West Ham United are eyeing up a pair of Chelsea stars as they look to strengthen their side following the sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal earlier in the month.
David Moyes’ side have netted £105m from the sale of their captain, but are yet to bring in any new players this summer with less than a month before the new season starts.
They have seen bids turned down for both Manchester United defender Harry Maguire and Fulham central midfielder Joao Palhinha, with Fulham demanding a fee of around £70m for the Portuguese star.
Now, they have turned their attentions to Chelsea star, with Conor Gallagher among those on their shortlist to strengthen their midfield.
It remains unclear as to whether or not Gallagher will be allowed to leave Stamford Bridge this summer, with several midfielders having already departed the club including Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek.
Should he be asked to stay in west London, the Guardian claim that ‘other midfield targets include Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse, Everton’s Amadou Onana, Ajax’s Edson Álvarez and United’s Scott McTominay.’
‘West Ham’s technical director, Tim Steidten, has shortlisted Maatsen and they could make their move if Cresswell departs’, the Guardian report, though Chelsea have set an asking price of around £20m on the young Dutch defender’s head.
He too may be asked to stay in west London, having ‘made a positive impression on the head coach, Mauricio Pochettino, in pre-season’, though that likely depends on the future of Marc Cucurella, with the Spaniard on the radar of Newcastle United and Tottenham should he be allowed to depart.
