REPORT: West Ham’s move for Jonathan Tah is OFF

West Ham have been hoping to sign a new centre-back during the current transfer window, and now their latest attempt has failed.

Having failed with moves for Daniele Rugani, Antonio Rudiger, Wesley Fofana, James Tarkowski, Duje Caleta-Car and Nikola Milenkovic, West Ham turned their attentions to Bayern Leverkusen’s Jonathan Tah. The German defender has fallen down the pecking order and was rumoured to be available.

Reports from ‘Football Insider’ have now come out saying that the Hammer have failed with a move for Tah as Bayern Leverkusen do not believe they have time to find a replacement. There could also be another reason for the break down in negotiations.

West Ham wanted to sign Tah on an initial loan with a view to buying should he adapt to the Premier League. Leverkusen however, would prefer to straight sell Tah for a reported £30 million if they were to let him go.

That fee should be attainable for the Hammers who offered more than £30 million for Tarkowski earlier in the window. Owner of the club, David Sullivan, has also broadcasted the fact that the club has a ‘budget of £40 million’ if they choose to spend it.

The figure will be high now, taking into consideration the purchase of Vladimir Coufal. The Czech defender cost the club £5.4 million and impressed massively on his debut against Leicester City.

The club have, however, agreed to sell Josh Cullen to Belgian side Anderlecht for the low fee of £800,000. This sale means that the club’s transfer budget should be around £35.4 million, using simple maths.

If the club are serious about strengthening, then that money could be used on other targets. The Hammers have identified two alternatives to Tah. The two defenders are Armando Izzo from Torino and Tah’s current teammate Aleksandar Dragovic.

At the time of writing, there is still nine hours left of the window, and a lot could change before the transfer window slams shut.