West Ham In Transfer Battle To Land £7m Rated French Midfield Enforcer

West Ham are interested in signing Angers defensive midfielder Baptiste Santamaria, according to reports in the French media.

The 24-year-old could well be offloaded this summer as his club are looking to free up funds for new signings.

Santamaria also has other suitors, though, with newly promoted Aston Villa believed to be keen on the Frenchman.

Angers are not said to be demanding a sizeable fee for the holding midfield player either, with a bid of just €6m (£5.3m) to €8m (£7m) likely to be enough to secure the player’s signature.

Santamaria doesn’t offer much in the attacking third of the pitch. He scored just one goal and contributed no assists in 38 appearances last campaign.

However, he has been a regular starter for Angers in Ligue One over the past three years and could be a useful squad player.

West Ham manager Manuel Pellegrini has been consistently linked with signing Gary Medel, and Santamaria may well be seen as a potential alternative to the Chilean veteran.