West Ham attacking midfielder Pablo Fornals is in “permanent contact” with Athletic Bilbao defender Unai Nunez, according to AS, as the Hammers look to seal a January transfer for the centre-back.

The London club are said to be willing to pay Nunez’s €30m (£25.7m) release clause but he is also being pursued by Bayern Munich, and they are trying to persuade the player to make the move to England instead.

Fornals is a good friend of the centre-half, after having built a good friendship when playing for Spain at Under 21 level. The Irons midfielder is on hand to give Nunez advice about the Premier League, the club itself and the city.

However, Bayern have contacts at Bilbao that may help them get a deal over the line. Agent Giovanni Branchini is said to be working on the Bundesliga club’s behalf and has already offered former Athletic player Javi Martinez as part of a deal.

Unlike West Ham, though, they don’t seem to be looking to pay the buyout clause outright, which would certainly make the Hammers the favourites. Arsenal and Everton have also been linked with Nunez so they will want to move fast for the defender.

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