West Ham's hopes of landing Porto defender Abdoulaye Ba in the new year have been hit with the news that Aston Villa also want him.
Hammers boss Sam Allardyce has been strongly linked with a move for the player and he is said to be monitoring the 21-year-old's situation closely, but Villa boss Paul Lambert has now joined the list of interested parties.
Villa scouts reportedly watched the highly-rated centre-back play against Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday night - a game which sealed the Portuguese side's passage into the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Senegal international is thought to be available for a loan move in January and has been attracting attention from a handful of Premier League clubs this season.
The defender, who was sent out to Academica last season on loan, is well thought of by Porto but they would be happy to let him leave if someone comes up with the right money.
The thought that fellow Senegal international Mohamed Diame also plays for West Ham may help to sweeten the deal.
West Ham are set for a boost on the injury front with the news that winger Matt Taylor is set to return to action this weekend.
The winger has been out of the side for the past month with a calf injury, which he picked up against Arsenal, but he has returned to full training and is expected to be in contention for the first team for the trip to Newcastle on Sunday.
His return will be a timely boost for Big Sam who has injury worries over defenders James Collins, James Tomkins and Guy Demel who are all major doubts for the game as Taylor can also play as a full-back. Jack Collison, Ricardo Vaz Te and Alou Diarra remain on the long-term injured list.
West Ham's ambitious board will tie up Yossi Benayoun to a permanent Upton Park deal if Big Sam gives the nod.
The on-loan Chelsea midfielder was outstanding against Manchester City last weekend and the club have until Christmas to decide what they want to do about extending his deal.
The manager still hasn't indicated whether he wants to retain the Israeli but a source confirmed that the board are ready to talk terms with their former star.
He said: "Decision regarding players are the manager's call but if he wants Yossi then the board will back him - that's the way it works at this club."
Benayoun is in the last year of his Chelsea deal and has taken a cut in wages to return to the club he originally joined when arriving in this country.
Eyebrows were raised when Allardyce signed a player who isn't a midfield powerhouse of the type usually favoured by the former Bolton and Newcastle boss. But he did himself no harm at all with his performance against City where he carved open the champions' defence on two or three occasions.
A big earner at Chelsea he would have to settle for a lot less if he were to sign a permanent deal with the Premier League newcomers.
The source added: "He understands the economics involved at the age of 32 and simply wants to be involved with the club he started out with in England and play regular first team football."
No comments:
Post a Comment