West Ham might be forced to reignite their interest in Norwich City defender Martin Olsson this summer.
The Hammers were hopeful of signing Davide Santon on a season-long loan from Inter Milan but that move has fallen through the club confirm.
An agreement was in place to pay Inter £460,000 to take Santon on a season’s loan with an option to buy next summer for £5m but the player failed a medical this week and the move will not go ahead.
With West Ham short of fullback cover thanks to Aaron Cresswell’s long-term knee injury suffered in pre-season against Karlsruher, the Hammers might be forced to go back in again for Martin Olsson.
West Ham have seen two bids rejected for the defender, the latest worth £4m and decided the deal was too pricey to make a third offer.
Olsson’s agent, Hasan Cetinkaya, has confirmed that his client is looking to leave Norwich this summer.
“The danger for them (Norwich) is that Martin can write in a “pre-contract” in a few months. Then they don’t get a dime. We would prefer that he leave now and get well paid.
“Martin is very clear that he does not want to play in the Championship and he wants to take the next step. He would particularly like to play in the Premier League, when he was so good in the Championship too. Martin is not a Championship player. But we do not give up. We are optimistic.“
With the league season starting next week, and no new fullback signed, the Hammers might be forced to make a third offer for Olsson and meet their £5m asking price.
For a player of Premier League experience, Olsson would be great business at £5m. He offers West Ham immediate cover at left-back and finally a great backup option when Cresswell returns from injury.
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