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West Ham United to trigger Maxwel Cornet release clause as Filip Kostic move breaks down
West Ham will trigger Maxwel Cornet’s Burnley release-clause to bring the Ivorian in on a permanent deal, talkSPORT’s Alex Crook reports.
A move for the Eintracht Frankfurt wing-back Filip Kostic is reportedly off, with the 29-year-old wanting to play in the Champions League in Germany, and the Clarets man is the alternative.
It is set to be a permanent deal for the 25-year-old attacker, despite some reports that the Hammers preferred a loan move, with a £17.5million clause thought to be present after Burnley were relegated from the Premier League.
Speaking on talkSPORT on Wednesday morning (3 August, 11.29am) Crook said of Kostic: “He won’t be coming. He wants to stay at Frankfurt. He wants to play in the Champions League. That one looks off.
“But one player who could well be on his way to the London Stadium is Maxwel Cornet.
“Looks like West Ham [are] his most likely destination. I’m told it will be a permanent transfer, they will trigger his £17.5million release-clause, it won’t be a loan as had been suggested in some quarters.
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“This is as an alternative on that left-hand side to Kostic.”
Busy
Ever since the club were stung by Jesse Lingard’s decision to choose Nottingham Forest over a return to east London they have been highly active in the transfer market.
A big breakthrough was made on a Amadou Onana in the last 24-hours, and despite the breakdown of what had looked like a promising move for Kostic they aren’t sitting still.
Cornet has been on the move for weeks now, with Everton leading for some time, but despite all sorts of top flight sides, including Chelsea, Newcastle and Forest, liking him none have done a deal.
It is odd that for a full international who scored nine Premier League goals in a struggling side, and is available for a cut-price fee after they went down, none of the interested parties have signed him yet.
The Hammers had followed the same pattern by apparently hoping to work out an even more buyer-friendly deal, but the latest news suggests they are ready to meet the required amount and get it done.
While Kostic would have been a positive move it was tricky since he had just won the Europa League and was looking for a step up in Europe.
There are no such issues with Cornet, who comes with the added bonus of being a proven performer in England, so if West Ham are done obfuscating and will stump up the fee this one could be done very soon.