West Ham look close to breaking their transfer window duck, according to breaking reports from the Czech media.
Late last night, reports began circulating from iSport.cz that an agreement had been reached with Slavia Prague for the signing of El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The 20-year-old wing-back has been the subject of intense media speculation since Wednesday, when Fabrizio Romano revealed that the Hammers had submitted a failed €20m bid for the player.
On Thursday, Claret & Hugh reported that Slavia Prague would consider selling if West Ham matched their €25m valuation. Now, according to Czech sources, it appears a bid of €25m plus bonuses would be accepted for Diouf.
The news followed a bizarre twist last night when a Slavia fan—whose only claim to fame seemed to be knowing Tomáš Souček—announced that the Diouf-to-West Ham deal was about to break the Czech transfer record.
It had all the hallmarks of a “my best friend’s auntie’s neighbour knows a bloke” kind of rumour, but as it turns out, he might have been onto something. Whether he got lucky or had a genuine scoop, it now appears West Ham are closing in on their first summer signing.
If the deal goes through, Diouf would be seen as the long-term replacement for Emerson, who is nailed-on to leave the club this summer.
I don’t see why so many people are ready to bring in 20 year olds to solve our problems but insist the likes of Scarles etc will not be ready until they are 23/24. Of course at 20 they have a lot to learn, so do any 20 year olds, but they won’t get the experience they need without game time. Quality coaching is what they should be getting in between games.
If we sign him it will be our third signing of the window. Didn’t expect so many signings so soon. Pretty good going considering we still have two months before window closes.
Weird transfer. We’ve now got 2 20 year olds at LB. Hope this doesn’t limit Scarles play time.
I do. Scarles is far from ready, bench and backup he should be.
Scarles is a promising talent for the future but has a lot to do still.
Agree, Scarles shows promise and is still a work in progress.
Although, Diouf is only 20, has only played in Norway and Czechia, so how ready is he to step up and start in the Premier League?