West Ham United are eyeing a move for Hoffenheim defender David Raum but face competition from Newcastle for his signature.
That’s according to BILD, who say the Premier League duo could end up competing with Borussia Dortmund for the 24-year-old left-back.
They explain that Dortmund have identified the defender as a player who could be an important piece of the puzzle in their summer rebuild, but a deal may be harder to get over the line than they expected.
Hoffenheim don’t need to sell because his current deal runs until 2026, and a €30m release clause only activates next year, so his price is ‘freely negotiable’.
That’s a disadvantage for Dortmund as there is interest in the Premier League, with West Ham and Newcastle clubs who ‘have their eye’ on the player.
They can both ‘easily handle’ the €40m asking price, a figure that would put Dortmund out of the picture.
They would need to get rid of players to raise funds before they could make such a move, giving the Hammers and Magpies an advantage.
West Ham’s interest is nothing new as they were reported to be keen on Raum, and other Bundesliga players, last month.
Newcastle are new suitors, but the interest makes sense, with several left-backs named as targets this summer even though they’re signing Matt Target on a permanent deal after his loan spell.
They could presumably afford that €40m figure more easily than West Ham but it would still be big figure given the extent they’re planning to rebuild the squad this summer.
