Aston Villa hijack West Ham United in Youssef En-Nesyri transfer bid
Aston Villa are set to rival West Ham United for the signature of Youssef En-Nesyri, according to Vamos Mi Sevilla.
The Spanish outlet has reported that the Premier League is thought to be his most likely landing place, with West Ham previously considered the favourites due to the Moroccan’s relationship with new Hammers head coach Julen Lopetegui.
However, Villa have joined the race for En-Nesyri in recent hours, which will cost around £21million.
Can West Ham United convince Youssef En-Nesyri to join them instead of Aston Villa?
Villa can – significantly – offer Champions League football in 2024/25, while the Hammers are not in European competition for the first time after three consecutive seasons.
However, the Irons will hope to lean on the fact that Lopetegui enjoyed a successful spell at Sevilla and has worked with En-Nesyri before.
Furthermore, the 26-year-old scored 20 goals across all competitions this term and is likely to walk into West Ham’s starting line-up ahead of 34-year-old Michail Antonio and 31-year-old Danny Ings.
At Villa, however, Ollie Watkins is the main man up front and, while pairing the two is a possibility, En-Nesyri may feel more security in his position at the London club.
Ultimately, West Ham will simply have to hope that their proposal is a more convincing one than Villa’s as En-Nesyri weighs up his options this summer.
In other West Ham news, the club have been urged to use Arsenal’s “unbelievable” transfer model.
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