West Ham and Crystal Palace are competing for the signing of Lille defensive midfielder and captain Ibrahim Amadou.

The Ligue 1 club is in financial trouble after over-spending last summer under former coach Marcelo Bielsa and is banned from signing players in this window.

Lille have also been ordered to pay €25m into a bank account by midnight by the DNCG (French football's financial regulator) or risk relegation to Ligue 2 next season.

So far they have only sold Martin Terrier to Lyon for €11m plus €4m in bonuses and need to do more business today.