West Ham have joined the likes of AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen in the race to sign Real Betis right-back Emerson Royal, according to reports in Italy.
The Brazilian, who has also been linked with Arsenal in recent days, has had a good season for Betis, having scored one goal and contributed four assists in 24 league appearances.
There is, though, one big complication in securing a deal for Emerson. When the 22-year-old joined Betis in 2019, the deal was done in conjunction with Barcelona.
Barca signed him from Sao Paulo for €12.7m, but Betis agreed to pay half the fee on the proviso they could keep him until 2021. With the two-year agreement now coming to an end, it is up to the Catalan club whether they want to sign him outright for €6m.
Were that to happen, it is not known whether they would be willing to sell him this summer. Considering the Hammers already have a top-class right-back in Vladimir Coufal, it would be a surprise if they get involved in the battle to sign Emerson.