With West Ham United expected to sell Declan Rice in the coming weeks, the Hammers are going to have a fair bit of money to spend on the transfer market.
That’s why seeing them be linked with a move for a 19-year-old midfielder at quite a high price isn’t that surprising.
This comes from La Voix du Nord, who explain that West Ham are one of four Premier League clubs interested in Lille’s Carlos Baleba.
The young midfielder may have only made six starts for the Ligue 1 side, but what he has shown in that time has impressed scouts in England enough to take a gamble on him.
It’s explained West Ham are one of the more ‘insistent’ clubs after Baleba, and would be ‘ready to put €30m’ to ensure they get him.
The player’s entourage, contacted by La Voix du Nord, didn’t confirm the clubs, but did admit that the fee was correct.
While it might seem like a lot of money, the newspaper use Amadou Onana as an example of a player who left Lille early to make a name for himself in England, and achieving just that.
It’s said that while Lille aren’t planning on selling the young Cameroonian, but it ‘isn’t excluded’ that they might have to ‘review that stance’ should someone like West Ham come knocking with a big cheque.
