West Ham see first bid for Mert Muldur rejected; told to double their offer

West Ham have been told that they might have to double their opening bid of around about 7million [£5.98million] for Sassuolo defender Mert Muldur, according to a report from Sassuolo News.

Muldur was linked with a move to the Hammers by Ekrem Konur, a journalist with over 120,000 followers on his personal Twitter account, and he claimed that Sassuolo had “asked for time to think” [Konur’s personal Twitter account].

It now seems as if that offer from the Irons has been rejected, with the Serie A side valuing Muldur at “almost double” what the Hammers initially bid. However, the report from Sassuolo News also claims that there could be a “good basis” to start negotiating a fee.

West Ham

Will West Ham sign Muldur?

Muldur is a 22-year-old Turkish international right-back who has made 52 appearances for Sassuolo in Serie A and provided six direct goal contributions as well, which isn’t fantastic but could be worked on.

The Hammers have Vladimir Coufal as their undisputed number one right-back, but with West Ham playing in the Europa League this season, you would think they will need more squad depth.

So signing someone like Muldur at the £5.98m price mark would have made sense as he is young and has experience of playing in a top European league, and he could have competed with Coufal.

West Ham

However, is he worth it for nearly double that price when David Moyes has other priority positions in mind [Claret & Hugh]?

We will have to see what happens, but we would be surprised if the Hammers end up paying around £12m for Muldur, and they might well just move on if they can’t negotiate a lower fee.

In other West Ham news, the Hammers are set to make major behind-the-scenes appointment.

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