West Ham’s move to sign James Ward-Prowse is on the brink of collapse as the club’s new technical director Tim Steidten opposes attempts by David Moyes to sign the Southampton midfielder.
Tensions have grown between Moyes and Steidten, who was appointed last month, with West Ham yet to sign. They need two midfielders after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105m and three offers for Ward-Prowse were turned down.
Southampton want around £40m for their captain, but West Ham are under £30m. Steidten is looking for cheaper players in Europe and has been known to block higher stakes on Ward-Prowse. The midfielder is a key target for Moyes, who wants players with Premier League experience, but West Ham don’t want to overpay for the 28-year-old.
The possibility remains that Moyes will convince West Ham to come to a compromise with Southampton. They could offer midfielder Flynn Downes to Southampton in a Ward-Prowse deal. However, negotiations have stalled for the time being.
West Ham also made unsuccessful attempts to sign Joao Paligno from Fulham and Conor Gallagher from Chelsea, and Manchester United offered £45m for Scott McTominay. They are considering whether to revive interest in Ajax’s Edson Alvarez and have studied Monaco’s Youssouf Fofan. It is clear that Moyes is unsure about choosing Fofana, Steidten’s peak.
Several insiders described the situation at West Ham as a mess. They risk damaging the reputation that their European Conference League triumph has engendered, and the failure to improve has led to new doubts about Moyes’ future. Moyes came close to being sacked several times last season, but management remained on his side.
The manager will be under pressure if West Ham start slowly. The failure to replace Rice has exposed weaknesses in the transfer market and frustration is growing at the club. Moyes has also been looking for a centre-back and wants West Ham to sign Harry Maguire from United. United turned down a £20m offer for Maguire last week.
West Ham are also looking for a left winger and want to upgrade the left back for Aaron Cresswell, whose move to Wolverhampton failed. West Ham are looking at Adrien Truffert as a potential replacement for the 33-year-old, but the Rennes left-back could join a bigger club.
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Moyes also has problems ahead: Internazionale insist on signing Gianluca Scamacca and Michael Antonio, who are interested in Everton and Al Ettifac. West Ham are interested in Chelsea’s Armando Broja and Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun.