West Ham Now Trailing Southampton In Battle For £11m Rated Forward

Southampton and Nice are now the favourites to sign Lorient forward Alexis Claude-Maurice, according to Calciomercato.it.

The Italian website reports that West Ham previously made a €12m (£11m) bid for the 21-year-old back in June, including a 25% sell-on clause.

However, the Hammers’ offer was not accepted and it seems the Saints are now leading the race for Claude-Maurice, along with Nice and Serie A side Torino.

The Frenchman scored 14 goals for Lorient in Ligue Two last season, but he generally plays from the left-hand side, rather than through the middle.

With West Ham well-stocked in that area, with Felipe Anderson, Pablo Fornals and others all able to play there, it’s likely that the London club have cooled their interest.

With just two out-and-out strikers in the squad, though, the Irons are expected to make a move for another centre-forward before the transfer window slams shut at the end of next week.