Nottingham Forest beat West Ham and Everton in race to sign Moussa Niakhate
Nottingham Forest have reportedly beaten West Ham and Everton in the race to sign Mainz defender Moussa Niakhate.
According to the Sun, the Premier League newcomers will fork out an initial £8.6million and £4.2million in add-ons to secure the 26-year-old’s services.
He will sign a four-year deal and have his medical today, July 5, as Forest continue their transfer blitz after sealing promotion to the top flight.
Not needed
After roping in Nayef Aguerd for big money, the Hammers did not need to sign another defender, especially on priority basis.
They’ve got to rope in a left-back, central midfielder and striker before they can think of adding to their strength in depth.
Niakhate was considered as an option when the Aguerd deal was not close as it was understood that Mainz were keen on cashing on his services.
However, once the Moroccan appeared to be David Moyes’ primary target, all eggs were put into that basket and other targets were not given precedence after that.
If West Ham wanted, they could’ve signed him ahead of Forest so it must not be considered as a case of them missing out on a target to a newly-promoted side.
Hopefully, there is work continuing on other deals as it’s been a slow window and they need to bring in more signings so Moyes get to properly work with them before the season begins.