West Ham making move for Amadou Onana a step to prepare for life without Declan Rice
West Ham are interested in making a move for Lille midfielder Amadou Onana, according to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth.
The Hammers are in the market to sign a midfielder, especially after the retirement of Mark Noble and the departure of Alex Král on loan.
As per Sheth, the Hammers made a bid in the region of £20million which was rejected by the French club.
Sheth further stated that West Ham hierarchy is in the process of deciding whether to make another bid to sign Onana who has four years left on his deal with Lille.
Onana’s potential arrival to the London Stadium will be seen as a step to prepare for a life without Declan Rice who has been attracting interest from some of the top clubs in Europe.
There is a reason why Rice is being so highly-rated by teams across Europe as in the recently concluded season, the England international averaged 2.2 tackles, 1.8 interceptions, and 1.4 clearances per game in the Premier League [Whoscored].
Moreover, he averaged 0.7 key passes per game and had a pass completion rate of 91.6%. Those numbers are extremely hard to improve upon and therefore, if Onana arrives as a replacement for Rice, he will have big boots to fill.
Onana has been a Lille player ever since moving there in the summer of 2021 from the German club Hamburger SV in a deal worth £6.30 million.
In the previous campaign, the Belgium international played 41 matches across all competitions where he managed to score three goals and provided a solitary assist [Transfermarkt].
This could be the beginning of the eventual end.