West Ham have bid rejected for Kevin Malcuit

Right back has been a real problem position for West Ham for many years now but the club are trying to plug the gap.

Last January, the Hammers shelled out £3.7m to bring Sam Byram in from Leeds and while the former England U21 international has impressed in spells, injuries have halted his progress.

With a natural, long-term running mate at the position, Slaven Bilic has been forced back into the transfer market and launched a bit so sign Saint-Etienne’s Kevin Malcuit but according to Le10Sport, Les Verts have rejected the offer.

West Ham have been forced to play the likes of Michail Antonio, Havard Nordtveit and even Cheikhou Kouyate on the right side of defence this season after Byram suffered a severe hamstring injury which sidelined him from the beginning of October until the New Year.

Malcuit is a 25-year-old French-born Moroccan defender who can also play on the left as well as his natural right back position.

After coming through the ranks with Monaco but ultimately failing to make the grade, Malcuit spent time with Fréjus-Saint-Raphaël and then FC Niort in Ligue 2 before returning to the French top flight with Saint-Etienne in August 2015.

Slaven Bilic could look at several new signings over the next two days following the sale of Dimitri Payet. Brentford’s Scott Hogan remains a key target.