West Ham have 'looked at' signing 'special' £18m star at London Stadium

West Ham United have looked at the possibility of signing Benfica left-back Alex Grimaldo as an alternative to Filip Kostic, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

David Moyes has been steadiy improving his side during the summer but with weeks left until the window slams shut, there is still time to strengthen further.

Eintracht Frankfurt star Kostic emerged as a target for the Hammers two weeks ago, with the club seemingly eager to bolster their left-back options.

The Serbian played predominantly as a wing-back for the Bundesliga side last season as they won the Europa League, beating West Ham en route to the final.

While the club reportedly remain confident of signing the 29-year-old, the player himself is apparently uncertain over making the switch to the London Stadium.

As such, the east Londoners have begun to sound out alternatives, according to Jones. One of which is Grimaldo.

The 26-year-old has been linked with a move to Manchester City this summer, as Pep Guardiola struggles to land Marc Cucurella, but West Ham are now providing competition.

Reports in Portugal indicate that Benfica could be willing to sell Grimaldo for as little as £5.8 million.

Jones understands that West Ham are big admirers of Grimaldo and is currently one of the top names on their transfer wishlist.

However, he also speculated that the left-back will be one of many options the club are exploring, a tactic that could come back to bite them.

When asked about potential back-ups to Kostic, Jones told GIVEMESPORT: “I know they really like Alex Grimaldo. He was linked to Man City the other day. So he’s one of the top names they’ve looked at. But there’ll be others too, as there always is with West Ham. Maybe this is part of the problem. They