Crystal Palace may have ruined West Ham plans to sign Onana alternative with £21m deal – Our View

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On July 12th, Crystal Palace announced the signing of Cheick Doucoure in a deal worth £21m, and it could now have repercussions for West Ham.

What’s the story?

Well, David Moyes has been trying to find a new central midfielder of his own, and thought he had found his man when agreeing a £33m deal with Lille for Amadou Onana.

However, Everton hijacked the move and lured the Belgian to Goodison Park, forcing West Ham to explore alternatives.

One option identified by the Hammers is Seko Fofana, who played alongside Doucoure at RC Lens before the Mali international joined Crystal Palace.

Unfortunately, the Irons may be too late.

Fofana is the captain of RC Lens, and according to La Voix du Nord, he feels an obligation to stay and help the Ligue 1 side following the loss of his influential midfield partner.

Of course, a deal could still happen if West Ham offer an eye-watering amount of money, but we believe their hopes of signing the RC Lens talisman have been ruined by London rivals Crystal Palace.

West Ham should’ve challenged Crystal Palace for Cheick Doucoure

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, and it’s easy to say the above sitting here now after West Ham unexpectedly saw their pursuit of Onana collapse.

However, it is now starting to look as if West Ham would’ve had better luck signing Doucoure, who they could’ve offered European football to in a bid to beat Crystal Palace to his signature.

Additionally, £21m is quite a small fee nowadays, and with the Hammers offering £33m for Onana, we believe they could’ve blown the south Londoners out of the water.

Luckily for Crystal Palace, they pretty much had a free run at signing Doucoure – with the exception of a late move from Nottingham Forest, who seem intent on signing anyone who has ever kicked a football this summer.

Keep an eye on developments at the London Stadium, as we expect West Ham to find an Onana alternative – because of Crystal Palace signing Doucoure, however, we doubt Fofana will be that man.