Monday gave West Ham United supporters another name to keep an eye on as the Premier League outfit step up their plans to sign a new midfielder; Ngal’ayel Mukau of Lille.
And, unless Southampton or Aston Villa reduce their demands over the coming weeks, the Belgian-born DR Congo international could reappear a few more times in the gossip columns between now and the start of September.
Hammers News have been told that Aston Villa value Jacob Ramsey at around £50 million.
Southampton rejected West Ham’s £30 million Mateus Fernandes bid on Tuesday, meanwhile. And, though talks continue regarding the Portugal Under-21 international, Graham Potter’s budget is unlikely to stretch beyond the £50 million mark without first making a few key sales.
Ngal’ayel Mukau, then, may be considered an affordable alternative by some, but also an exciting one.
A footballer with whom the West Ham United supporters were given a sneak peek during Saturday’s friendly clash with LOSC Lille at the London Stadium. And a footballer the club’s official website spoke highly of in the build-up.
Photo by Jacques Feeney/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
West Ham United have already praised Lille’s Ngal’ayel Mukau
On another pre-season outing in which James Ward-Prowse flattered to deceive in Graham Potter’s midfield, a man wearing the black of Lille might just have cemented his place on West Ham’s midfield wishlist.
According to Sacha Tavolieri, writing for Sky Sports, the Hammers are now showing ‘serious interest’ after watching Mukau play the full 90 minutes of Saturday’s 1-1 draw in the capital. He converted his penalty in the resulting shoot-out as well, on a day when Alphonse Areola twice came up trumps.
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Contact has now been opened up between the West Ham bosses and Mukau’s representatives.
Lille will not let the giant 20-year-old leave on the cheap. Not with a contract until the summer of 2028. But with Tavolieri suggesting that the bidding will have to begin in the region of £17 million, it feels unlikely that Mukau’s valuation will come close to the eye-watering fees required for Jacob Ramsey or Mateus Fernandes.
In their pre-match preview, meanwhile, West Ham’s official website prophetically mentioned Mukau among some of the ‘incredible talent that has come through at Lille over recent years’.
His 17-year-old teammate Ayyoub Bouaddi is another expected to leave the Stade Geoffrey Guichard for a hefty fee sooner rather than later.
Yves Bissouma and Carlos Baleba both joined Brighton from Lille, while West Ham were heavily linked with Amadou Onana when the towering Aston Villa enforcer was still at Everton.
‘Ngal’ayel Mukau,’ the Hammers website wrote on Friday, ‘is an impressive young midfielder.’ A rather affordable one too, it would seem.
Kylian Mbappe scores against Barcelona for Real Madrid
Photo by JOSEP LAGO/AFP via Getty Images
Mukau emulated Kylian Mbappe’s Champions League heroics
Hammers News reported at the beginning of the summer that West Ham had installed Raphael Onyedika as their first-choice midfield target, on the instruction of head of recruitment Kyle Macaulay.
It may be no coincidence that interest in Ramsey and Fernandes was ramped up after Onyedika’s camp claimed he was in ‘no rush’ to leave Belgian giants Club Brugge before the deadline.
Tavolieri does point out that Onyedika remains on the list. An ‘extensive’ list, which now includes Lille’s 6ft 2ins colossus.
Initially deployed as a defensive midfielder during his formative years at KV Mechelen – Mukau even averaged a highly impressive 3.9 tackles per game in the 2023/24 season – he has since blossomed into more of a box-to-box operator across the border in France.
He even scored a brace on his Champions League debut at the age of 20 against Bologna. Thus, joining David Trezeguet, Karim Benzema and Kylian Mbappe in a very exclusive list.
“He’s an aggressive player, with a big volume of play, capable of recovering balls from the opponent’s feet,” Lille coach Bruno Genesio said after Mukau’s most unexpected of European doubles. So far, his only goals in 35 Lille appearances.
“He’s also a forward-thinking player, who can get forward from the first touch and find verticality.”