Report: West Ham make Arsenal outcast their priority target if Hammers miss out on William Carvalho

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West Ham United are making contingency plans involving Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere, in case their move for William Carvalho falls through.

According to a report from The Sun, West Ham plan to turn their attention to Jack Wilshere if they ultimately fail in their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho.

The Sun reports that William is Slaven Bilic’s main target as he looks to bolster his midfield ranks in the final hours of the window – but there is a considerable stumbling block seemingly holding up a deal.

According to The Sun, Sporting want £40 million for the Euro 2016 winner, and with the Hammers not prepared to pay such a fee, the Premier League side have seemingly identified an alternative target in case a late agreement cannot be reached.

And that alternative target is Wilshere, with The Sun reporting that the Hammers will try and pursue a season-long loan deal for the Arsenal midfielder if they fail to land William.

The Sun adds that Wilshere has entered the final year of his contract at the Emirates, so West Ham may perhaps be hoping that the Gunners receive no permanent bids before Thursday’s deadline as, unless they still plan to extend his contract, a loan deal would make little sense if he will be available on a free transfer next summer.

However, given that signing Wilshere permanently may be viewed as a gamble by other clubs, West Ham can perhaps feel confident that if he does not feature in Arsene Wenger’s plans this term, he may feel that allowing the midfielder to head to the London Stadium to try and prove himself is the best option.

The Englishman enjoyed an unspectacular loan spell with Bournemouth last year, but did make more league appearances during his year at the Vitality Stadium than he had done in any season since 2010/11, so perhaps a deal would be a less of a gamble than it would initially appear.

But with William Carvalho still at the top of West Ham’s list of targets, any move for Wilshere may well still leave the Irons supporters a little deflated.