West Ham United are reportedly interested in a deal for Monaco defender Benoit Badiashile, according to the latest reports...

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As per Calciomercatio, the Hammers are believed to be one of the clubs keeping an eye on the 21-year-old, with Serie A giants Juventus and Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund also credited with an interest in the Frenchman.

Previous reports have suggested the 6 foot 4 colossus could be available for a fee in the region of £33m, with two years still to run on his existing deal at Stade Louis II, making him an attractive option in the upcoming window.

The France U21 international had seemingly come close to a Premier League switch in January, with Newcastle United heavily linked with securing his services, albeit with the St James' park outfit eventually settling on a move for Brighton's Dan Burn.

Ogbonna Upgrade

With a top-four place still potentially within their grasp and with a Europa League semi-final clash on the horizon, things are currently going swimmingly for David Moyes' side, with the Scotsman having worked wonders since the start of his second stint in charge.

Much of the former Manchester United manager's success has been in recruitment, with the 58-year-old continually making astute moves in the market after a scattergun approach under his predecessor Manuel Pellegrini.

In Badiashile, the Hammers boss could well have found his next perfect acquisition, with the youngster having previously been dubbed a "great talent" by Monaco vice president Oleg Petrov, following his eye-catching displays for the Ligue 1 outfit.

As evidenced by his soaring market valuation - the £14k-per-week star having seen his value rise from £135k to £25.2m in the space of just three years - the starlet is only seemingly going to keep progressing in the coming years.

At just 21, he also represents an ideal and timely replacement for current first-team favourite Angelo Ogbonna, with the Italian central defender set to turn 34 at the end of May and with possible doubts over what his level will be once he returns from his long-term absence.

Both left-footed and of similar build - with the more senior man marginally shorter at 6 foot 3 - the two have very similar playing styles, making the younger man a potentially ideal replacement for the long-serving veteran.

Equally, there is also evidence to suggest that the potential new arrival is already outperforming the one-time Torino man.

In the 11 games the current West Ham man has played in the top-flight this season, he has averaged just one interception and 0.6 tackles per game, as per SofaScore, while by contrast, Badiashile has registered 1.1 interceptions and 1.4 tackles per 90, in his 19 league outings.

Even in his youth, the Limoges-born star already offers a wealth of experience, having already made 114 appearances for his current side - chipping in with three goals and three assists in that time - since making his senior debut back in 2018.

With just three clean sheets to his name this season and a fairly meagre 6.93 match rating, as per SofaScore, in the French top-flight, there is obvious room for improvement, although Moyes has already shown he can coax the best out of those at his disposal.

AND in other news, Time to go: Moyes must ruthlessly axe WHU’s £61k-p/w “monster” as big claim emerges…