Chelsea target makes SURPRISE West Ham transfer U-turn
Tom Weber
- Updated: 16 Aug 2023 09:32 BST
- 4 min read
Chelsea target Elye Wahi is keen to join West Ham, according to French media.
One of France's hottest commodities this summer, Elye Wahi is, surprisingly, still a Montpellier player as we head into the final two weeks of the transfer window. Few would have seen this coming a month or two ago, least of all the player and his club.
Indeed, the Ligue 1 side had already resigned themselves to losing their star man, and for good reason. Chelsea had made a lucrative offer for the 20-year-old goalscoring machine and he reportedly even toured the club's facilities.
READ: Caicedo SLAMMED for picking Chelsea over Liverpool by Brighton CEO
It seemed for all intents and purposes as though he would be a Blue come the end of the window and Montpellier president Louis Nicollin concurred, stating at the beginning of August: "We [Montpellier and Wahi] agreed on an exit."
Said to be not particularly thrilled by the prospect of being shipped out on loan to Chelsea's sister club Strasbourg, that move has not yet materialised. Neither has interest from Tottenham, Eintracht Frankfurt or Monaco turned into concrete negotiations. Now, the player has made his preference clear.
Wahi wants West Ham
That is at least according to Footmercato, which claims that Wahi has decided that he wants to join...West Ham. In a somewhat surprising turn of events, the 19-goal man has his sights set on a move to David Moyes' Hammers, who have struggled to complete their summer business thus far.
Though Edson Alvarez from Ajax and James Ward-Prowse from Southampton have recently been signed, Harry Maguire's transfer from Manchester United has fallen through, while no agreement has as yet been reached for Red Devils teammate Scott McTominay.
READ: Romano announces THREE Chelsea transfers that WILL happen
West Ham have not made a formal offer for Wahi, but they need to be quick if they want to sign the wonderkid. The aforementioned Nicollin noted: "If there’s nothing come the 20th or the 25th of August, we aren’t more stupid than anyone else; we’ll talk; he’ll be available for the first team."
Indeed Footmercato reports that this saga will pick up steam in the coming days.
