West Ham are trying to hijack London neighbours Crystal Palace’s move for £17.6million Lille midfielder Ibrahim Amadou.
With FOURTEEN players out injured, Hammers boss David Moyes has turned to the French club’s versatile captain, who is able to play as a midfielder and in the centre of defence.
Palace have already had two bids for the 24-year-old rejected as they did not come close to Lille’s valuation.
West Ham have prioritised midfield as an area they want to strengthen, and also retain an interest in Everton’s Morgan Schneiderlin and Joe Allen of Stoke — despite being warned off both of them.
Moyes is also ready to make a bid for Norwich rising star James Maddison after watching his fellow Scot, 21, in action this month.
The Championship Canaries value the midfielder at around £15m.
Moyes hopes to tie up a £12m move for Krasnodar's Russia-captain striker Fyodor Smolov on Wednesday, and is also in for former Southampton striker Graziano Pelle, who is at China's Shandong Luneng.