Report: West Ham could be priced out for £30m star; Championship man a more realistic target

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Jonathan Tah’s £30 million price-tag could block a move to West Ham United with the Guardian (live blog, 10.30am) reporting that Watford’s Craig Dawson could become the priority.

From an established Germany international to a man relegated from the Premier League last season; that is quite a backwards step.

With all due respect to Dawson, the former West Brom giant is not the sort of signing that would have Hammers fans serenading Gold and Sullivan in the streets of East London.

But with The Guardian reporting that West Ham could be priced out of a deal for Tah, £5.5 million Dawson has emerged as a cut-price alternative – albeit one who has plenty of Premier League experience under his belt.

The Bayer Leverkusen ace, who has also been linked with Fulham and a Leicester City side battered 3-0 by West Ham on Sunday, is a man in high demand.

The Mirror (4 October, page 73) reported that David Moyes’s in-form side were leading the race for his signature as recently as Sunday.

But unless Leverkusen drop their price-tag before Monday’s 11pm deadline, Tah will be staying in Germany until January at least.

The 2002 Champions League finalists have no need to sell after raising almost £100 million via the sales of Kai Havertz and Kevin Volland to Chelsea and Monaco respectively.