Incoming: Maxwell Cornet
(Picture: Getty Images)West Ham are expected to unveil Burnley winger Maxwel Cornet as their fifth signing of the summer today.
The Hammers triggered Cornet’s £17.5million release clause, which kicked in following the Clarets relegation from the Premier League last term, on Thursday and after agreeing personal terms the player was due to complete his medical on Friday morning.
West Ham were facing a race to register the Ivory Coast international by Friday’s midday deadline in order to make him eligible for Sunday’s Premier League season opener against Manchester City.
However, it is understood he would not have been expected to play a prominent part even if available, with the 25-year-old still building fitness after sitting out Burnley’s Championship opener against Huddersfield Town last week.
Cornet joined Burnley from French side Lyon last summer in a deal worth a reported €15million and was one of their best performers last term.
However, his nine Premier League goals were not enough to keep the Clarets in the top flight and he was always expected to depart after the club dropped into the second tier.
Cornet was primarily used as a winger by Burnley but is viewed by David Moyes as an option at left wing-back, as well as further forward.
He would follow Flynn Downes, Gianluca Scamacca, Alphonse Areola and Nayef Aguerd in bolstering Moyes’ options this summer and his arrival offers a timely boost for the Hammers after the frustration of seeing moves for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic and Lille midfielder Amadou Onana so far fail to materialise.
The Irons are having trouble convincing Kostic to walk away from Champions League football with the German outfit, who won the Europa League last season after beating West Ham in the semi-finals. They are also not willing to meet Onana’s wage demands, despite having agreed a fee with Lille.
