West Ham United have submitted a formal opening bid to sign Monaco’s French defensive midfielder Soungoutou Magassa this summer, according to Jacob Steinberg.
Magassa, capped five times for France, progressed through Monaco’s academy and featured in 31 matches across all competitions last term.
At 21, the defensive midfielder could inject vital energy into the middle of the pitch, especially after the Hammers were dismantled by a youthful Sunderland side last weekend and battered 5-1 at home by Chelsea on Friday night.
The loan exit of Edson Alvarez to Fenerbahce has opened the door for West Ham to explore additional midfield targets, with Graham Potter intent on reshaping his central options.
According to Steinberg, West Ham have submitted a formal opening offer to Monaco for Magassa and are pushing to secure a deal for the highly rated French defensive midfielder.
The journalist notes that the France international is viewed as a potential replacement for Fenerbahçe-bound Alvarez.
Writing in The Guardian, Steinberg adds that the Hammers are looking to add more combativeness to the middle of the park, and Magassa has been earmarked as the ideal option to fill this role.
Combative midfielder
Amid the formal offer being submitted for the French midfielder, the Hammers are also ‘monitoring’ other midfield options, including Rennes’ Djaoui Cissé, Werder Bremen’s Romano Schmid, Feyenoord’s Quinten Timber, Ajax’s Kenneth Taylor, and Torino’s Ivan Ilic, according to the report.
An academy product of Monaco, Magassa looks set to follow the long line of high-value departures from the Stade Louis II. The likes of Bernardo Silva, Fabinho, Anthony Martial and Youri Tielemans all made the move across the Channel before him.
The 6ft 2in star, in turn, will be eager to replicate their achievements while donning West Ham’s claret and blue colours.
As expected of a defensive midfielder, the France international registered just one goal and a single assist across 31 outings last term. However, he ranked second among Monaco players for tackles per match during his breakthrough 2023/24 season before following that with the third-best tally in 2024/25.
In addition, Magassa maintained an 85 per cent passing accuracy in Ligue 1.
Given Monaco’s track record of generating significant sums from selling their prospects, the Ligue 1 outfit are expected to demand a fee well above his £10m Transfermarkt valuation.
