West Ham are poised to sign the Slavia Prague left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf for £22m plus £5m in add-ons.
Graham Potter is seeking to rebuild and is working with a bigger budget after the £54.5m sale of Mohammed Kudus to Tottenham. West Ham had to sell to buy but are now able to go ahead with their transfer plans and are on the brink of clinching a deal for Diouf.
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West Ham opened talks with Slavia last month and negotiations are almost complete. Diouf, who can play as a left-back or a left-wingback, impressed for Senegal in their victory over England last month. The move for the 20-year-old underlines West Ham’s desire to freshen up their ageing squad and will raise doubts over the future of Emerson Palmieri, who plays in Diouf’s position.
Potter is toying with the idea of using a 3-4-2-1 system next season, heightening the need for him to have defenders who can function as wing-backs. West Ham already have Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the opposite flank.
West Ham will also aim to bring in a goalkeeper, a left centre-back, two central midfielders and a striker. They may try to sign a left-winger and are keen to make further sales. They are open to offers for Nayef Aguerd, Edson Álvarez, Guido Rodríguez and Niclas Füllkrug.