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27th Dec, 2016 | 9:58am

West Ham given emphatic response by Ligue 1 club after £8.5m bid - report

By Will Butcher

West Ham have had an £8.5million bid for Toulouse attacker Martin Braithwaite rejected, according to a report.

French outlet RMC Sport claim the Hammers have made an offer for the 25-year-old ace, who has scored eight goals in 17 league and cup encounters for the Ligue 1 outfit this season.

The 14-time Denmark international has reportedly been targeted by manager Slaven Bilic, who is desperate to bring in attacking reinforcements in January.

Summer attacking imports Andre Ayew, Jonathan Calleri and Simone Zaza have all struggled in east London since their moves, and the Croatian boss is expected to add more firepower in January.

However, the Hammers must now consider whether they want to make another offer for Braithwaite after having an initial bid turned down.

Braithwaite, who can play as a centre-forward, out wide or as a number 10, only signed a new contract extension in September which runs until the summer of 2019.

Football Insider verdict:

The Hammers continue to be linked with attackers from around Europe but Braithwaite is a solid talent who continues to star for Toulouse. His versatility in attack could offer many options for the Hammers, who are looking to improve their firepower after a number of summer signings struggle to find their feet in England. Known for his electrifying pace and creativity in attack, Braithwaite would be a decent signing for the Hammers who would expect to win his signature for a fee under £10million. However, it must be considered that Bilic’s signings from overseas so far have been poor and he might be better advised to target more firepower from back home, such as Jermain Defoe from Sunderland. Bilic can’t afford any more transfer flops. 

In other West Ham transfer news, David Sullivan has revealed how many players the Hammers could sign in January.