West Ham are reportedly the frontrunners to sign Real Madrid playmaker Lucas Vázquez in January, but Wolves and Newcastle are also thought to be interested.
The Spaniard finds himself seventh in the pecking order at Madrid, such is the wealth of attacking options at the Bernabeu. As a result, Vázquez has had his playing time limited this season, appearing in just six of Real Madrid's 13 La Liga fixtures.
A move away from the club does seem the most likely solution and Spanish publication El Desmarque claim that Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez is looking to move Vázquez on in January.
The report states that a Premier League club is his most likely destination, with West Ham, Wolves and Newcastle all interested in the winger.
However, it's claimed that news of Vázquez's potential departure has not gone down well in the Real Madrid dressing room, as the Spaniard is a popular figure among his teammates. The 28-year-old is said to have accepted that a move away from the Bernabeu is likely, though, and is searching for a club that will give him "good options" for his future.
The report goes on to suggest that Manuel Pellegrini's West Ham are in the driving seat to secure the signature of Vázquez, even though they have a vast array of attacking midfield options at their disposal.
Felipe Anderson, Andriy Yarmolenko, Manuel Lanzini and summer signing Pablo Fornals are all on the east London club's books, but have failed to fire this season as the Hammers struggle to find consistency.
Whether Vázquez would be prepared to move to England remains to be seen, with Wolves the only side out of the three able to offer any sort of European football. A move would therefore represent a significant step down in quality, given Real Madrid's elite status.
He may also be reluctant to leave the club until he's presented with the right option, having been on Los Blancos' books since the age of 16.
Vázquez first broke into the Madrid first team in 2015, following a season-long loan spell at Espanyol, and was part of the side that won three consecutive Champions League titles - even scoring a penalty in the shootout victory over rivals Atletico Madrid in 2016.
Vázquez has also been capped nine times for Spain, and was named in the squad for both the 2016 European Championships and 2018 World Cup.
Source :
90min
