West Ham ready to offload £107m quartet, with first move ‘close’ to being finalised

West Ham will gladly sell four players signed for a combined £107m if buyers can be found before Friday’s 11pm deadline, and the first move is ‘close’ to being finalised, according to a report.

The Hammers have been amongst the busiest clubs this summer with regards to arrivals. Seven first-team stars have arrived, with Wes Foderingham, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, Luis Gulherme, Crysencio Summerville and Niclas Fullkrug signing up.

However, an inevitable consequence of West Ham’s summer splurge is player exits.

Thilo Kehrer (Monaco), Flynn Downes (Southampton) and Said Benrahma (Lyon) have all departed and the exits won’t stop there.

Kurt Zouma – originally signed for £29.8m from Chelsea back in 2021 – came close to leaving on a free transfer earlier in August.

Zouma has a year remaining on his deal, though to offset paying his high salary, West Ham agreed a free transfer to UAE Pro League side Shabab Al Ahly.

However, the move crumbled after complications arose during Zouma’s medical. That left the Frenchman stranded at West Ham who eagerly began exploring alternative sale opportunities.

Now, according to Sky Sports, Zouma is primed to get his exit at the second time of asking, though he’s by no means the only major name the Hammers hope to shift.

Zouma heading to Saudi Arabia

Per Sky, Zouma is ‘close to finalising his move from West Ham United to Saudi Pro League club Al Orouba.’

A medical has been passed and the final details in the move are being worked on right now.

All being well, Zouma will join Al Orouba on a season-long loan. He’ll become a free agent once the 2024/25 season concludes, at which point Zouma could either sign a longer-term deal with the Saudi side or explore the market as a free agent.

West Ham are subsidising what was described as a ‘small portion’ of Zouma’s high salary during the loan spell.

READ MORE: Why West Ham have signed Niclas Fullkrug as their striker upgrade: Tactical fit, stats, career so far…

Three more major West Ham exits being sought

Elsewhere, a separate update from Sky Sports revealed Nayef Aguerd, James Ward-Prowse and Maxwel Cornet are all free to leave too.

Combined, that trio plus Zouma cost West Ham roughly £107m in transfer fees to sign.

Aguerd has emerged as a transfer target for Wolves, though TEAMtalk’s understanding of the situation is a move to Molineux isn’t all that likely. We have been informed Aguerd is not particularly keen to sign for Wolves.

Aguerd is also understood to have been the subject of a significant contract offer from Saudi Arabia too.

If that route is ignored, Aguerd sees himself playing at a top European club and not a relegation-threatened side like Wolves.

TEAMtalk also revealed Ward-Prowse was being courted by former club Southampton. Ward-Prowse spent spent 20 years on the Saints’ books between 2003-23.

Sources have revealed to TEAMtalk that Ward-Prowse’s agents are ‘working hard’ to secure a move before tomorrow night’s 11pm deadline.

West Ham do not expect to receive the full £30m they paid to sign Ward-Prowse last summer, but want the bidding to start at £25m for the 29-year-old.

The final player on the chopping block is Cornet who is even further down the pecking order following Summerville’s arrival.

The club’s ideal scenario is completing four exits, though those that cannot be moved on in time will not be exiled from Julen Lopetegui’s plans like Enzo Maresca has promised to do with the likes of Ben Chilwell and Raheem Sterling over at Chelsea.

Aguerd and Cornet trained with the Hammers as usual on Thursday morning.

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