West Ham United will up their bid to £7 million for Bordeaux striker Marouane Chamakh.

The Sun says the Moroccan, 25, was a target of Arsenal this summer but Gunners boss Arsene Wenger has refused to budge over the £5m mark for a player in the final year of his contract.

A move could be tied up later today after West Ham chief executive Scott Duxbury travelled to France to meet representatives of the player and the Ligue 1 champions.

Hammers boss Gianfranco Zola is having to make some tough decisions about his existing squad in order to bring in new faces.