Jose Fonte has been unable to break into the first-team setup after returning from injury last month and his future appears to be away from West Ham.
Reports have surfaced that the 34-year-old centre-back is set for a move to the Chinese Super League with Dalian Yifang and David Moyes has had his say on the matter.
Speaking ahead of West Ham’s clash with Liverpool tomorrow, Moyes has confirmed that Fonte’s move to the Far East is “very close”.
I can confirm that he is close to going to China. He wants to get into the Portuguese squad for the World Cup and I wish him good luck. He’s a good professional.
Dalian Yifang earned promotion to the Chinese Super League last season and are understood to be willing to pay £5m to land the Euro 2016 winner who is yet to make an appearance under David Moyes.
Since making his £8m move to West Ham from Southampton in January 2017, Fonte has made 24 appearances for the club and is under contract until 2019 but it appears unlikely that he will see that through.
Fonte’s departure could be good news for James Collins as the Welshman was poised to leave the club in the summer when his contract expires but he could now be handed new terms to act as cover for Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna.
Both Declan Rice and Reece Oxford could see increased playing time going forward if Fonte does complete his move to China.
