West Ham could ABORT chase for leading centre-back target | OneFootball

West Ham United are still struggling to agree on the terms around Charlie Cresswell and are exploring other options, sources have told TEAMtalk.

Cresswell had been identified as a leading option to bring West Ham more solidity, but the conversations around getting the 23-year-old former Leeds United centre-back out of Toulouse are proving tricky.

The defender has been at Toulouse since the summer of 2024, when he moved from Leeds, and is under contract at the French club until the summer of 2028.

We have reported how Chelsea’s Axel Disasi is one of the names on West Ham’s radar as an alternate option, but sources have told us that there is a longer list of players being looked at now, too.

West Ham have been searching for options on the continent that offer good value, and it is believed France, Portugal and Belgium are the three key places they have been looking to uncover talent that no one else in the Premier League is aiming for.

By taking this route, West Ham avoid competition for targets and are also able to negotiate deals more on their own terms that they deem appropriate.

Sources believe that West Ham want a signing by next week when the Premier League resumes, after a weekend of FA Cup action.

West Ham host Queens Park Rangers at London Stadium in the third round of the FA Cup on Sunday before facing Tottenham Hotspur at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the Premier League on January 17.

The Hammers are in danger of getting relegated to the Championship at the end of the season.

West Ham have picked up just 14 points from 21 Premier League games and are seven points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.

Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur have taken a shine to a West Ham United star, but sources have told us that the Hammers are not going to sell him in the January transfer window.