West Ham: Soungoutou Magassa’s future comes clear amid Josh Mulligan transfer hope

West Ham United star Soungoutou Magassa could be on the list of London Stadium exits amid interest in Hibernian midfielder Josh Mulligan.

David Sullivan reportedly needs to raise around £150million in player sales this summer, with the futures of Jarrod Bowen, Mateus Fernandes, Taty Castellanos and others unclear.

While the trio and more could raise needed funds for the Hammers, there will also be some unexpected sales, and Magassa could be one of them.

The Frenchman came to E20 last summer in a package deal worth around £17m, but after failing to make his mark under Nuno Espirito Santo, the Irons could cut their losses. 

West Ham are interested in Mulligan and could bring the Scottish Premiership star to East London in place of Magassa. 

Josh Mulligan poses financial boost for West Ham in this scenario

West Ham have made an inquiry over Mulligan, but have yet to make an official bid for the 23-year-old.  

It’s said that Nuno’s side will focus on outgoings first, before bringing in new additions ahead of a push for promotion back to the Premier League. 

Mulligan would surely cost a low seven-figure fee for the Hammers, who could move Magassa on for over £10m. 

Monaco do have a 10 per cent sell-on clause for the 22-year-old, but whether that would be money taken from possible profit on sale or not is unknown. 

Freddie Potts and Tomas Soucek have been tipped to stay with the Hammers in the Championship, but a player like Magassa will want first-team football at his age. 

It could even be that if Sullivan raises enough money, the Hammers may loan the midfielder out for the season to see how he develops. 

Either way, his exit looks likely. 

What has Nuno already said about Magassa? 

There were high hopes for Magassa when he signed for the money he did, but being unable to really cement his name in the first team that got relegated says it all.

The former France U23s star has shown his raw potential, but Nuno has always been straight on why he’s not started very often.

The West Ham boss said, after the 3-2 win against Burnley in November: “We have a lot of situations like that (of Magassa) with players who we need to be patient with, but at the same time to recognise their quality and talent is there for us to exploit.” 

Whether or not a rough diamond would be used in such a pivotal Championship campaign is yet to be seen. 

But it feels like if promotion back to the Premier League is on the agenda, Nuno will not be relying on him to get the Hammers there, especially if they sign a more experienced player in Mulligan.