WHU move closer to landing £33.5m target, he'd be a "masterclass" signing for Moyes - opinion

Dharmesh Sheth has dropped an update on the future of reported West Ham United transfer target Amadou Onana.

In a recent post on Twitter, the Sky Sports reporter revealed that, following a number of reports linking David Moyes’ side with a move for the LOSC Lille defensive midfielder this summer, the Premier League side have now agreed a €40m (£33.5m) deal for the Belgium international.

The journalist went on to state that, as of Wednesday, the deal is still a long way from being completed, as personal terms with the 20-year-old are still yet to be agreed upon.

In his tweet, Sheth said: “West Ham United agree a fee with Lille for midfielder Amadou Onana. Fee understood to be €40m including add-ons. Deal LONG way from being done – personal terms not close to being agreed. Lille reluctant sellers but conscious they may not get deal like this again.”

Considering just how exciting a prospect Onana very much appears to be, the news that West Ham now look to be closing in on a deal to bring the one-cap international to the London Stadium this summer – potentially beating the likes of Arsenal to the midfielder’s signature – undoubtedly represents a huge coup for Moyes and his side.

Indeed, over his 32 Ligue 1 fixtures last time out, the £9m-rated youngster enjoyed a sensational campaign, scoring one goal and creating three big chances for his teammates, in addition to making an average of 1.5 interceptions, 0.9 tackles and winning 3.4 duels – at a success rate of 54% – per game.

These returns saw the £5.5k-per-week talent who Jacek Kulig dubbed a “masterclass” average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.85, ranking him as Les Dogues’ joint ninth-best player in the league last season.

Further still, according to