Midfielder pursuit back on as club names its price

West Ham have had new breath injected into their pursuit of Bournemouth’s Harry Arter with the Cherries naming their price for the midfielder.

The player – despite signing a new four year deal in the summer – is keen to make the switch to the London Stadium but the Irons will need to stump up £15 million to get him.

ClaretandHugh has had it confirmed we went in with an opening bid of £7 million which was no more than an exercise in testing the water.

And despite the alleged “no way at any price” response,  the south coast club are ready to let the player go at the right price.

Arter is ready  to move on and would far prefer the Irons to Crystal Palace where Roy Hodgson is credited with holding an interest.

However, the Hammers will hold off until manager David Moyes has made it clear whether Arter remains at the top of his target list given the various midfield options that have been mentioned.

The manager is determined to get value for money as he bids to strengthen the team for the vitally important second half of the season.