Ever since West Ham made a very late bid to try and sign Kevin Malcuit from Saint-Etienne during the January transfer window, the right-back has been continuously linked with a move to the Premier League.
The Hammers have been the most consistently named as his destination, while a brief claim that Manchester United were interested surfaced as quickly as it disappeared towards the end of February.
However, France Football on Monday believe West Ham are indeed going to face some competition for Malcuit’s signature, as Newcastle United are also readying an offer for the end of the season.
The French magazine report that both clubs are preparing bids to convince Saint-Etienne to let their star defender go, and with Newcastle well on their way to get promoted back to the top tier, both offers will be attractive ones to the player.
The interest in the player makes sense, considering how little Jesus Games has been used by Rafael Benitez this year, pointing towards his time at Newcastle being short-lived, and the fact Vurnon Anita isn’t exactly a natural in the role either.
In a previous article, we suggested a bid of around £12-13m might be needed to convince Saint-Etienne to sell, especially if they feel they can hold club to ransom depending on their need for Malcuit, and that remains the case.
The fact that two English sides are now strongly interested in his services will only reinforce that, and West Ham might have to open their wallet a bit further than expected now that Newcastle have joined the race.
