Fenerbahce reject £10.3m West Ham bid for central defender Attila Szalai
Fenerbahce have rejected an offer from West Ham for their Hungarian central defender Attila Szalai, according to Fotomac.
The Turkish news outlet, with over 500,000 followers on their verified Twitter account, claim the Irons have had a £10.3million bid turned down for the 23-year-old.
Szalai will not be allowed to leave for a fee lower than £17.2million, as per Fotomac’s report, but the Turkish giants and their president Ali Koc are said to be open to substantial offers for the six-foot four-inch powerhouse.
Right profile
West Ham need to sign a central defender this summer, that’s for sure.
Fabian Balbuena’s impending departure means we will be left light in that area, with Winston Reid also expected to move on.
As such, there will be a lot of pressure on Craig Dawson, Angelo Ogbonna and Issa Diop to stay fit for the duration of the season as we battle domestic and European commitments.
That’s just not realistic, especially considering Dawson and Ogbonna are both in their thirties, and the latter has suffered injury issues.
Therefore, bidding for Szalai makes a lot of sense.
The “powerful” [World Soccer Talk] centre-back only joined Fenerbahce in January but he impressed, scoring three goals in 18 appearances and superbly marshalling their defence as they narrowly missed out on the Super Lig title by two poitns.
That means they have missed out on Champions League qualification, which should boost our hopes of landing him.
Szalai enjoyed a productive Euro 2020 campaign for Hungary, despite his national side failing to pick up a victory and crashing out at the group stage.
In the so-called ‘group of death’, Hungary defied the odds to gain draws against France and Germany, while it took three late goals for Portugal to down them 3-0.
Szalai was an integral part of that side, starting and completing all three games as he helped to stop the likes of Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema and Leroy Sane from scoring.
He would be a savvy signing, and Fenerbahce’s asking price is not exactly a huge fee, while we might also be able to bargain it down.
In other West Ham news, the Irons have lodged an ‘Important’ bid for this 25-year-old La Liga star.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.