West Ham United transfer news as £50m bid was made for Elye Wahi

West Ham made a “huge” £50million offer to sign Elye Wahi from Montpellier, before the forward ultimately decided to join Lens to play Champions League football, according to La Voix Des Sports.

The French publication shared on 20 August that the Irons’ offer of £50million and a “disproportionate” wage offer to the player was not enough to tempt him to the London Stadium, as he chose to stay in France with Lens.

It was also reported that Wahi did not want to join Chelsea, as he felt he wouldn’t get as much game time as he would by joining Lens, with the allure of the Champions League also playing a part in negotiations.

On to the next one

Wahi’s name can now be added to the growing list of players West Ham have missed out on so far this summer, and they must now focus their efforts on the next option as they look to strengthen the squad, particularly up front.

The Hammers have also missed out on deals for Manchester United defender Harry Maguire, Rennes winger Jeremy Doku and new Ajax winger Carlos Borges for differing reasons in recent weeks. David Moyes expressed his frustration on not landing first-choice targets.

A new striker has become a priority for West Ham before the transfer window closes on 1 September, as their current options consist of just Michail Antonio, who is linked to a move away from the club, and injury-prone Danny Ings.

Antonio may have scored in the win against Chelsea, but it has put no end to the continuous transfer links circling him, and West Ham will still look to bring another striker to East London before the window closes after the departure of Gianluca Scamacca.

In other West Ham news, the club are now in pole position to land a Chelsea striker.