West Ham have made a combined £60m bid for Manchester United’s Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay on a day when they agreed a £32m deal to sign the Ajax midfielder Edson Álvarez.
With Álvarez expected to play in defensive midfield, West Ham are also looking for a No 8 and have been tracking McTominay since January. The 26-year-old Scotland international could, like Maguire, need to leave United if he wants to play regularly. United have signed Mason Mount and want the Fiorentina midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.
West Ham’s latest push for Maguire comes after they failed with an attempt to take the defender on loan and had a £20m offer rejected. Maguire left Leicester for £80m four years ago but made only eight Premier League starts last season. An issue is that the 30-year-old defender received a considerable salary increase as a result of United qualifying for the Champions League. West Ham are working to find a solution around Maguire’s wages.
Álvarez has agreed terms on a five‑year deal and is expected to fly to London for a medical.
The Mexico international will be West Ham’s first summer signing and his arrival will come as a boost for David Moyes, whose future as manager is under renewed scrutiny after a difficult pre‑season.
Moyes has struggled to agree on signings with Tim Steidten, West Ham’s new technical director, and faces missing out on one of his top targets, Southampton’s James Ward‑Prowse. West Ham do not want to pay more than £30m for the Southampton midfielder and a deal is unlikely at this stage. Their interest in Ward‑Prowse could be revisited later in the window but the focus is on other targets.
West Ham want two midfielders after selling Declan Rice to Arsenal for £105m and losing Manuel Lanzini on a free transfer. They have been tracking Álvarez for a while and stepped up their interest in the 25-year-old at the end of last week.
Álvarez almost joined Borussia Dortmund at the start of the window, but the move collapsed because of personal terms. He was targeted by Chelsea last year and is ready for a fresh challenge at West Ham, whose initial interest had been complicated by demands relating to agent fees.
The hope is that signing Álvarez will improve the mood at West Ham, who were beaten 4-0 by Bayer Leverkusen in a friendly last weekend. They visit Bournemouth in their Premier League opener on Saturday and sources have said Moyes’s job will be at risk if his side makes a slow start to the season. Discontent over the style of play has festered in the dressing room since last season.
Moyes will feel his hand has been strengthened by winning the Europa Conference League. He has asked for proven Premier League players and Steidten has struggled to convince him to move for the Monaco midfielder Youssouf Fofana. West Ham are working to improve relations between Moyes and Steidten.
Moyes could also look for a striker after agreeing to sell Gianluca Scamacca to Atalanta, with Chelsea’s Armando Broja, Arsenal’s Folarin Balogun and Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke in his sights. West Ham want a left-winger and could try to sign a left-back if Aaron Cresswell leaves. Cresswell’s move to Wolves has fallen through but West Ham are tracking Chelsea’s Ian Maatsen and Adrien Truffert of Rennes.
