West Ham United are once again being linked with a big money move for Marseille midfielder Morgan Sanson.
Marseille must sell a host of stars this summer to satisfy Financial Fair Play regulations.
According to a report from French media outlet Le 10 Sport, West Ham are hopeful of using their connection with former chief executive Paul Aldridge to help secure a deal to sign Marseille midfielder Morgan Sanson.
Aldridge joined the Ligue 1 outfit as a transfer advisor in January, with the rather unusual task of arranging big money sales of Marseille players to English clubs.
Hammers hope to use Aldridge connection
He was a well-known figure at West Ham and was was infamously involved with the Carlos Tevez and Javier Mascherano transfer sagas.
And Le 10 Sport claims the Hammers will try and use the connection to Aldridge to help snare Sanson in the summer.
West Ham allegedly wanted to sign the 25-year-old Frenchman in January.
Le 10 Sport reported that David Moyes saw an offer rejected, with Marseille valuing the midfielder at around £30 million.
Sanson is very much seen as a replacement for West Ham captain Mark Noble.
The Mark Noble replacement
He is both a distributor and someone who wins his tackles.
Commonly it’s foot in, head up, sprayed pass in a similar style to Wolves star Ruben Neves if maybe not quite the same level of quality on the ball.
Now the player has commented on his future via his entourage, who confirm there is an offer on the table for their player.
And it may not been good news for West Ham’s interest as it appears Sanson has loftier ambitions than the East Londoners can offer.
Sanson says he will only consider leaving OM if there is a better sporting proposition on the table. With Marseille set to qualify for the Champions’ League, it would be difficult for West Ham to offer that.
Unless of course West Ham can convince him of their ambition and that playing in the Premier League is a huge step up in itself.
Sanson comments on future via entourage
“For Morgan, his priority is Marseille,” his representatives told French outlet 20 Minutes.
“But he continues to be willing to listen to offers, so long as they are adequately in line with his sporting ambitions.
“Morgan has been approached a lot, but he will not leave if from a football perspective, what is being offered is not better than at Marseille.
“His aim is not to earn more money, but to improve in his football.”
If West Ham are serious about landing Sanson they will just have to hope they are his best option when Marseille are forced to sell.
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