for El Khannouss.
That leaves West Ham pondering whether to go all-in with a renewed push to sign Fernandes from Southampton.
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
