West Ham to launch £4m bid for Basel midfielder Taulant Xhaka in January transfer window
Irons are pursuing the brother of Arsenal midfielder Granit as they look to strengthen after disappointing start to the season
WEST HAM are plotting a £4million move for Basel midfielder Taulant Xhaka as Slaven Bilic looks to improve his side after struggling this season.
According to the Mirror, the Irons may use the January transfer window to strengthen their squad and have singled out the brother of Arsenal midfielder Granit.
If West Ham do choose to pursue Xhaka they may competition from Valencia who have also monitored the 25-year-old's development.
Keep up-to-date with all the latest transfer news and gossip ahead of the January window with SunSport’s daily LIVE blog
The Albania international began his career at Basel after breaking through from the Under-21s side in 2010 and has gone on to make over 100 appearances for the first team.
Xhaka has played mostly as a midfielder for the Swiss side but can an also operate as a defender and has also played at full back.
The Swiss Super League star is one of the first players to be on the team sheet for Basel this season and has lined up 23 times for his boyhood club so far this term.
If Xhaka does make the move to the Premier League he will hope to settle in as quick as his younger brother, who has a been a regular for Arsenal so far this season.
Granit has made 22 appearances so far this season since arriving at the Emirates in the summer
after signing for a fee in the region of £30million from Borussia Monchengladbach.
He has scored three times this season for Arsene Wenger's side but the tough tackling midfielder has already seen red once this season.
The Xhaka brothers could line up in the Premier League against each other, as they did in the Champions League this season and at Euro 2016 - when Albanian faced Switzerland in the opening game of Group A.