West Ham is expected to sign midfielder Amadou Onana from Lille. The move is the fifth of West Ham’s close-season signings, following the arrivals of goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, midfielder Flynn Downes, defender Nayef Aguerd and striker Gianluca Scamacca. After agreeing on terms with LOSC Lille, West Ham are now in negotiations over the personal terms with Amadou Onana. West Ham United have agreed to a fee with Lille for the central midfielder. The price is understood to be PS 33.5million (EUR40m), including additions, and comes in as the result of a fourth offer from West Ham for the midfielder, Amadou Onana.
Lille had been holding out for around EUR 40m for the midfielder, Amadou Onana, and West Ham agreed to pay the original EUR 35m (PS 29.3m) plus an additional EUR 5m. West Ham, who are close to completing their deal for Burnley striker Maxwell Cornet, having had their bid rejected for around PS 17m on Tuesday evening, has been tracking Onana throughout the summer and are expected to negotiate personal terms with the 20-year-old. Onana’s crew is said to be on a different wavelength than West Ham, putting the Hammers with work to do. However, West Ham faces an additional challenge because Onana prefers to join Everton.
However, completion of a deal is still some way off, with personal terms still far from agreed upon. After several frustrating weeks, West Ham United made some headway, agreeing to a PS 35million fee with difficult-negotiating Lille. Sky Sports News has been told that West Ham’s offer for a total of PS 12.6m (EUR 15m), including additions, was rejected and that Eintracht Frankfurt is looking closer to PS 16.8m (EUR 20m) for Filip Kostic. Kostic is managed by the World Soccer Agency (WSA), which also represents Gianluca Scamacca. At the same time, the rejection has forced West Ham United to consider other options, like Napolis Piotr Zelinski.
Manager David Moyes hopes those terms can be worked out over the coming days. Moyes wants additional signings as he attempts to assemble a team potential of finishing in the top six. Still, it is unlikely that any agreement would allow midfielder Amadou Onana to make the team in time for their Premier League opener against Manchester City on Sunday. The central midfielder is a versatile player, capable of playing either centrally or defensively, and would add some much-needed depth to West Ham’s team. We believe he would make an eye-catching addition for West Ham should Moyes bring him to London Stadium.
