West Ham are interested in signing Montpellier midfielder Ryad Boudebouz, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.
Boudebouz has just enjoyed the best season of his career, with 11 goals and nine assists in 33 league games during the 2016/17 Ligue 1 campaign. The Algerian international, who has so far spent his entire career in France, starred for the Desert Foxes against England at the 2010 World Cup.
He is renowned for his dribbling ability, as well as the quality of his delivery from set pieces, which would make him an ideal replacement for Dimitri Payet. Boudebouz had a trial under Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United as a teenager, but he opted to continue plying his trade in the French divisions.
Montpellier are willing to sell the Algerian international this summer, and they are reportedly holding out for a fee of around £13.5million. He would become West Ham’s fifth signing of the transfer window if he was to make the move to East London.
However, the Hammers will reportedly face competition for the 27-year-old from Sevilla and Besiktas. The attacking midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Bayer Leverkusen earlier in the summer, but the two clubs could not agree a fee.
