West Ham United are still trying to secure a move for Lille midfielder Amadou Onana.
That’s according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor, who has been speaking following the arrival of Gianluca Scamacca at the London Stadium
The Italian striker joins Flynn Downes and Nayef Aguerd as key arrivals in east London this summer, but Taylor has now claimed that David Moyes is still hopeful of adding Onana to his squad.
An opening offer of £19.5m was rejected out of hand by the Ligue 1 club before a second attempt worth £25.5m was also turned down, with Les Dogues underlining their intent to hold on to the 20-year-old.
A third bid of £32.3m plus add-ons has now reportedly been lodged by the Irons, with the east Londoners intent on prising the youngster from France, and when asked if there was a chance that the Belgian ace arrives in Rush Green before the transfer deadline, Taylor told GiveMeSport:
“100%. I think that bid’s still on the table but, with some of these stories, you think it doesn’t seem to add up. We get a bit lost because they have not heard of any response to that offer.
“But it’s a really substantial bid, so I do think that deal is still very much alive. As far as I’m aware, that bid hasn’t been accepted or rejected at the moment.”
TIF Thoughts on Onana and West Ham…
Do you think Onana is worth £32million?
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The one-cap Belgian starlet made 32 appearances in France’s top flight last season while holding the fort in the engine room, and is in the top 6% of his positional peers over the last year for tackles per 90 minutes with 3.45.
However, being asked to go any higher than the current proposal could finally prompt Rob Newman and his recruitment team to walk away from a deal considering Onana is still relatively unproven with just a season’s worth of experience in one of Europe’s top leagues.
That said, the fact West Ham have gone in for the youngster multiple times is surely a sign of the promise that the defensive midfielder possesses.