West Ham United

West Ham United

Premier League • England

West Ham accelerate talks to sign Premier League legend after triple green light; likely transfer fee revealed

France midfielder N'Golo Kante, Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo, West Ham badge

West Ham are in talks to sign a bona fide Premier League legend who left the English top flight far too soon, and how much a deal will cost has been revealed by a report.

West Ham have made a fast start to the summer transfer window, with three signings already secured. Wes Fodderingham arrived on a free transfer to bolster the goalkeeping ranks, while centre-back Max Kilman joined from Wolves for a hefty £40m.

Elsewhere, Brazilian star Luis Guilherme was brought to London by way of Palmeiras to the tune of £25.5m.

New boss Julen Lopetegui is far from finished, however, with the Guardian revealing the signing of one of the Premier League’s greats is now in the works.

They revealed talks to sign Al-Ittihad midfielder, N’Golo Kante, have commenced.

The 33-year-old is one of the most effective defensive midfielders the English top flight has seen.

Kante was a major force in the Leicester side that pulled off the mother of all shocks when winning the EPL back in 2016.

Kante subsequently joined Chelsea where he established himself as one of – if not the best – holding midfielder in world football at that time.

However, when the hamstring injuries in particular began to rack up, Chelsea saw fit to offload Kante to Saudi Arabia in 2023.

That decision has since looked unwise, with Kante making 46 appearances in his sole season with Al-Ittihad and impressing for France at Euro 2024.

Kante forced his way back into France’s starting line-up, often keeping the likes of Eduardo Camavinga out of the eleven. Kante started all six matches for Didier Deschamps’ side in Germany and scooped two man of the match awards.

Clearly, Kante still has plenty left to give at the highest level and per the Guardian, a return to England by joining West Ham is a distinct possibility.

N’Golo Kante open to West Ham transfer; likely fee revealed

Kante is reportedly open to returning to London specifically, while both West Ham and Al-Ittihad have a ‘willingness to get a deal done.’

Talks between the clubs are now in full swing and per the report, West Ham hope to seal a deal by paying roughly £20m.

Of course, Kante would not represent a long-term option and given his age (33) there’d be a lack of re-sale value too.

Nonetheless, Lopetegui is a huge admirer of Kante who he previously tried to sign during his brief spell in charge of Real Madrid back in 2018.

Furthermore, Lopetegui believes Kante’s vast experience will prove ‘vital’ for the squad as a whole.

The biggest barrier to a deal will unquestionably be agreeing personal terms with the player given his gigantic salary in Saudi Arabia. A colossal pay cut will be required.

West Ham nearing Man Utd, Arsenal raids too

Elsewhere, TEAMtalk understands West Ham are closing in on signing Manchester United right-back, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, for around £15m.

An agreement on personal terms is not yet in place, though the club-to-club discussions are advanced.

The Hammers are also attempting to bring Arsenal winger Reiss Nelson across the capital.

The latest on those two deals can be found here.

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