West Ham United transfer news as Elye Wahi watched as Chelsea bid
West Ham United have been watching Montpellier striker Elye Wahi as they look to strengthen their attacking options, while Chelsea have made a bid for the forward, according to the Daily Mirror.
The newspaper reported in its print edition [27 July, pg 54] that Chelsea had made an initial bid of £21.5m rejected by the Ligue 1 side for the striker, while the Hammers are joined by Tottenham as they monitor the situation.
Chelsea intends on sending Wahi back to France for the 2023/24 campaign, their sister club Strasbourg the most likely destination, but a temporary move back to his native country doesn’t appeal to the forward.
Discussing the potential future of the French under-21 forward, Ryan Taylor wrote: “The Blues are pressing to close a deal for the highly rated attacker. Wahi is sceptical about joining Strasbourg on loan but remains keen to join the Blues.
“But their opening offer is well short of Montpellier’s £30m valuation, meaning they will have to raise their bid. Eintracht Frankfurt and Atletico Madrid have made their interest in Wahi known, but Tottenham and West Ham are also believed to be monitoring his situation.
Match the bid
There’s an obvious reason that a 20-year-old striker is able to boast such a special selection of suitors watching his every move and that is that Wahi is a very talented young forward who last season scored 19 league goals in 33 matches.
While you can question the quality of Ligue 1 as much as you would like, not just anyone is able to produce that sort of record and West Ham really shouldn’t want to miss out on the opportunity to bring the forward to the London Stadium.
Where David Moyes’ side should be able to pip Chelsea to Wahi’s signature is the guarantee of immediate first team football in the Premier League. The Irons desperately want to sign a new striker, with at least one of their recognised forward options set to depart East London this summer, so there would be no chance of Wahi being loaned out this coming season.
The Irons have also come into plenty of money recently, their transfer war chest has been aided by the sale of Declan Rice to Arsenal and while a new midfielder remains priority, the opportunity to sign one of Europe’s best young forwards shouldn’t pass them by.
Any bid made by Chelsea this summer should be matched, with the promise of Premier League and European football at the London Stadium, it may well just be enough to convince Wahi East London is the best place for his career.
In other West Ham news, there are growing fears over whether a move for Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher can be completed this summer