West Ham United were offered Chancel Mbemba by Newcastle United in exchange for Diafra Sakho.
The Sun reports that the Hammers are ready to cash in on Sakho, who is catching Benitez’s eye as the Magpies boss looks to strengthen his attacking options during the January transfer window.
The Sun suggests that Newcastle are working with a fairly limited budget this month and thus, tried to offload Mbemba to the Irons as part of their bid to try and win the race for Sakho, with Everton and Besiktas also keen on the forward.
However, The Sun adds that David Moyes is not keen on signing Mbemba and thus, he has rejected the bid as West Ham look for a cash-only deal for Sakho – who has struggled for game-time this season.
The news will be a blow for Benitez, who surely needs to add fire-power up front with his side scoring just 21 goals in their opening 23 games this term in the top flight.
But with West Ham looking a lot more solid defensively in recent weeks, it is probably little surprise that Moyes did not see the appeal of getting Mbemba in exchange for Sakho as the former has hardly captured the imagination during his time at St James’ Park.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
