‘First Target’ – West Ham Risk Deal Hijack As Champions League Side Eye Star

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West Ham United face potentially losing out on El Hadji Malick Diouf as he is a top target for Champions League club Atalanta.

 

The 20-year-old left-back is wanted by the Hammers and they have been working to take him to the London Stadium for Graham Potter.

 

Aaron Cresswell was released by West Ham earlier this summer, while there are question marks over whether Emerson Palmieri will stay.

 

 

Diouf is the man that West Ham want, but the Slavia Prague star has serious interest from Italy.

 

According to Sky Italia, Diouf is Atalanta’s ‘first target’ as he is the man they want to come in at left-back.

 

 

However, Atalanta are trying to decide whether to bring Diouf in as it would take up a second non-EU slot in the squad.

 

 

Winger Kamaldeen Sulemana has joined from Southampton and he has taken up a non-EU slot already.

 

 

Joining Atalanta could be a hugely tempting idea for Diouf, with the club finishing third in Serie A last season.

 

 

They will be in the Champions League league phase as a result and having finished fourth the season before, their third place finish was not a flash in the pan.

 

 

Czech side Slavia Prague picked up the Senegal international from Norwegian club Tromso in the 2024 winter transfer window.

 

He helped Slavia Prague to finish second in the Czech top flight, while last season they went a step better and won the title, with his displays catching the eye.

 

With Atalanta showing serious interest, the onus now looks to be on West Ham to get a deal to take Diouf over the line or risk having their swoop hijacked.

 

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