West Ham have lodged a £16 million bid to sign defender Domagoj Vida from Besiktas, according to NTV Spor.
The Turkish sport website reports that Premier League giants Liverpool have already tabled an offer to land the 29-year-old centre-back from the Super Lig club, but the Hammers have pushed through with a bid to land the Croatian for themselves as part of boss Manuel Pellegrini’s spending spree this summer.
The Croatian international – who helped his country reach the final of the World Cup on Sunday (15 July), where they lost 4-2 to France – only signed for the Turkish outfit in January from Dynamo Kiev, penning a four-and-a-half year deal.
OPINION
The news that West Ham are bidding to sign another top-class player may come as no surprise to the Irons’ faithful. Pellegrini is building a strong team, and that is only being strengthened with each signing he makes. Vida is no exception – bidding to acquire a World Cup finalist may be a big deal for West Ham, especially if they are being rivalled by Liverpool. The Reds need a player to partner Virgil Van Dijk in the centre of defence, but his addition at the London Stadium would mean that he would partner up with one of the new signings, Issa Diop. They would prove to be a formidable partnership in the heart of the defence if Vida opted to join the East London-based outfit, and they are certainly on their way after making a bid. Pellegrini is creating a team capable of challenging for Europe – and with the Croatian’s addition, they would prove to be a force to be reckoned with.