West Ham have been reportedly tracking Lyon defender Marcelo.
West Ham United have reportedly had a second bid rejected by Lyon in pursuit of defender Marcelo, and Manuel Pellegrini must now admit defeat.
Goal claim the Hammers have seen a second offer of £22million for the 31-year-old defender knocked back, in what is already a substantial offer for a player well into their thirties.
The Hammers are still in the market for a new central defender according to reports, despite completing deals for Fabian Balbuena and Issa Diop, as well as boasting Angelo Ogbonna, Winston Reid and Declan Rice.
The fee to sign Marcelo is already way overpriced, and Pellegrini must now admit defeat in his pursuit to land the experienced Brazilian with Lyon simply charging too much to sign the colossus.
The former Manchester City manager must now move on from Marcelo rather than splashing out a huge amount of cash that is soon to begin declining as he loses that yard of pace in his legs.
The Hammers still need another central midfielder and a striker, more so than a central defender, and spending such a large amount of cash anyway could see Pellegrini blow his budget on a position where others require more strengthening.
He could be excused though, if a move was value for money but Marcelo simply is not worth that figure. Instead, he should look to other options such as Swansea City’s Alfie Mawson or Barcelona’s Yerry Mina, an forget about Marcelo.
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