Everton have thrown down the gauntlet to West Ham by putting a £25m bid on the table for a star they both want.
There is a game of cat and mouse developing between Premier League rivals West Ham and Everton.
Now it seems Everton have made the first decisive move.
And it puts West Ham in a very difficult position indeed.
The Hammers and Toffees are both in the hunt for a centre-back among other targets including a new attacker.
That has put West Ham technical director Tim Steidten and Everton boss Sean Dyche on a collision course on several deals.
West Ham and Everton have been linked with mutual interest in a number of players.
Both clubs were reportedly vying for Jaden Philogene – with neither set to win that particular race.
But a key target that has emerged for the Hammers and Everton is Lyon’s Irish centre-back Jake O’Brien.
The Toffees have just sold Ben Godfrey to Atalanta for £10m.
West Ham have signed Max Kilman for £40m but want a new partner for the former Wolves captain in the heart of Julen Lopetegui’s new-look defence.
There was a blow for Lopetegui when it was claimed Everton believe O’Brien wants to join them over the Hammers.
Lyon must sell a number of players in order to raise around £80m for financial reasons.
West Ham’s central defensive targets are dwindling.
Hull’s Jacob Greaves is joining Ipswich and a move for Jean-Clair Todibo has hit a brick wall.
Now Everton have thrown down the gauntlet to West Ham by putting £20m on the table for star O’Brien.
Everton put £20m on table for West Ham target O’Brien
According to Ferveur Lyonnaise West Ham are definitely still interested in signing 23-year-old ex Palace man O’Brien.
But Everton have made the first official move with a bid of around £20m to Lyon.
The good news for West Ham is that Lyon are expected to reject Everton’s offer.
The bad news is that the French side are said to want £30m for O’Brien’s services.
“The Irish international is on the radar of several teams, particularly in England, and OL could quite simply hit the jackpot in the event of a transfer,” the report states.
“If Everton is still on the ball and seems to be in a good position today, West Ham United and more recently Nottingham Forest are also monitoring the situation.
“As reported this Sunday evening, Everton is preparing an offer of around 23.65 million euros (£20m) to convince OL, but the Rhone club is said to have set a high price, namely nearly 35.5 million euros (£30m) to let O’Brien leave.”
How will West Ham respond to Everton move?
It will be intriguing to see what West Ham do now.
Everton – reportedly in the belief O’Brien wants them over the Hammers – have made their intentions clear with the first move.
The Hammers must now decide whether to push for O’Brien or redouble their efforts to sign Todibo.
Or indeed move on to a new target altogether.
Everton will be encouraged, though, by the fact West Ham are currently focusing on signing a striker after the Kilman deal.
The club are also said to be keen to secure sales of the likes of Kurt Zouma and Nayef Aguerd to raise further funds.
However, lines of communication are well established between West Ham and Lyon.
The two clubs have done deals worth around £70m involving Lucas Paqueta and Said Benrahma in recent seasons.
