Euro club now make bid to sign £100k-p/w West Ham star this month

A European giant are now in talks to sign one of West Ham’s first-team players this month as they look to raid Graham Potter’s side in the winter window.

Potter’s West Ham debut ends in defeat

After taking over from Julen Lopetegui with West Ham sitting down in 14th in the Premier League, Potter’s first game ended in defeat as his side were knocked out of the FA Cup by Aston Villa.

Despite that, the new Hammers boss saw plenty of positives from that performance. “Our performance gave me a lot of encouragement, the way the players tried to do what we asked them to do. We’re just disappointed now because we’re out and wanted to go through.

“We just try to get the team into a good shape. The talent is there but it’s just about trying to get the team together as a collective. That’s what we’re trying to do.”

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The Hammers have drawn up a list of targets for Graham Potter.

However, the defeat is set to have longer-term implications for Potter, with Niclas Füllkrug having been substituted off after just 15 minutes through injury, and reports have claimed that he will miss up to three months after scans confirmed the significance of the issue.

That means that West Ham may well be forced into the transfer market, with Michail Antonio also sidelined indefinitely after a car crash last month, while Jarrod Bowen is still recovering from a broken foot, leaving Danny Ings as the only recognised option to lead the line.

But first, they will have to fight off interest in other members of their first team between now and the end of the January transfer window.

European club table bid for West Ham midfielder

Now, according to Fabrizio Romano, AS Monaco have made an offer to sign Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez on loan this month.

The Ligue 1 side are third in France as things stand, and are looking to bolster their ranks to ensure that they qualify for the Champions League again this season.

To that end, they have made an offer to sign the West Ham man, tabling an initial loan offer for the 27-year-old for the remainder of the campaign.

Unsurprisingly, West Ham have rejected this offer, having signed Alvarez for £35m just 18 months ago and with the Mexican still having three and a half years left to run on his £100,000 a week deal at the London Stadium. He is considered an “important player”, as peer Romano, something that makes a move tricky for the Monegasques.

Handed a start in Potter’s first game in charge, Alvarez has been a regular when fit for the Hammers this season, starting 11 games.

He could continue to figure for the new West Ham boss should he remain at the club. However, in news that may concern Hammers fans, Romano adds that talks continue “as Monaco want Alvarez and can offer UCL football”, while West Ham look on course to miss out on European football altogether barring a major turnaround in the second half of the campaign.