Hammer was so close to exit

Craig Dawson was so close to leaving West Ham in the summer.

A new report from The Athletic makes it clear that the veteran centre-back was two hours away from a move to Wolves.

The two clubs had agreed a fee worth £4m and staff at Wolves were preparing for the player’s medical.

The Hammers, as we reported on the day, turned their attentions to signing Southampton centre-back Jan Bednarek as his replacement.

Bednarek, though, decided to move to Aston Villa instead, on a season-long loan, and that put paid to Dawson’s potential move to the Hammers, with Wolves informed two hours before the medical was booked.

Dawson has a contract that expires in 2023 so there is every chance that a move could be revisited in January, provided the Hammers can source a replacement.

Nayef Aguerd may be fit then, of course, while the other options in defence are Thilo Kehrer, Kurt Zouma, and Angelo Ogbonna.