George Overhill

Mon 17 July 2023 7:10, UK

West Ham have made a £14million bid to Strasbourg for striker Habib Diallo which appears to have been rejected, Ryan Taylor reports for The Express.

The Irons are looking to “make up for lost time” with their incoming transfer business following delays in Declan Rice’s £105m exit to Arsenal which was confirmed on Saturday (15 July).

Multiple moves are now in the pipeline, and interest in Diallo, 28, has been made concrete with a cash offer, but despite caginess around the response it seems the “opening proposal” has been unsuccessful.

In his report for The Express Taylor wrote: “West Ham are also understood to have seen a £14m proposal rejected by Strasbourg for striker Habib Diallo, who struck 20 times in 37 Ligue 1 outings last season.

“Club sources have refused to disclose whether the Hammers have seen an opening bid rebuffed by Patrick Vieira’s side but Express Sport understands he is a player that has been tracked by the Irons for some time.”

Then, adding via Twitter on Sunday evening (16 July) he wrote: “Sources not commenting but believe Strasbourg did rebuff opening proposal for Habib Diallo.

“Led to believe there are multiple plates spinning behind scenes. Club out to make up for lost time following delays to Declan Rice’s departure which has held up transfer plans.”

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It shouldn’t be too difficult for the Irons to get this deal moving if Diallo is open to a London Stadium move, as L’Equipe reported on 22 June that he was valued at just over £17m.

With Gianluca Scamacca making his love of Roma public now [Gazzetta dello Sport, 12 July], and with questions over Michail Antonio’s future with the club [Daily Mail, 1 July], a new striker is on the agenda.

After 20 Ligue 1 goals last term, and with a relatively low asking price, Senegal international Diallo appears to be a solid option to fill that need.

Diallo has scored 42 times in the French top flight over the past four campaigns so wouldn’t necessarily be seen as the first-choice striker, but in a two up front or as the first man off the bench that sort of output would be useful, and wouldn’t carry the huge pressure of a Scamacca or Sebastien Haller price-tag.

Rice’s long-awaited exit has finally freed up moves to be made, and it doesn’t look like West Ham are wasting any time in getting on with it.

Presumably a follow-up bid to Strasbourg can get this pursuit to the point of direct negotiations, and with so many “plates spinning” it looks like being an action-packed next few weeks in the transfer window.

In other West Ham news, after major developments on Sunday a Manchester United agreement could now be on the cards.