Juventus sporting director Federico Cherubini demanded that West Ham pay €50m (£43m) for Weston McKennie, according to court papers in Italy.

The Serie A club’s finances are under investigation and correspondences between club officials have made their way into the public domain. Both the Hammers and Tottenham were reportedly in talks with Juve about McKennie but it appears that the American international was priced out of a move. As reported by IlNapolista.it, there was some debate between Cherubini and chairman Andrea Agnelli about the player’s price tag:

“Speaking of the possible sale of Weston McKennie, Cherubini spoke with Giovanni Manna (director of the Juventus Under 23 team) reporting that he had requested a sum of 50 million and that the contact person of the English club interested in the purchase (i.e. West Ham ) would be more willing – “to lower the value a bit”… Cherubini then spoke with President Agnelli who deems the amount requested excessive, as he states: “that is, Weston is worth 50 million today?”. In this regard, Cherubini reports that the player was bought for around 30 million, including bonuses, and that “if they give us 50 million, we’ll give him to them!”.”

A number of other English clubs, including Arsenal, Aston Villa and Everton have also scouted McKennie but it is not hard to see why the player has remained with the Bianconeri.

West Ham are likely to be still in the market for a midfielder, having missed out on Amadou Onana and Matheus Nunes (as well as McKennie), but the club are not expected to make sizeable funds available to manager David Moyes after spending £170m over the summer.