West Ham Tracking Moussa Dembele With Lyon Prepared to Sell

Dembele scored Lyon's Champions League winner over Man City
Dembele scored Lyon's Champions League winner over Man City / MIGUEL A. LOPES/Getty Images
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West Ham are keeping tabs on Lyon striker Moussa Dembele, with Lyon said to be ready to sell the striker.

The 24-year-old, who joined Fulham's academy after coming through the ranks at Paris Saint-Germain, has had plenty of experience of English football, having played a handful of Premier League games with the Cottagers during a four-year spell in west London.

However, having produced the shock of the season by scoring twice to knock Manchester City out of the 2019/20 Champions League, Dembele has struggled to get consistent game time for Lyon during the new campaign, starting just five of their ten league games.

Dembele is said to be frustrated at his lack of game time
Dembele is said to be frustrated at his lack of game time / TF-Images/Getty Images

With the Frenchman frustrated at his increasingly peripheral role with Les Gones, The Sun is now reporting that West Ham are keen to offer him a return to England.

David Moyes, who has been reluctant to start the Hammers' record signing Sebastian Haller up top, is said to be an admirer of Dembele, who was prolific during his last spell on British soil with Celtic.

The main sticking point would be the Frenchman's price tag, which at £30m plus potential bonuses has in the past deterred potential Premier League suitors, including Manchester United.

Dembele scored 32 goals in all competitions in his first season with Celtic
Dembele scored 32 goals in all competitions in his first season with Celtic / Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Lyon manager Rudi Garcia's reluctance to field Dembele was most notable in the Champions League last season, where he failed to start him in any of his side's crunch clashes, against Juventus, Man City and Bayern Munich, after the restart.

Dembele was nonetheless the hero against the Cityzens, restoring Lyon's lead with a controversial strike before adding another seconds after a gilt-edged miss from Raheem Sterling.

While West Ham will be keen to capitalise on the situation at Lyon that has reduced his transfer value to £30m, Celtic will be less pleased, as the 10% sell-on clause inserted into the Frenchman's contract will yield much less of a return than originally appeared likely.