West Ham submit £7.8m bid for Edvin Austbo - here's the latest on hunt for Norway wonderkid
West Ham United have seen a bid for Edvin Austbo rejected by Viking FK.
The 21-year-old left-winger has scored two goals and supplied one assist in 10 appearances in the current 2026 Norwegian Eliteserien season.
As it stands, reigning Norwegian champions Viking are second in the league, one point behind leaders Bodo/Glimt, and seem keen to keep hold of their rising star.
Latest reports out of Norway suggest that West Ham have now made a move for Austbo, offering Viking £7.8million for his services.
Unfortunately for the Irons, Norwegian TV2 journalist Eirik Nesset Hjelvik has reported on X that their bid has been "flatly rejected" by the Stavanger club.
It is understood that Austbo is also wanted by other clubs, but what does this rejection mean for the Hammers' pursuit of the Norway Under-21s international?
What's next for West Ham in bid for Edvin Austbo
According to a report on the TV2 website, West Ham "have the money" to sign Austbo.
However, Viking have rejected it because they have upcoming Champions League qualifier games that they need Austbo to be available for.
No talks have been held since West Ham's bid at the weekend, but Ligue 1 club Lille, as well as teams from Belgium and the Netherlands, have also shown an interest in the left-winger.
Stavanger Aftenbald claimed earlier this week that Lille had offered £10.9m for Austbo, which was also rejected by Viking.
The same newspaper claimed in March that Turkish club Tranzonspor offered £15.6m for him before the Super Lig winter transfer window shut in February, but the winger wasn't keen on the move.
It means that West Ham need to at least keep talks alive in order to sign Austbo, but they might have to wait until late in the summer after their Champions League qualifiers are done with in order to progress in negotiations.
There's clearly a lot of interest in Austbo, but West Ham fans will be dying to know more about the diminutive forward who's attracting attention across Europe.
What West Ham fans need to know about Austbo
Austbo helped fire Viking to the 2025 Eliteserien title with six goals and seve assists in 27 appearances.
He also, last year, won the Young Player of the Year award.
Accoridng to Norwegian outlet VG, Austbo is an "exquisite" crosser of the ball, with TV2 commentator Endre Olav Osnes saying that he was "unstoppable" in a win over Lillestrom back in July.
Norwegian football is most definitely on the rise, with many clubs in the UK taking a look at the Eliteserien to see if they can find themselves the next Erling Haaland or Martin Odegaard.
West Ham should really be looking to jump on this bandwagon because we're seeing similarities between the rise of Norwegian football to that of Belgian football just over a decade ago.