West Ham close in on Hungarian defender Attila Szalai with £12m second bid
- Scott Allen
- 10 August 2022
West Ham have stepped up their interest in Hungarian international defender Attila Szalai, as the club desperately look to plug the huge hole in their defence.
According to reports, the Irons have put in a second bid for Fenerbahce defender Szalai, after their initial £7.6million approach was turned down.
The latest bid of £12million appears to have met the Turkish giants expectations, but a fee is yet to be formally agreed between the two clubs.
However, West Ham are still chasing their main target Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Thilo Kehrer, with Manchester United defender Eric Bailly also in the mix, so Szalai is still very much third choice.
Szalai joined Fenerbache from Apollon Limassol in 2021 and has made over 65 appearances for the club, he also has 27 caps for the Hungarian national team.
"West Ham made an offer of 9 million euros (£7.6million) to Fenerbahce in the past weeks," Turkish SPOR journalist Omer Celikbasli told West Ham Zone.
"Fenerbahce did not accept this offer. Fenerbahce wants at least 15 million euros (£12.7million).
"West Ham's second offer is around the number Fenerbahce wants."
West Ham's defence is currently very thin on numbers with Craig Dawson, Nayef Aguerd and Angelo Ogbonna all on their way back from injuries and Issa Diop downing tools.
Kurt Zouma is the only fit senior centre-back, and full-back Ben Johnson was drafted in to fill the hole in defence against Manchester City.
