West Ham in for Everton left-back Lucas Digne but face potential barrier
West Ham are in talks with Everton over their £30million-rated left-back Lucas Digne but may struggle to meet his £100,000-a-week wages, according to the Daily Mail.
The newspaper reports that the want-away French defender is being targeted to help address West Ham’s defensive injury worries.
David Moyes is believed to be looking to add the former Barcelona man to cover for the absent Aaron Cresswell but may face competition from injury-hit Chelsea and newly-rich Newcastle.
Good business?
With West Ham still occupying the upper reaches of the Premier League, Digne certainly represents the kind of quality they would be looking to add to the squad but a transfer may not make long-term sense.
Spending heavily to plug the gap left by an injury is always a risk, and tying the club into big wages over the next few years only increases that.
With some suggestions that Cresswell may not be too far from fitness, Moyes may be better off focusing any transfer business elsewhere on the pitch as he looks to maintain his side’s strong showing so far this season.
Once the English full-back does return the squad could be left with an expensive new recruit who is not even a guaranteed starter.
Even for comparatively cash-rich sides like Chelsea, bloating the wage bill with a transfer to cover for injury can cause issues further down the line when priorities inevitably change.
However, with the Everton man four years Cresswell’s junior Moyes could see him as the future at the position which would make the transfer more sensible.
But with Cresswell still performing at a high level into his 30s, fans may prefer to see the mainstay continue and funds directed elsewhere.
In other West Ham news, the club also have their sights on this exciting attacker.