West Ham United transfer news as Real Betis still await £17m+ offer for Luiz Felipe
La Liga outfit Real Betis are still waiting for West Ham United to submit their opening bid for Brazilian defender Luiz Felipe, according to Estadio Deportivo.
The “excellent” 26-year-old defender has only spent one campaign with Betis going on to start 22 La Liga games, having arrived from Lazio in July last year, where he had been a regular for five Serie A seasons.
And Sky Sports News reported on (11 July, 11:00am) that the Hammers had initiated discussions for the defender with talks progressing well between the two parties.
However, according to Estadio Deportivo (14 July), Betis have been waiting for over a week for West Ham to submit their offer, with the La Liga outfit still wanting around €20m (£17.1m) in order to reinforce their own squad this summer.
Rice replacement the priority
West Ham desperately need defensive reinforcements, having struggled with a huge number of injury problems last season, drastically causing their disappointing form in the Premier League.
Angelo Ogbonna, Kurt Zouma, Thilo Kehrer and Nayef Aguerd all endured periods on the treatment table last year, and it’s why the reports have emerged over the past month linking the Irons with the likes of Manchester City’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis and AS Roma’s Roger Ibanez as well as Felipe.
However, while there is a need to strengthen the centre of defence, replacing the outbound Declan Rice remains the number one priority, with the Hammers reportedly making contact to sign Edson Alvarez and continuing discussions for Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria.
The Hammers already have options in defence, but no solid midfield option in Rice’s absence.
Also, the East Londoners are still waiting for Arsenal to officially sign the paperwork so the club can get the cash in order to strengthen the squad, and until that happens, Betis will need to wait a little while longer.
In other West Ham news, club sources have denied any bid for new midfielder.