West Ham are edging ahead of Newcastle United for Lille midfielder Thiago Maia.

The Sun says Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini is set to make his EIGHTH signing of the summer, with Lille's Brazilian midfielder Thiago Maia poised to join the Hammers.

Pellegrini expects to take his spending over the £100million mark later today after finally agreeing a fee of around £20million for the 21-year-old former Santos starlet.

The move will bring to an end Pellegrini's search for the defensive midfielder he has been searching for all summer.

Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez had been linked with Maia but it's understood West Ham pushed a deal through yesterday to bring Maia to the London Stadium, two years after he won Olympic Gold with Brazil at the 2016 Olympics in his homeland.