West Ham United have joined Chelsea in scouting Anderlecht midfielder Leander Dendoncker, according to the Daily Mail.
Chelsea and Manchester United have been consistently linked with a move for the 22 year old over the past year, but there has been no recent indication that the two clubs are looking to step up their interest.
Instead, it seems the Hammers are the likeliest team to make a bid. The Mail report assistant manager Stuart Pearce was present to watch Dendoncker play for Anderlecht against Racing Genk at the weekend.
The Belgian international is reportedly on West Ham’s list of January targets with manager David Moyes keen to recruit the midfielder.
However, Dendoncker played in central defence in the 1-0 win on Sunday, rather than in the middle of the park where he usually plays. The central midfield player is rated at £23m which is believed to out of the Hammers’ price range.
Such a figure would not put off Chelsea though, although it seems likelier that the Blues will pursue a move for a much more experienced player such as Bayern Munich’s Arturo Vidal in the summer.