According to reports from The Express this morning, new West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is eyeing Monaco centre-back Aymen Abdennour – a known target of Arsenal, Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Newcastle United.
The 25 year-old was in good form for the French outfit last season, averaging 1.3 tackles, 2.2 interceptions and 2.4 successful aerial duels per match from his 18 Ligue 1 outings, and also boasts 33 caps for Tunisia.
But Monaco are offloading some talent this summer to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations and have already sold star midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia to Inter Milan, whilst Joao Moutinho could also be put up for sale.
Agent Abdelkader Jilani believes Abdennour could be the next in line, telling Foot Mercato earlier this month; “I don’t think that Monaco will prevent Abdennour from leaving.”
A host of major clubs have already been linked with the 6 foot 2 defender, namely Arsenal, Bayern Munich and Liverpool, whilst Newcastle are believed to have already made a £12million bid.
But according to The Express, West Ham have now joined the race for the ex-Toulouse man’s services, while also targeting Barcelona man Alex Song, who excelled on loan at Upton Park last year.
Abdennour recently said of his transfer situation; “I have a contract with Monaco and I’m undecided. But I can say that I want to get better every day and I want to play for one of the biggest clubs spoken about soon. I’m ready.”