West Ham in shock talks to sign Premier League icon as Tottenham eye top England striker as price is slashed

New West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui is pushing to make one of the shock signings of the summer transfer window, according to reports from The Guardian.

West Ham leaked 74 goals in 38 matches in the Premier League last term, giving them the worst defensive record of any team outside of the relegation places. Former manager David Moyes claimed that these defensive issues were primarily caused by the loss of midfielder Declan Rice, who had been a commanding presence in front of the back four before his departure to Arsenal.

Lopetegui is keen to rectify this issue as he gets to grips with his new role at the London Stadium, and has launched a shock £20m to try and secure the signature of former Chelsea legend N’Golo Kante.

Kante is regarded as one of the all-time great defensive midfielders of the Premier League era. He arrived in England as a fairly unknown prospect from Caens in 2015 and was a catalyst for Leicester’s shock title victory with his tireless energy in the middle of the park and his ability to consistently break up opposition attacks.

In his debut season he managed a league-high 175 tackles and 157 interceptions - this impact in England quickly earned him a move to one of the league’s biggest clubs in Chelsea.

Between 2016 and 2023, Kante went on to establish himself as one of Chelsea’s very best talents and over the course of seven seasons he lifted a Premier League title, an FA Cup, one Champions League, one Europa League and the Club World Cup. He also spearheaded France to a World Cup victory in 2018 and reached the final four years later in Qatar.

Kante’s final few seasons at Chelsea were marred by a series of injuries and at the end of his contract he agreed a deal to join a number of star-studded names at Saudi side Al-Ittihad. Many were unsure if Kante would have the same influence heading into Euro 2024 for France, but he remained one of his countries standout players last time out as they reached the semi-final.

The 33-year-old is available for an estimated figure of £20m this summer. The Guardian also understands that Kante would be happy to return to London after living in the capital for more than seven years. Kante’s arrival would potentially make him West Ham’s fourth addition after the signings of Max Kilman, Luis Guilherme and Wes Foderingham.

Tottenham in pole position to land top England striker

After narrowly missing out on Champions League football last term, Tottenham will continue to push to find a long-term replacement for club legend Harry Kane.

SunSport understands that the Lillywhites are now the new favourites to make a move for Brentford striker Ivan Toney after Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United all made it clear that they didn’t intend to make bids for the England forward.

Arsenal are not prioritising signing a striker this summer while Chelsea are only in the market for a forward under the age of 25. Manchester United have taken a similar youthful approach and have already landed Joshua Zirkzee to provide competition to Rasmus Hojlund.

Tottenham have been long-term admirers of Toney, due to his clinical nature in front of goal and his ability to bring others into the game with his hold up play and in-game intelligence.

The 28-year-old is currently in the final season of his contract and was a long way off his best with just four goals in 17 appearances after returning from a betting related ban. However, at the peak of his powers he has proven that he can be a formidable finisher - finding the net 20 times in 33 appearances for the Bees in the 2022/23 campaign.

Brentford had hoped to create an auction for the striker to raise funds and originally valued him at around £80m. However, Sun Sport believes that this price tag has been significantly reduced and suspects that a deal could be made for just £50m this summer.