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West Ham had an “enquiry rejected” for Everton defender Michael Keane, according to reports.
The Athletic claim that the Hammers registered their interest in signing the former England international on a permanent basis.
However, the Toffees were not willing to sanction Keane‘s departure as they were unable to find a suitable replacement.
The 33-year-old is currently behind James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite in the pecking order at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, but manager David Moyes was keen to retain his services as a squad player.
Todibo’s departure left West Ham short of numbers
Jean-Clair Todibo’s move to Lens on loan meant that head coach Nuno Espirito Santo was left with two senior centre-backs in the first-team squad – Max Kilman and Konstantinos Mavrapanos.
Ezra Mayers is also an option, but at 19 years of age, he is pretty inexperienced, so it was essential for Director of Player Recruitment Nils Koppen to find another centre-half.
Keane was one of several targets that the club were pursuing to strengthen their squad on Deadline Day.
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Which other centre-backs were pursued?
Reports suggested that Leicester City’s Wout Faes was under consideration, but those rumours were said to be wide of the mark.
Nottingham Forest’s Morato was the primary target heading into the final few days of the window. The Brazilian had interest from other clubs, but the Irons were keen on securing his services on loan.
Morato has worked with Nuno before. He was signed from Benfica for £12.6m in the summer of 2024 when the Hammers boss was still in charge at the City Ground. He played 29 times in his first season in England, but he has fallen out of favour under current head coach Oliver Glasner.
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