West Ham are set to lose out to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in their pursuit of Shakhtar Donestk midfielder Taras Stepanenko, reports ESPN.
Before Slaven Bilic was sacked from his role at the London Stadium earlier in the month, the Croat was believed to be working on an £8 million deal for the Champions League midfielder.
However, following his dismissal, the Hammers interest in the Ukrainian is thought to have dipped due to David Moyes being yet to assess his squad ahead of the January transfer window, leaving room for Hoffenfeim to swoop in and potentially steal Stepanenko from under West Ham’s nose.
The Bundesliga outfit are poised to swoop in for the 28-year-old in a bid to boost their hopes of challenging for a Champions League qualification spot in the second half of the season.
Hoffenheim currently sit sixth in the German top flight, level on points with Borussia Dortmund and three behind second place Schalke 04, in what has been an impressive start to the season for Julian Nagelsmann’s side.
