West Ham have been named as suitors for Real Betis full-back Álex Moreno having reportedly watched him on several occasions this season.
That’s according to Grada 3, who say the Hammers has sent ‘emissaries’ to watch the 26-year-old left-back on several occasions at Benito Villamarín.
They ‘could be’ one of the teams interested in signing him this summer, with it claimed that the player could become one of the transfer ‘soap operas’ at the Spanish club.
Now, Grada 3 claim the information comes from fellow newspaper Estadio Deportivo, but a little digging found this isn’t entirely true.
Yesterday Estadio reported that there was Premier League and Bundesliga interest in Moreno, who had ‘proposals’ from both leagues before joining Betis last summer.
They reported that ‘intermediaries and scouts’ had been to Betis to watch over him, alongside teammates Sergio Canales and Loren Moron.
Several clubs ‘have taken the next step’ and asking about his availability for the summer transfer window, and that one Premier League team, in particular, has ‘expressed their serious interest’.
Their claim was that said club was willing to multiply his wage ‘several’ times over and pay Betis double the £6.3m they paid for Moreno in the summer. They also say he has a €40m release clause in his contract so that figure may be a little low.
They did not, however, specifically name West Ham, that was Grada 3, who were reporting on the back of the original Estadio Deportivo report.
Estadio have since followed up on their original claims by saying there is an English side ‘preparing a double-digit proposal’ for the left-back, although it would take a ‘very juicy’ offer to tempt Betis.
Again, though, they do not name West Ham, preferring instead to maintain their air of mystery around the whole scenario.
It seems there’s certainly interest from someone in England, then, and if it isn’t the Hammers, then it remains to be seen if that name appears sooner rather than later.
Whoever it is they look likely to face a fight to get their man, with Betis happy to hold out for a significant fee and Moreno himself ‘comfortable, loved and integrated’ at the club’.
