PSG are looking to offload Ekitike, but they would rather he joined Eintracht Frankfurt as part of a deal that would see Randal Kolo Muani head the opposite way.

Irwin said: “It seems likely that he will be moving somewhere before [Friday’s] transfer deadline and the trio of London teams are all on standby to strike a last minute deal.”

Long-running saga

West Ham got one transfer saga over the line last weekend by confirming the signing of Mohammed Kudus, and now they are in a race against time to bring in another of their attacking targets.

It has previously been reported by Sports Zone that West Ham have bid £34million for Ekitike, which is a large amount of money considering the 21-year-old has just 13 Ligue 1 goals to his name.

The vast majority of those came at Reims, where his form earned him a move to PSG on an initial loan with an obligation to buy this summer.

There is no doubt that Ekitike is a talented striker, one who showed two seasons ago he is capable of reaching double figures for goals in one of Europe’s elite leagues.

West Ham would ideally bring in a centre-forward before the transfer window closes, and it may well be that Ekitike is the only player they want – the ongoing transfer links certainly seems to suggest so.

One thing is for certain, the picture will become a lot clearer as the hours pass because PSG will have to accept defeat in their attempt to sell to Frankfurt the closer it gets to the window closing.

 

If this latest report is anything to go by, West Ham would then have to ensure they get to Ekitike’s signature ahead of Palace and Brentford.

It could lead to one almighty scramble on deadline day.