West Ham are considering whether to make a move for Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Aleix Garcia, according to journalist Graeme Bailey.

Speaking to TBRFootball, Bailey said that the Spaniard, who has been capped 5 times by his country, is being looked at after the Hammers failed with a bid for Southampton’s Mateus Fernandes:

“One option is Leverkusen’s Aleix Garcia, a player they quite like; he’s not really on anyone’s radar at the moment. There are other players, but West Ham need to move some out first to free up funds.”

“They liked Jacob Ramsey, but that was never an option. Harvey Elliott was another target, but after Mohammed Kudus left, they only had £40m, and they spent £15/20m of that on Hermansen. Funds are very limited. Someone like Garcia might be available for that sort of money.”

Garcia has only been at Leverkusen for a year

The 28-year-old actually came through Manchester City’s academy, but he only truly came to prominence during his three-year spell at Girona.

Garcia helped the Spanish club to promotion before being part of the side that finished 3rd in La Liga during the 2023/24 season, accruing an impressive 81 points in the process.

Leverkusen snapped him up for an initial €18m in June last year, and he made 42 appearances in all competitions for the German side last campaign, scoring 5 times.

Are West Ham looking at any other midfielders?

As Bailey mentioned, there was strong interest in Aston Villa’s Jacob Ramsey, but he is poised to sign for Newcastle United. Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott was deemed too expensive, along with Fernandes.

Former Roma captain Lorenzo Pellegrini has been heavily linked in the Italian press. The 29-year-old has less than a year left on his contract and is available for a low fee this summer. However, sources close to the club have not mentioned the player as a target so far.

In other news, Roy Keane names the West Ham signing who could save the club from relegation