Report: French club now trying to beat West Ham to sign £30m player, he has worrying injury record

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French club Marseille are trying to beat West Ham United to the signing of target Eric Bailly, according to L’Equipe.

The French club were reportedly interested in signing the Manchester United defender on loan last January, but a move never materialised.

West Ham have been looking at defensive targets in the last week, with David Moyes facing a shortage in that position.

Craig Dawson, Nayef Aguerd and Angelo Ogbonna are all currently missing due to injury, and Issa Diop has just completed a move to Fulham.

The Hammers are so short of centre-backs that Moyes was forced to play young full-back Ben Johnson out of position in their 2-0 defeat against Manchester City on the opening weekend.

French club Marseille trying to beat West Ham to target Bailly

West Ham have been monitoring Bailly, with the Ivorian defender looking for a move away from Old Trafford.

The £30m defender joining Man United from Villarreal in 2016, but has had a torrid time with injuries in the past six years.

Bailly has missed 95 matches due to injury, and has only managed 70 Premier League appearances in six seasons, which is a very worrying sign.

Given the injury problems West Ham are already struggling with in this position, Moyes should probably look elsewhere to solve his centre-back worries.

One name that has been linked with a move to the London Stadium is Thilo Kehrer, and he would offer much more consistent cover across the back line.

West Ham have missed out on several targets this summer with other teams beating them to the punch, most notably Jesse Lingard and Amadou Onana.

However, there would be less uproar if Bailly was another target who chose to move elsewhere.