West Ham United claimed their first win of the Premier League season last weekend as Graham Potter’s men picked up a 3-0 success against Nottingham Forest, courtesy of Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta and Callum Wilson.

In spite of clinching the three points with an emphatic scoreline, the Hammers are lacking in quality and were easily undone by Chelsea and Sunderland in their first two games of the campaign, with their engine room particularly struggling with the ball.

A slow and sluggish game in possession has meant that the board might be prepared to sign a midfielder in January with Caught Offside reporting that Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has emerged as an option for the Londoners.

Tottenham Hotspur had also come very close to signing him this summer after triggering his £60 million release clause, but the Nottingham eventually kept hold of the Englishman, who scored seven goals and provided 10 assists in the league last season.

West Ham could have advantage but difficult move to execute

Nottingham Forest highly value Morgan Gibbs-White and their swift response to Tottenham Hotspur’s interest by renewing his contract without a release clause is a testament to how crucial he is for the Tractor Boys.

Although he is rated at £43 million on Transfermarkt, Nottingham could set an exponentially high asking price for the 25-year-old in order to see off interest from elsewhere, so West Ham might need to pay through their nose to sign him in the winter.

Why Tottenham walked away from a Rafael Leao transfer on deadline day

Miguel Delaney has revealed that Tottenham Hotspur were quoted a monster fee by AC Milan for Rafael Leao when the Lilywhites explored a move for the forward in the final 36 hours of the transfer window.

Spurs secured the services of Randal Kolo Munai on loan on transfer deadline day, with the deal happening out of the blue.

There was very little indication until the weekend that the Frenchman was a realistic option for Tottenham. Instead, the likes of Savinho, Ademola Lookman and Rafeal Leao were most heavily linked with a move to Spurs.

It was claimed by some sources that Spurs entered talks with Milan over a late move for Leao, and we have now received an update on why the transfer did not materialise.

Milan wanted Tottenham to break the bank for Rafael Leao

On deadline day, Spurs insider Paul O’Keefe stated that Tottenham were priced out of a move for Leao, with the Rossoneri demanding too high a transfer fee.

This has now been backed up by Miguel Delaney, who revealed that the Serie A club asked Tottenham Hotspur to pay a whopping €100m (£87m) for the Portuguese international.

The journalist suggested that the Lilywhites explored moves for various forwards in the dying stages of the window before settling on Kolo Muani.

Delaney told The Independent’s Inside Football newsletter: “AC Milan quoted Tottenham Hotspur as much as €100m for Rafael Leao, as sources state that Spurs had cast around for a number of forwards in the final 36 hours of the window.

“That was how they ended up with Paris Saint-Germain’s Randal Kolo Muani on loan after protracted negotiations about an option to buy.”

Thomas Frank was particular about the signings he wanted

Delaney explained that the Spurs head coach insisted that he only wanted forwards who would improve his squad instead of making signings for the sake of it.

According to the reporter, the Tottenham head coach views Kolo Muani as someone who can play on the left as well as lead the line.

Delaney added: “Thomas Frank, for his part, was insistent that they only bring in forwards that actually elevate the squad. An eventual list that also includes Xavi Simons, Joao Palhinha and Mohammed Kudus is a higher level than the club’s recent modern business, to be fair, perhaps indicating they are now buying at a different level.

“Kolo Muani is also viewed as particularly suited since he can pose an alternative to Dominic Solanke, but also play on the left.”