Wolves ramp up pursuit of West Ham attacking target as Moyes turns to rapid Ligue 1 frontman instead

Wolves have reportedly stepped up their efforts to beat Premier League rivals West Ham to the signing of a PSG attacker, although Hammers boss David Moyes also has his eyes on another forward.

French outlet L’Equipe are reporting that Wolves are pushing to beat a number of clubs to Hugo Ekitike, who made a cameo appearance on the opening day of the Ligue 1 season but has not featured since.

There are reports that he angered the club’s hierarchy when he refused to move the other way in a swap deal for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Randal Kolo Muani.

And although Kolo Muani did ultimately make the switch to Paris, Ekitike has seemingly not been forgiven for his refusal to be part of a player-plus-cash deal, and he has reportedly been ostracised ever since.

To that end, the 21-year-old is desperate for a move away, and despite his lack of action he still has no shortage of clubs chasing his signature.

German side Wolfsburg are thought to have approached PSG over a loan switch, although that does not include an option to make the move permanent.

RMC Sport has already revealed that Wolves have enquired about the attacker but now L’Equipe states they are taking that interest further.

Gary O’Neil’s men are continuing to discuss a loan deal, which, unlike Wolfsburg’s offer, would include an option to buy.

West Ham monitoring two Ligue 1 forwards

West Ham are also known to be monitoring Ekitike’s situation, although Moyes also has his eyes on a Ligue 1 forward too.

The January window is expected to be a crucial one for Moyes and West Ham as they look to bolster their forward line.

The Hammers boss is already without Michail Antonio through injury and Mohammed Kudus due to his participation at AFCON.

Injury doubts have also emerged over key midfielder Lucas Paqueta after the FA Cup draw with Bristol City, while the last thing Moyes would have wanted to see was top scorer Jarrod Bowen having treatment at the end of that game.

And with attacking absentees biting hard, Montpellier hitman Akor Adams is someone who is once again being tipped to make a move to the London Stadium.

Transfer Insider Dean Jones, speaking to Give Me Sport, has revealed that the pacy forward is definitely on West Ham’s radar this month.

“Yeah, definitely, it’s a name that keeps cropping up and because of his decent goals record in France this season I would find it surprising if they weren’t keeping an eye on him because they have scouts working extensively in the area of Europe and their job is to uncover exciting transfer targets that might not quite be as firmly on the radar as of other Premier League clubs.”

Adams has notched seven goals in 17 games out in France this season and has bagged 51 times and added 14 assists in 123 career games.

He would certainly give West Ham a lightning-quick presence down the middle and also allow Bowen to revert to his best position wide on the right.

READ MORE: West Ham plot move for 24-goal Sunderland star as David Moyes looks to bolster key area