Journalist: West Ham may be about to hatch plan B after Lille refuse to sell Amadou Onana

West Ham United may be about to hatch a plan B in terms of midfield recruitment after seeing a bid for Lille’s Amadou Onana rejected. 

As per the Daily Mail, the Hammers offered the Ligue 1 side £20m for the defensive midfielder, but they were rebuffed. Lille, who finished 10th in the French top flight, are said to be adamant that the 20-year-old is not for sale this summer.

Les Dogues have already lost Sven Botman to Newcastle United in a £33.3m deal, while right-back Zeki Celik has been lured to Roma (via Transfermarkt).

Another midfielder in Renato Sanches could also be set to leave the club after agreeing terms with Paris Saint-Germain.

The Daily Mail‘s Simon Jones reported that West Ham are ‘considering other midfield options’ after Lille dismissed the Irons’ offer for Onana.

It seems that, rather than testing the French club’s resolve with an improved fee, the Premier League outfit might instead turn their attention to a different target in that position.

Who else might interest West Ham in terms of defensive midfield acquisitions?

It’s certainly an area that they need to address, with Alex Kral leaving the club following his season-long loan spell and Mark Noble hanging up his boots. Cover and competition for Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek is required.

They could look at a player who is stylistically similar and has Premier League experience in Brentford’s Vitaly Janelt. The German may not be quite as young as Onana, but at the age of 24, he is still only at the beginning of what should be his peak footballing years.

Valued at £12.6million by Transfermarkt, he might prove to be a more achievable acquisition.

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