David Moyes reveals Chelsea star came close to joining West Ham last summer

David Moyes has revealed that West Ham were on the brink of signing Cole Palmer last summer before he made the move to Chelsea.

The Hammers looked to secure Palmer's signature at the end of last season ahead of his exit from Manchester City, But they ultimately lost out to their west London rivals.

Meanwhile, City were interested in signing West Ham's Lucas Paqueta during the summer but pulled out of a deal due to an investigation into potential betting breaches by the midfielder.

Ahead of West Ham's trip to Chelsea on Sunday, Moyes opened up on his side's inability to sign Palmer, suggesting Paqueta's collapsed move to City was a factor.

"[We were] close, close," Moyes said of signing Palmer. "You can probably imagine the other part of it, where there was a possibility of somebody leaving here which might have made that work.

"I was in regular contact with his agent and we were well on the road with it but it just changed at the end and we couldn't do it.

“I watched him playing for England Under-21s regularly and I thought he was their standout player. I was always keen to bring in British players.

“The bigger problem was that he played in the same position as Jarrod Bowen but I had the thought about Jarrod becoming a centre-forward."

Moyes added: “Lee Carsley, who was one of my ex-players [at Everton] as well and the England U21 manager, was always giving me advice on their players and Cole especially.

“He spoke so highly about him and what he was like. We knew he could play several positions and let’s be fair, he’s been a revelation this year for Chelsea.”

Palmer is second in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, just one goal shy of Erling Haaland's total of 21 so far. Jarrod Bowen is seventh, having scored 16 goals in the league this term.

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