West Ham set to complete signing of Championship hot-shot

West Ham are set to conclude a deal to bring Leeds United’s highly rated full-back Sam Byram in the coming days according to reports.

It is thought that the Hammers have won the race to bag the £10m man from the Championship club in the winter transfer window.

The right-back is out of contract in the summer, and while Leeds would be due a fee were he to leave for another club at the end of his deal, due to his age, that is unlikely to be what they could command in January.

Manager Steve Evans has spoken of how while the Yorkshire outfit won’t be forced to sell for a cut-price deal, the decision will be out of his hands if Byram’s valuation is met.

“If the deal was right for the club, that would lie at the president’s door. As a head coach I don’t want him going anywhere but if he does then I have to work with the club to make sure the money that comes in is invested,” he told the Yorkshire Post.

Cashing in on one of the team’s star men wouldn’t be a first for Massimo Cellino with United letting Ross McCormack move to Fulham for the over-inflated price of £11m back in 2014.

He won’t be able to demand such a price for the 22-year-old Byram with his contract running out, but after being voted the Championship’s PFA Player of the Month for December, there is sure to be plenty of competition for his signature.

If the West Ham deal is as concrete as is being reported then he would become the next Championship full-back to move to the east London outfit in a big-money move in recent years.

Aaron Cresswell has thrived since arriving at the Boleyn Ground from Ipswich and has grown into a mainstay in the Hammers starting XI.

Slaven Bilic has reverted to using James Tomkins at right-back recently, with loanee Carl Jenkinson failing to deliver much in the way of consistency.

Byram’s arrival would add another option to the mix, and at just 22-years-old would have plenty of time to make the position his own.

Develop like Cresswell has, and the Hammers could have bagged a couple of home-grown bargains in the full-back position in recent times.

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