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West Ham have become increasingly unlikely to sign Franculino Dju from Midtjylland in the summer transfer window.
The Hammers have been linked with a move for Dju for several months, as they continue to look at striker targets.
The 21-year-old goalscorer will be one of Europe’s hottest properties after his amazing season in Denmark.
Interest from at least eight other European clubs suggests it will be almost impossible for West Ham to complete a deal.
Where do West Ham need to strengthen the MOST this summer?
West Ham face nine-way transfer battle for Franculino Dju
Dju is the top scorer in the 2025/26 Danish Superliga season, with 17 goals in 19 appearances for Midtjylland.
Dju’s goals have helped his team to second place in the table, five points below league leaders AGF with six games to go.
Whatever happens in the title race, Midtjylland are resigned to selling their star striker when the transfer window opens.
They are expecting to break their record sale (£22 million), which would be too much money to turn down.
Among the teams interested in Dju are Nuno Espirito Santo’s West Ham, despite signing two forwards in January.
Both Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe have shown promising signs without hitting the ground running at the London Stadium.
Dju would be an exciting prospect to add to West Ham’s ranks, but that could be nothing more than a pipe dream now.
Photo by BO AMSTRUP/Ritzau Scanpix/AFP via Getty Images
Spanish outlet Estadio Deportivo have reported that Real Betis are one of nine clubs named in the race to sign Dju.
However, the bigger issue for West Ham is that they face “fierce competition” from Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.
Of course, those clubs will have many other targets and may not make a concrete offer to Midtjylland for the Bissau-Guinean star.
However, it still seems highly unlikely that West Ham will complete a transfer for one of Europe’s most sought-after players.
It would appear sensible for the Hammers’ recruitment team to turn their attention to a less obvious target ahead of the window.
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