West Ham United have failed with a £10 million bid to bring Fenerbahce defender Attila Szalai to the Premier League, according to Sabah.
Well, we could have seen this one coming.
Speaking last week, Fenerbahce president Ali Koc insisted that would not even think about selling the Hungary international for a penny less than £17 million during the final two months of the transfer window.
So West Ham’s opening bid – one which is understood to be in the region of £10 million – was never likely to go down particularly well.
The Hammers must now decide whether or not they want to almost double that offer for a man who has only enhanced his reputation during Hungary’s impressive Euro 2020 campaign.
Will Attila Szalai head to West Ham after Euro 2020?
Marco Rossi’s side lost just once in three matches, the so-called whipping boys holding Germany and France to draws after striking fear into the hearts of reigning champions Portugal in a bouncing Budapest.
“I really like Attila,” Rossi tells Fanatik. “I say this not only because he is a good football player, but also because he is a good person. He is very humble.
“Szalai has not reached the highest level yet but, if he continues like this, I am sure that he can easily go to one of the top five big leagues in Europe.
“I think the number that Fenerbahçe put on him (£17 million) is very realistic.”
Szalai has also been linked with Aston Villa and Newcastle United and, according to reports, would welcome the chance to join Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City.
West Ham, meanwhile, have made a new centre-half one of their top priorities, with Nottingham Forest’s Joe Worrall and Fiorentina giant Nikola Milenkovic also of interest.
The departure of Fabian Balbuena means David Moyes has just three senior centre-backs at his disposal and one of those, 33-year-old Angelo Ogbonna, missed nine games last season due to an ankle injury.
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