Report: West Ham have £20m rejected for ‘perfect’ talent eyed by Arsenal

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West Ham have reportedly had a £20m bid shot down by LOSC Lille for midfield prospect Amadou Onana, with Arsenal also interested in signing the 20-year-old Belgian international.

According to Sky Sports News via Football Daily, the Irons have had an opening offer rejected by the French side for Onana, who enjoyed a breakout season last year for Lille with the likes of West Ham and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal now keen on signing the youngster.

Onana only joined Lille last summer, but the midfielder has enjoyed a meteoric rise in France with Les Dogues, with the former Hamburg SV star thriving in both Ligue 1 and in the UEFA Champions League, and these performances have now attracted interest from the Premier League.

As per Sky Sports News, though, West Ham have not been put off by Onana following their £20m rejected bid, with the Irons ‘still interested’ in the Belgian star and a second attempt to sign the Lille midfielder could be on its way in the coming days.

West Ham have already made two signings this summer in the form of Stade Rennais star Nayef Aguerd and PSG keeper Alphonse Areola, with David Moyes expected to bring in more faces in the coming weeks, namely a midfielder and a striker to compete with Michail Antonio.

Indeed, Onana would be an exciting addition for West Ham, with the midfielder being hailed by Hamburg’s head of sport, Jonas Boldt, as a talent with ‘perfect’ qualities to go all the way to the top, which would explain why Arsenal are also interested in the 20-year-old.

West Ham should do all they can to sign Onana ahead of Arsenal

News of West Ham having an opening offer rejected for Onana would reject most fans of a deal being completed, however, with the Irons set to make a second attempt to sign the youngster, it appears that the Hammers are keen on adding the youngster to their ranks for next season.

After all, the departure of Mark Noble will leave a huge hole in West Ham’s midfield options, and signing a young and talented prospect in Onana would be a great step in the right direction for the east London side, who could again do big things under Moyes in the upcoming campaign.