Sources: West Ham failed in move to sign Young-Coombes as he heads to Brentford
West Ham failed in a move to sign Rangers starlet Nathan Young-Coombes who is headed to their capital rivals Brentford instead, Football Insider has been told.
The high-flying Hammers have a long-standing interest in former Chelsea kid Young-Coombes and he was on their radar before he moved to Ibrox in February 2019.
Ibrox sources have told Football Insider that West Ham made contact over a potential deal for the forward, 19, in the last window.
But he had set his heart on a move to Brentford, and this site broke the news at 1pm on 4th February that Young-Coombes, 19, was in advanced talks to join the Championship promotion hopefuls.
A deal has subsequently been agreed for the youngster to return to London in June when his Rangers contract expires.
As revealed by Football Insider, Brentford have agreed to pay a compensation fee of £100,000 for Young-Coombes.
The plan is for him to initially join their Under-23s set-up before being phased into their first-team squad.
Young-Coombes was impressed by Brentford's plan to nurture him as well as the club's increasingly impressive track record in developing youngsters into established stars.
The likes of Ollie Watkins, Neal Maupay and Said Benrahma all made their names at the west London outfit before securing big-money moves to the Premier League in the previous two summer windows.
Rangers were vulnerable to losing Young-Coombes as he is out of contract in the summer.
Young-Coombes, a versatile forward who can operate in multiple positions, hoped to make a first-team impression but that has not happened.
The teenager has largely been involved with the club's reserves and Under-19 squad during his two-year spell in Glasgow.