West Ham have an agreement in principle with Manchester United to sign defender Harry Maguire in a deal worth in the region of £30m.
Personal terms are not expected to be a problem but there is still work to do on the details of his exit from United.
West Ham, though, are cautiously optimistic about completing the signing having had a £20m bid for the England international rejected last month.
Maguire has become surplus to requirements at United and needs playing time to remain in England manager Gareth Southgate’s plans with the Euro 2024 championships looming next year.
“Inevitably it’s not a situation that can continue forever,” Southgate said in May of a player who has 57 senior caps for England.
The world’s most expensive defender when United signed him from Leicester City for 80 million pounds in 2019, Maguire’s contract is due to end in 2025.