According to reports in The Mirror, West Ham United’s £31m move for Sporting Lisbon midfielder William Carvalho has stalled, which could see the Irons switch their attentions to other targets.

The Mirror says that the Irons had been in pole position to bring the 25-year-old to the London Stadium, but after holding advanced talks over a deal for the Portugal international Sporting have increased their demands.

The report adds that while the Hammers are prepared to pay £31m, the Portuguese giants are now demanding a fee of €40m (approximately £36.3m) for the defensively-minded player, who is keen on a move to the Premier League.

The Mirror says that the east London outfit could target other Liga NOS players like FC Porto’s Danilo or Benfica’s Ljubomir Fejsa, but they may also consider moving for highly-rated Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker.

Here are three reasons West Ham should target Dendoncker as an alternative to Carvalho…

Ability

He may be just 22 years of age but Dendoncker has become a hugely important player for Anderlecht over the course of the last three seasons and he excelled alongside Youri Tielemans in the middle of the park last term, allowing the more attack-minded Belgian to help himself to numerous goals and assists.

Dendoncker likes to clean up, protect the defence and use his quality in possession and he made 57 appearances in all competitions for the Belgian outfit, scoring six goals – including one in their Europa League quarter-final tie against Manchester United.

The Belgium international, who has even captained the side on occasions, showed his qualities in Europe last term with a passing accuracy of 86% in 11 Europa League outings, while he made 36 interceptions and 26 clearances.

Price tag

While The Mirror says that West Ham are willing to pay £31m for Carvalho and that Sporting Lisbon want £36.3m, they could potentially sign Dendoncker, who is highly-rated  and three years younger than the Portugal international, for a smaller fee.

Meanwhile, Transfermarketweb.com says that Anderlecht have placed a valuation of €30m (approximately £27.4m) upon his head after losing Tielemans to Monaco already this summer, and that would certainly be a more affordable fee for the Irons considering the amount they are willing to shell out on the Sporting star.

Premier League desire

According to reports on Belgian news outlet Het Nieuwsblad, via Voetbal Nieuws, Dendoncker is supposedly hoping for an offer from West Ham’s Premier League rivals Everton, and it would suggest that the 22-year-old is keen on a move to the Premier League.

If this is true then the Irons should certainly see getting him as an achievable target should their move for Carvalho fail this summer, especially as the Toffees already have the likes of Morgan Schneiderlin, Idrissa Gueye and Davy Klaassen in the middle of the park and perhaps don’t have a need for the Belgium international right now.

Do you agree, Irons fans? Let us know below.