By Wayne Veysey

16th Feb, 2023 | 7:31pm

Sources: West Ham and Southampton in contact over Terem Moffi deal after terms agreed

West Ham and Southampton lost to Nice in the race to sign Terem Moffi in January after submitting bids, sources have told Football Insider.

But the Premier League duo will remain in contact with the striker’s agent in the coming months even though the French outfit are due to complete a permanent move for him in the summer.

Nice signed Moffi, 23, on loan at the end of January with an obligation to sign him permanently in the summer.

The Nigeria international joined the Ligue 1 big hitters for an initial £2m loan fee on a deal running until the end of the season.

That was a blow to his Premier League suitors who included West Ham, Southampton, Everton, Aston Villa, Leicester City and Bournemouth.

Southampton had a £20million bid for him rejected, Bournemouth pushed hard to close a deal while West Ham were in pole position to land the striker in the closing days of the window with talks at an advanced stage at one point.

Lorient had valued Moffi, who was Ligue 1’s second top scorer in January, at the £30million mark.

West Ham were keen on him even though they spent a reported £35.5million on Italy international forward Gianluca Scamacca in the summer window and completed a deal for Danny Ings earlier in January.

At West Ham, the club’s top scorer in the Premier League this season is Jarrod Bowen with four goals.

Of the strikers, Scamacca has netted three times, Michail Antonio has two and Ings has yet to get off the mark for his new club.

In other news, Phillips urged to agree West Ham move after source’s swap reveal.