West Ham United are leading the race to sign Sunderland defender Lamine Kone this summer, according to the Mirror.
The newspaper claim that the Hammers are hoping to strike an agreement with Sunderland over a £10million fee for Kone, despite the Black Cats valuing him at £15million.
The 28-year-old centre-back is determined to leave the Stadium of Light in the coming months following Sunderland’s relegation to the Championship, and West Ham are in the market for a new defender.
Slaven Bilic brought in the experienced Jose Fonte in January, while Pablo Zabaleta has also arrived this summer, but the West Ham chief is hungry for more defensive security.
But the club are set to face competition from Premier League rivals West Brom for the signature of the Ivory Coast international, after they pulled the plug on their pursuit of Liverpool’s Mamadou Sakho.
The Baggies are not willing to meet Liverpool’s excessive demands for Sakho, leaving the out-of-favour Kone as their next most attractive option.
Kone has also been linked with a move to Everton, but then-manager David Moyes succeeded in persuading his star defender to sign a new long-term deal at the club last summer.
However, Moyes’ decision to pass-up a potential £18million deal from the Toffees a year ago could see the club lose out on up to £8million this summer, although the Scot is no longer in charge at the club.
Kone is under contract until 2021, but the player wants to leave at the next available opportunity, and West Ham are fronting the queue.