West Ham have reportedly been rejected by Lille midfielder Angel Gomes due to the team’s passive style of play.

The Hammers have been chasing England International Angel Gomes since January. He is available on a free transfer as his contract at Lille expires in June.

Graham Potter wanted to bring the diminutive midfielder in to start his midfield reshuffle; however, unsurprisingly, it hasn’t gone to plan for the Englishman as Gomes has no interest in a move to East London this summer.

Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Fulham are the other teams said to be interested in the 24-year-old’s signature, and moves to any of those three have not been ruled out yet, but a move to West Ham has which is very damming and shows how big our decline has been over the last 18 months or so.

West Ham just aren’t seen as an exciting proposition to exciting young players like Gomes anymore. We also look likely to be rejected by his teammate, Jonathan David, but he has Champions League clubs chasing him, so it is more understandable.

Since Potter took over, the defence has improved massively, but that’s because the style has completely focused on fixing the defence, and the attack has been completely ruined despite the tonnes of attacking talent we have in the squad.

Potter is known for his fast attacking football, so if he has a plan to get that started in pre-season, it would probably be smart to try to implement that now so he can show potential transfer targets like Gomes they have something to look forward to if they sign for West Ham. Because at the moment it must be dire to be involved with the club.