West Ham have triggered the £17million release clause for Burnley's Maxwel Cornet ahead of the Premier League's big kick-off. The left-winger had been strongly linked with Newcastle United throughout the summer but that talk intensified last week.
Cornet's name was put to Eddie Howe last week but he refused to comment on whether Newcastle were in the running. Back then Howe said: "A predictable answer from me, I won’t comment on other people’s players."
Therefore, it would be too presumptuous to say that Newcastle have lost out to West Ham in a straight fight for the former Lyon star. The reality is that Newcastle's mere mention in Cornet's summer narrative may have pushed the Hammers into action.
