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West Ham and Newcastle interested in Lille midfielder Thiago Maia

Target: Thiago Maia: Getty Images
Target: Thiago Maia: Getty Images

West Ham and Newcastle are interested in signing Lille midfielder Thiago Maia.

The Brazilian has been with the Ligue 1 club for only one season but made an immediate impression after joining from Santos in his homeland last summer.

Both the Hammers and Newcastle want a holding player and the 21-year-old, who won gold with Brazil at the Olympics two years ago, fits the bill.

Seven new players have arrived at the London Stadium since Manuel Pellegrini’s appointment in May, a spending spree totalling around £100m including Felipe Anderson arriving for a club-record £47m fee.

Pellegrini wants to replace Cheikhou Kouyate, who joined Crystal Palace last week.

Rafael Benitez, meanwhile, has gone public against Newcastle owner Mike Ashley and director Lee Charnley over yet further frustrations in the transfer market.

Newcastle have added four faces to their squad - Martin Dubravka, Ki Sung-yueng, Fabian Schar and Yoshinori Muto - for a combined fee of £16.5m.