West Ham are advancing in talks with Ajax over Mohammed Kudus and are set to step up their interest in the Montpellier striker Elye Wahi.
Tim Steidten, West Ham’s technical director, has flown to Amsterdam to meet Ajax officials and confidence is growing that a deal for Kudus will go ahead. West Ham, who are making progress in their pursuit of the Stuttgart centre-back Konstantinos Mavropanos, are reacting to the likelihood of losing Lucas Paquetá to Manchester City by hunting for attacking reinforcements.
West Ham are considering whether to offer Jesse Lingard a short-term deal after allowing the former Manchester United and Nottingham Forest midfielder to train with them this week. Lingard is without a club and is looking to prove his fitness to David Moyes.
Steidten’s focus is on clinching a deal for Kudus, who has also been targeted by Arsenal, Brighton and Chelsea. The attacking midfielder could cost about £40m and West Ham like the Ghana international’s versatility. There is a feeling Kudus could also play up front. West Ham are also tracking Nottingham Forest’s Brennan Johnson and the Rennes winger Jérémy Doku, who is expected to join City.
Steidten is also driving the interest in Wahi, who scored 19 goals in Ligue 1 last season. The France Under-21 striker has interest from Chelsea, Eintracht Frankfurt and Paris Saint-Germain but West Ham are serious contenders for his signature. West Ham are set to hold initial talks with Montpellier, who are asking for £30m.
Moyes wants a striker and West Ham had a £40m bid for Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke rejected last month. They retain an interest in Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun and Feyernoord’s Santiago Giménez is another on their list.
West Ham pulled out of a deal to sign Harry Maguire from Manchester United this week. They are looking at alternative targets in central defence and are interested in Mavropanos. The 25-year-old Greece international spent four years at Arsenal before joining Stuttgart. West Ham are also interested in the Bayer Leverkusen defender Odilon Kossounou.
