Any hope of West Ham signing a highly sought after centre-back have been crushed after being priced out of a move.
Despite signing Max Kilman, West Ham still are keen on bringing in another centre-back this Summer. While this will only happen if Nayef Aguerd or Kurt Zouma leaves, there is firm interest in Moroccan in particular which could open the door for one of the club’s other exciting targets to join.
Jake O’Brien has attracted interest from a number of clubs, and West Ham have been keeping a close eye on him. The Republic of Ireland defender has been pivotal to Lyon over the past season, helping them to completely turn around their campaign.
Unfortunately, at this point in time, it seems like the Irons are out of the race for the 23-year-old as they are unwilling to meet the French side’s demands while Everton may do so, Alan Nixon reports.
“Everton are clinging to hopes of winning the race for Republic of Ireland centre-half Jake O’Brien. The Toffees think Lyon defender O’Brien, 23, would choose them ahead of Nottingham Forest and West Ham,” he stated.
“Everton rate O’Brien in the £20million bracket but the French side wants around £30million – which the Hammers are not prepared to pay. If Sean Dyche lands him then Michael Keane could leave several clubs I have been alerted to his availability.”
When the rumours first started emerging about West Ham’s interest, it was believed that they’d be able to sign O’Brien for £15-20 million, but that’s obviously not the case. While they’re more than entitled to demand £30 million for such an important player, our Irons would surely spend a little extra to get Jean-Clair Todibo, someone who is a much more complete player at this point and would represent much better value for money.
While O’Brien would be a good signing for £30 million, Todibo would be an unbelievable one for not too much more – it wouldn’t make sense for the Hammers to pursue the Irishman, at least not as their first choice.
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