West Ham United’s transfer window brimmed with failed swoops for defensive targets is unlikely to end with a successful bid to bring Olympique de Marseille’s Duje Caleta-Car to the London Stadium.

What’s the word?

According to The Sun, the Irons are readying a £25million bid for Croatia international Caleta-Car as boss David Moyes strives to end the window with the arrival of a towering centre-half in east London.

Moyes believes Caleta-Car would be the ideal man to strengthen the Hammers’ backline and could award the defender a £150,000-per-week contract in the hopes of convincing the 24-year-old of the move.

Middle-men for both sides are thought to be thrashing out negotiations in London as Marseille are inclined to sell at the right price as this summer may be their best opportunity to cash-in, despite drawing Manchester City and FC Porto as their Champions League Group Stage opponents.

West Ham’s interest in Caleta-Car has also been supported by the Daily Mail, who proposed that talks with Marseille were opened over a £20m deal after seeing a string of offers rejected by clubs from around Europe.

It is also put forward that Marseille are likely to sell the 6 ft 4 colossal in order to meet Financial Fair Play regulations, but West Ham remain attentive to Craig Dawson’s situation with Watford in case negotiations peter out.

Football.london tally the number of defenders targeted in the two weeks before bidding for Caleta-Car to be as high as 16, having courted the likes of Daniele Rugani, Guillermo Maripan, Nikola Milenkovic, Jonathan Tah and Antonio Rudiger among many others.

Will West Ham finally sign a centre-back?

The summer of 2020 has been a window of untold failure for West Ham in terms of their search for a new centre-half, and things may yet go astray with Caleta-Car with a deal still unlikely at this stage.

The Sun include in their report that the 6-cap defender is due to connect with the Croatian national side for their upcoming Nations League fixtures, making West Ham’s plans for a medical a sizable challenge.

The Daily Mail also mention that the former Red Bull Salzburg ace would prefer to remain with Marseille for at least the next year, as he’s been reluctant to leave the Stade Velodrome all summer through wishes of competing in the Champions League this season.

If West Ham are to get a deal done, it would appear heavily dependent on the Irons’ contract offer appealing more to the 24-year-old than of competing in UEFA’s top club competition – with a £150k-p/w contract enough to make him by far the Hammers’ top-earner.

AND in other news, West Ham have been dealt a setback in the club’s efforts to land the missing spark of David Moyes’ midfield.