Birmingham City has offered a club record fee of £7.5m (N3.2 billion) for Nigerian starlet Henry Onyekuru.
West Ham now face a new battle for the signature of Onyekuru with the Blues offer.
The Hammers thought they had a deal for the Nigerian striker all wrapped up, only to hit a speedbump with both Onyekuru’s club, Eupen, and with securing a work permit for the 20-year-old.
Eupen had advised West Ham to bid £7.87m in order to get Onyekuru a work permit, and it remains to be seen whether or not Harry Redknapp’s Birmingham can raise their bid to match that total.
Onyekuru gave West Ham fans hope when he said he wanted to move to a club where he would actually get game time, which appeared to shut down talks of a move to Arsenal.
But now that same factor could go against them, as Birmingham could offer the 20-year-old a guaranteed starting role in the Championship next season.
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