West Ham have made a £13million bid for Chelsea full-back Emerson Palmieri and have also submitted an improved offer for PSG centre-back Thilo Kehrer.
David Moyes has been targeting defensive reinforcements in both positions all summer and has identified the duo as his leading targets in the final weeks of the transfer window.
Talks are ongoing with Chelsea over Italian international Emerson, who is surplus to requirements at Stamford Bridge and had been expected to leave even prior to the arrival of Marc Cucurella from Brighton.
West Ham are keen to seal a permanent move for the 28-year-old in order to remain in contention for the likes of Conor Gallagher and Armando Broja should Chelsea decide to let either leave on loan later in the window. Premier League rules dictate that teams may not have more than one player on loan from the same club at any one time.
Meanwhile, having seen an initial bid rejected by PSG, the Hammers have made a second formal approach for Kehrer worth €12m plus add-ons.
The German international is inside the final 12 months of his contract and the French side are looking to sell now rather than lose him for nothing next summer.
Moyes has already strengthened at centre-back once this season with the £28m signing of Nayef Aguerd from Rennes, but the Moroccan is expected to miss the first ten weeks of the season because of an ankle injury sustained in preseason.
With Craig Dawson and Angelo Ogbonna also not fit, West Ham have gone into their first two Premier League games with Kurt Zouma as their only fit centre-half and Moyes is desperate to resolve the situation after seeing his side beaten by Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.
