West Ham bid for Lille midfielder Amadou Onana rejected
West Ham United have had an offer for Lille midfielder Amadou Onana turned down, 90min can confirm.
The Hammers are looking to add further depth to David Moyes's squad, with bringing in a new central midfielder to offset the workload of Declan Rice and Tomas Soucek high on the agenda.
Rice and Soucek, alongside the more attack-minded duo of Manuel Lanzini and Pablo Fornals, are currently the only options at the club following Mark Noble's retirement and Alex Kral's return to Spartak Moscow after a disappointing loan spell.
20-year-old Onana has only been at Lille for one season and is contracted to the club until 2026, having joined from Hamburg, but West Ham have identified him as a player who could beef up their squad ahead of another season containing European football.
However, 90min understands that West Ham's opening offer for Onana, who played 32 Ligue 1 games last season and has previously been linked with Arsenal and Liverpool, has been rejected by Lille.
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It remains to be seen whether or not West Ham will make a new offer for Onana, with Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill one of a number of other targets under consideration. The Hammers must also weigh up the cost of any deal impacting their desire to sign a left-back and centre forward.
West Ham's summer transfer window business has been strong so far, with two signings already confirmed. Moroccan central defender Nayef Aguerd has joined from Rennes in a deal worth up to £30m, while Alphonse Areola's loan spell from PSG has been made permanent.
The Frenchman has penned a five-year deal, and will expect to challenge Lukasz Fabianski for the role of starting goalkeeper after featuring mainly in the Europa League and domestic cup competitions last year.