West Ham line up Sunderland's Jocelin Ta Bi in last-minute raid before deadline
West Ham are in the hunt to sign Sunderland winger Jocelin Ta Bi.
Ta Bi, 21, joined Sunderland from Maccabi Netanya in the January transfer window after the Black Cats beat Celtic to his signature.
He cost the North-East club around £3million but played just twice after completing his move to the Stadium of Light, mainly due to injury issues.
Now, reports out of France say that the Hammers are eyeing up a loan move for the Ivory Coast youth international.
According to Foot Mercato journalist Sebastien Denis, Burnley and Hull are also keen, as well as French sides OGC Nice, Le Havre and Lorient.
A lot depends on Sunderland's stance on loaning out the attacker, which Denis also revealed in an X post on Wednesday night.
Why West Ham may have to wait until last minute
Ta Bi has had a frustrating six months to start his spell at the Stadium of Light due to ankle injuries on either side of his two Sunderland appearances to date against Bournemouth and Oxford United.
He then got himself back to fitness and was an unused substitute for the final four games of the 2025-26 Premier League season.
Unfortunately, the Ivorian forward was then unable to travel with Sunderland on their pre-season tour of the USA due to visa issues.
It's been a proper stop-start time for Ta Bi, which is probably why Sunderland aren't willing to let him leave just yet.
According to Denis, Sunderland are "closing the door for now" on any offers for Ta Bi.
However, there's a chance that changes late in the summer transfer window.
What Sunderland manager Regis Le Bris has said about Jocelin Ta Bi
When he joined Sunderland in January, Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris admitted that the young right-winger was going to have to be carefully managed in order to settle into life on Wearside.
“He’s a young winger with a specific profile,” he said.
“It’s rare in this industry to find this explosiveness and skills to dribble and to have this courage and personality in one vs ones. He has this quality.”
Le Bris added: “Now we have to build his profile to get ready for the Premier League.”
And as he's only played twice for Sunderland - for a combined 48 minutes - a loan move away from the Stadium of Light does make sense.
It's what might put West Ham in a better position than the French clubs to sign Ta Bi, meaning that Burnley and Hull are the most serious rivals.
Both are geographically closer to his home club in the North East, but with a great manager, great promotion prospects and players like Jarrod Bowen that can help him out, a move to West Ham should be seen extremely appealing.