Chelsea, Newcastle better placed than West Ham to sign Lucas Digne
West Ham are not among the frontrunners to secure Everton left-back Lucas Digne's signature in January, according to ExWHUemployee.
The reliable Hammers insider claims that the club are keen on the France international, but believes that Newcastle and Chelsea will be able to offer the player a significant hike in his wages.
This throws a hammer in the works as West Ham's to land his services this month appear minimal, as things stand.
Ex wrote, "Lucas Digne is another we have shown some interest in. The Everton left back is out of favour at the Toffees due to a disagreement with their current manager Rafa Benitez.
"Financial powerhouses Newcastle and Chelsea have offered competition for the player and therefore are likely to be able to offer more money than the £100k he is already on."
Move on
There is little that will be achieved from getting into a bidding war with Chelsea and Newcastle.
Both clubs are owned by oligarchs and have countless amount of resources to spend on strengthening their teams.
West Ham, comparatively, operate on a more modest budget and they can only sign Digne if there's no competition from these super-rich clubs.
While signing a left-back is imperative, it is not the priority for this month and the club must focus their attention on signing a centre-back and striker.
Both positions have been in dire need of strengthening and while the options in January are limited, injuries have forced the club to enter the market.
Whether or not they actually end up signing one of them remains to be seen.