West Ham United have seen a late transfer offer for Sheffield United’s John Fleck snubbed, as Manuel Pellegrini chases late improvements to his midfield.
The Hammers’ transfer speculation has often centered around strikers, since it emerged that a number of Chinese Super League clubs were chasing Marko Arnautovic and the club was forced to look into alternatives.
But now that the Austrian has agreed to a contract extension and negotiations for Celta Vigo’s Maxi Gomez are continuing, Pellegrini can turn his attention to other areas of his side, including the midfield.
Here, the Chilean has identified Sheffield United’s Fleck as a possible improvement on the options already at London Stadium, such as Mark Noble and want-away Pedro Obiang,
The former Scotland youth international, valued by TransferMarkt at £1.35million, has made 28 appearances for the Blades in the Championship so far this season, recording 37 tackles, 33 interceptions and 35 key passes.
The Hammers’ bid, though, was understood to be above his TransferMarkt valuation, with Sky Sports News reporting that a £4million offer was lodged on Monday.
However, the Yorkshire Post continued the story later in the day, noting that Sheffield United were set to reject the proposal as they are reluctant to lose an influential member of Chris Wilder’s side during a promotion push.
