West Ham prepare to trigger £140.5m deal for standout Europa League defender after Moyes makes enquiry

West Ham prepare to trigger £140.5m deal for standout Europa League defender after Moyes makes enquiry

West Ham have reportedly made contact for the signing of Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen after the defender earned a place in the Europa League team of the season.

Tah helped the Bundesliga side reach the semi-finals of UEFA’s secondary competition this season. In the process, he earned the admiration of the governing body’s technical observers, who recently announced him and Roma’s Chris Smalling as the two centre-backs in their Europa League team of the season.

West Ham have their own European final to look forward to this week, since they are due to challenge Fiorentina for the Conference League crown.

Domestically, though, it was a disappointing season for David Moyes’ side, who finished in the bottom half of the Premier League. Therefore, they are already eyeing targets for the upcoming transfer window.

According to several sources in Germany – the latest being Sky Sports Deutschland – West Ham have now made an enquiry about Tah’s availability.

The centre-back is only under contract with Bayer Leverkusen for another two years. Besides, there is an €18m release clause (equating to around £15.5m) in his current deal.

For a player in his prime at the age of 27, it could be a price well worth paying for an ambitious club like West Ham.

Per Sky, there are other suitors for Tah, although it hasn’t been revealed who they are. In recent days, he has also been linked with Tottenham by other sources in Germany.

Bayer Leverkusen haven’t given up hope of keeping the Germany international. But there isn’t much that Xabi Alonso’s side can do while the release clause is still active.

West Ham to add European experience with Tah transfer

Therefore, West Ham could be waiting to pounce. If they win the Conference League, they will go into next season’s Europa League – a competition Tah has clearly proven himself in.

If not, they won’t have any European football on offer next season, whereas Bayer Leverkusen will be in the Europa League again after Alonso guided them to sixth in the Bundesliga standings.

It remains to be seen how Tah would feel about the chance to play in the Premier League for the first time. To date, he has spent his entire career representing German clubs.

Bayer Leverkusen signed him in 2015 after he had been on loan at Fortuna Dusseldorf from Hamburger SV. Since then, he has made more than 300 appearances for the club – including 47 in 2022-23, more than any other campaign that came before.

Tah, who stands at 6 ft 5 in tall, is also a full Germany international with 16 senior

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Report: West Ham now interested in signing £40m Chelsea player, Moyes getting a bigger say on transfers

West Ham are interested in signing Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher, according to reports.

FootballTransfers claims that West Ham manager David Moyes is in line to be given a bigger say on the club’s transfer activity this summer.

It is explained that the Hammers boss is looking at three midfielders to replace Declan Rice, who’s linked with a move away from the London Stadium in the upcoming transfer window.

The report adds that Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher, Southampton’s James Ward Prowse and Manchester United’s Scott McTominay are the players eyed by Moyes.

We will be very interested to see if anybody gets near to meeting Chelsea’s asking price.

If you’re judging Gallagher solely on this season, his £40million valuation seems very unrealistic. The 23-year-old midfielder really didn’t set the world alight during his first year in the senior squad at Stamford Bridge.

However, the England international previously lit up the Premier League during a season-long loan at Crystal Palace in the 2021/21 campaign.

Gallagher’s return of three goals in 45 games this season was far too low for somebody with his quality.

In addition, the Blues academy graduate struggled to fit one position under the numerous managers at the Bridge.

We could definitely picture Gallagher fitting into the West Ham line-up and doing well, but what does Mauricio Pochettino think of the matter?

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After £38m bid was rejected in 2022, Chelsea now set to try again for defender compared to Gvardiol

What’s the story?

Well – according to L’Equipe – the Blues made a £38m bid for the Lyon No.4 in the summer of 2022.

However, the offer was rejected, and Lukeba ended up staying with the French giants.

The 20-year-old has continued to develop well at Lyon, making 34 appearances in Ligue 1 throughout the 2022/23 campaign, with his superb displays keeping Chelsea interested.

But Football Club believe the Blues remain attentive to Lukeba’s situation, and are ready to try again as he currently hesitates over signing a new contract.

The French news outlet state that Chelsea currently lead the race to sign the France Under-21 international.

But Football Club add that Lyon are hoping to receive at least €50m (£43m) for Lukeba, but they could even demand more if Rayan Cherki is sold first, as the Ligue 1 side feel they have a very rare commodity on their hands in the talented centre-back.

Who is Chelsea target Castello Lukeba?

The Lyon-born defender is not exactly a household name, yet, so you may not know too much about him.