West Ham’s interest in Bayer Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah is being driven by manager David Moyes, according to journalist Paul Brown.

With Tim Steidten having worked at Leverkusen, it had been assumed that the Hammers’ pursuit of the German international was at the behest of the technical director but, speaking to GiveMeSport, Brown said Tah had been on the London club’s radar for a long time:

“It’s interesting that they’d be going for a central defender because they seem quite well-stocked there. That would suggest that somebody is leaving if they were to do a deal like that.”

“[Jonathan] Tah is actually someone who’s been on their radar for two or three years. I know that Moyes personally is a big fan of that player. He’s been to watch him personally over the years.”

Tah could be available for a low price

It has been widely reported that the 27-year-old has an €18m (£15.6m) release clause in his contract but that clause can only be triggered at the end of the season.

Considering the low buyout fee will soon become active, though,  there is a good chance that Leverkusen will be prepared to listen to offers in January; even ones that are only slightly higher than that figure.

West Ham will have rivals for the defender’s signature

Unsurprisingly, Tah’s availability has attracted interest from plenty of other teams, including ones in the Premier League. Newcastle have been mentioned as potential suitors, along with Tottenham and Manchester United.

Chelsea are, however, the team who have been most heavily linked. Last month Bild journalist Christian Falk confirmed reports from the UK that the Blues are keen on snapping up the German.

It means West Ham may have to move quickly if they want to secure the centre-back’s services during the January transfer window.