West Ham United transfer news as Rennes respond to Jeremy Doku bid
Rennes have rejected an initial offer from West Ham for star winger Jeremy Doku amid interest from Manchester City, according to Foot Mercato.
The French news source shared on 20 August that the East London club had made their first offer for Doku, but Rennes are reluctant to sell their player unless they receive a sum of around £47million.
It is also reported that negotiations will continue between the clubs, as the French side will wait for West Ham to come up with a suitable bid, as the Hammers want to step up a gear in their efforts to bring Doku to the London Stadium.
Ready to beat Manchester City to the deal
West Ham will press ahead with their move for Doku in hopes that they can beat treble winners Manchester City to his signature, after The Guardian [20 August] shared they believe they can tempt the winger with regular first-team football.
They will need to up their bid, but early negotiations always start with a low bid and see how far they can bring down that £47million price tag to a preferred level.
Talks are ongoing over Doku, while a move has stalled between the Hammers and Ajax over a move for Mohammed Kudus as the club are reluctant to go above their £41million bid to meet Ajax’s £44million asking price [The Guardian, 20 August].
This could throw a spanner in the works with the Doku deal, with their reluctance to spend a high fee likely to be repeated in negotiations with Rennes, who have no need to sell their star man.
It may, however, be a positive sign that the club are going to focus their money on a deal to bring the Belgian winger to the London Stadium, and have prioritised this deal over the one for Kudus.
In other West Ham news, Gary Neville has shared his verdict on one of the club’s transfer targets.