West Ham are facing disappointment in their attempts to sign Angel Gomes despite following up their interest in the Lille midfielder by offering him a contract. Graham Potter wants to alter the dynamic of his midfield and is a big fan of Gomes, who is available on a free transfer this summer.
However it is understood West Ham’s proposal of a deal worth £100,000 a week to the England midfielder, who is of interest to Barcelona, is not high enough. There are other complications to iron out if the move is to go ahead and multiple sources are not confident an agreement will be reached.
West Ham will be forced to look at alternative targets if they conclude talks with Gomes cannot be revived. They are also conscious of the need to cut costs and lower their wage bill as they look to ensure that they remain compliant with the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules.
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Potter, who replaced Julen Lopetegui as head coach in January, will look to boost his summer budget by offloading squad players. Offers will be invited for Konstantinos Mavropanos, Emerson Palmieri, Guido Rodríguez and Niclas Füllkrug, who has struggled with injuries since joining from Borussia Dortmund last summer. Danny Ings is out of favour and West Ham are not expected to pursue permanent deals for Carlos Soler and Evan Ferguson when their loans end.
A focus for the recruitment team is to add more dynamism and youth to an ageing squad. Potter has improved his team’s defending but doing so has come at the expense of attacking flair. It is felt that playing an expansive style leaves West Ham too open. Potter also wants his side to become more proficient in possession. He is targeting a controlling midfielder and likes Gomes, who joined Lille from Manchester United in 2020.
Gomes can perform various midfield roles but operated as a deep-lying player for Lee Carsley when England’s Under-21 side won the European Championship in 2023. Carsley handed Gomes his senior international debut last September. But the former United player has had a stop-start campaign and has not been included in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad.
West Ham are also interested in the Lille striker Jonathan David but talks with the Canada international have not progressed. David has interest from a number of clubs. West Ham have tracked the Genoa defender Koni De Winter and could look at Southampton’s Aaron Ramsdale and Burnley’s James Trafford if they try to sign a goalkeeper.
