West Ham will listen to offers for Pablo Fornals in January, despite triggering a one-year extension on his contract.
Fornals had been due to enter the final six months of his deal in the New Year and would therefore have been free to negotiate a summer free transfer with overseas clubs.
However, the Hammers have activated an option to extend the midfielder’s contract to the end of next season in the hope of recouping a transfer fee for a player who was signed from Villarreal in a £24million deal in 2019.
The 27-year-old was offered chance to return to the LaLiga club last summer and was also the subject of interest from Saudi Arabia, but the Hammers refused to sanction a sale.
Fornals finished last season in decent form, scoring a memorable late winner in the Europa Conference League semi-final victory away at AZ Alkmaar, but the arrival of Mohammed Kudus late in the summer window has seen his playing time further diminish this term.
The Spaniard has not started a Premier League game since the opening day of the season and has relied on the Europa League for regular action but David Moyes is likely to lean on his first-choice line-up more heavily when the knockout stages start after Christmas.
West Ham are also keen to add to their forward options in January, but may need player sales to increase their budget given financial fair play restrictions.
