West Ham transfer news: 'Huge ambition' claim emerges after £100m development

West Ham's failed plot to bring in Leeds United duo Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips shows "huge ambition", says journalist Ryan Taylor.

The east London club made a late attempt in the January transfer window but were unsurprisingly unsuccessful.

According to 90min, West Ham had a £50m offer for Raphinha turned down by Leeds, who are looking to tie the Brazilian down to a new contract.

The Guardian also claimed that the Hammers had made an offer for Raphinha, as well as a £50m bid for Phillips that was rejected, too.

With both players being so key for Marcelo Bielsa, West Ham's failure comes as no shock. Raphinha is Leeds' top scorer this season, while Phillips has played 131 times under Bielsa since his arrival at the Yorkshire club, so getting them out of Elland Road was never going to be easy.

It will now be interesting to see if West Ham try again in the summer or move on to other targets.

Man United seal LAST-GASP win vs West Ham! Full reaction on The Football Terrace...

Whatever the case, Taylor believes the offers for Raphinha and Phillips show ambition from David Gold, David Sullivan and the rest of the West Ham board.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT about the two recent Hammers' targets, the Daily Express journalist said: "It does show huge ambition and that West Ham want to be knocking on the top-four door."

It is going to be hard. As the same 90min report mentions, Raphinha has been linked with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Bayern Munich - that is some serious competition. 

Likewise with Phillips, there has also been a lot of talk about some of the biggest sides in the country being interested in him.

Back in November, the Daily Star claimed that both Manchester United and Liverpool could make moves for the