West Ham are exploring a bold move for Olympique Marseille defender Adrien Rabiot, according to French news outlet L’Equipe.
The Hammers are looking to steady the ship following a dreadful start to the season.
Graham Potter’s side kicked off the season with a devastating 3-0 defeat against newly promoted Sunderland before a 5-1 hammering on home turf against London rivals Chelsea.
Both results have left West Ham rotting at the bottom of the Premier League table after just two games.
The Hammers are now looking to ramp up their summer business in the remaining few days of the transfer window.
West Ham are in dire need of midfield reinforcements and have been linked with a number of players, but they’ve now set their sights on Rabiot.
Rabiot is an ambitious move for West Ham
West Ham have asked about the availability of the Frenchman, who has been told he can leave Marseille this summer.
Rabiot has been heavily linked with a move to the Premier League in the past. Manchester United were hot on his trail on several occasions, but a move never materialised.
He could still move to England, but whether West Ham would strike him as an attractive project remains to be seen.
Potter is already under enormous pressure. In his defence, he has hardly been backed this summer.
West Ham have brought in four new faces, but only left back El Hadji Malick Diouf moves the needle.
Mads Hermansen has yet to settle. Callum Wilson’s experience will come in handy, but his injury record is a problem, while Kyle Walker-Peters would play second fiddle to Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
If West Ham can sort out their midfield and bring in at least one new attacker, it could make a world of difference.
They recently submitted a bid to sign AS Monaco midfielder Soungoutou Magassa, but there hasn’t been any development on that front since.
It appears Rabiot is the new target. For a player with close to 500 appearances, he will bring his vast experience to the West Ham midfield.