West Ham face competition from Man Utd to sign £40m Benoit Badiashile
West Ham United will need to put their hands in their pockets if they are to beat Manchester United to the signing of Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile, according to The Sun.
The six-foot, four-inch 20-year-old has had a £40million price tag slapped on his head by the Ligue 1 club with Newcastle United the third Premier League club in contention to sign him.
The Magpies only offered £33million in January and the Irons also approached Monaco but didn’t make an acceptable offer and now the Red Devils could swoop in and steal him in the summer.
He has been out of action in recent months thanks to a hamstring injury, playing just 45 minutes since early November as a result.
David Moyes hopes to add Badiashile to his current options of Kurt Zouma, Angelo Ogbonna, Craig Dawson and Issa Diop at centre-half.
Pay up
£40million is a lot of money, but it depends on what you are spending it on and Badiashile is probably worth that much in this day and age.
He is only 20 years of age and already has a wealth of experience at a high level which is not easy to find at the moment so to have him available is a big plus point for the Hammers.
He could be the base of West Ham United’s defence for the next 12 years or more if he is signed in the summer and for £40million, it’s a steal.
The Irons have to strike first too because the money won’t be a problem for either Manchester or Newcastle United.
If Moyes really does want him badly, then the owners need to act fast unlike previous transfer windows where they have waited until the last moments to get deals done.
A defensive pair of Badishile and Zouma would be a formidable duo and the backup wouldn’t be too shabby either.
In other West Ham news, Moyes was fuming with his side’s result against Newcastle as they lost ground in the race for the top four.