West Ham United want Orel Mangala and are fighting Nottingham Forest in the race to sign the Stuttgart midfielder this summer.
The Hammers have added one new midfielder this summer with boyhood fan Flynn Downes arriving from Swansea City.
West Ham may still need another midfielder though given that Mark Noble has retired and Alex Kral’s disappointing loan spell is over.
Add in that Tomas Soucek’s future is a little unclear and there is bound to be interest in Delcan Rice and West Ham are wise to look at other midfielders.
West Ham United want Orel Mangala
The main target at the moment appears to be Lille star Amadou Onana.
The London Evening Standard report that West Ham are confident of securing Onana in a deal worth around £32.5million.
Yet with Lille understandably reluctant to sell the 6ft 5in Belgium international, West Ham would be wise to have alternative targets in mind.
One of them appears to be Stuttgart star Mangala, who is attracting major Premier League interest.
German newspaper Stuttgarter Nachrichten report that West Ham are showing a keen interest in signing Mangala.
They face a battle though with Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest also keen on landing the 24-year-old.
Mangala is another promising young Belgium midfielder just like Onana, with the pair currently in the Belgium international picture together.
Mangala is a quality box-to-box midfielder who can carry the ball brilliantly in tight areas.
The former Anderlecht and Borussia Dortmund talent doesn’t quite have Onana’s height but can offer a little more going forward.
That’s something for West Ham to weigh up as they consider both players, but Onana will surely be the priority.
Palace have landed Cheick Doucoure and whilst Forest look set to sign Lewis O’Brien, they would make more sense as a destination for Mangala than West Ham right now.
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