Wrexham snatch £8.7m-rated Ekomie from West Ham as Hammers' winless start deepens

Wrexham have moved ahead of West Ham United to agree a deal for Angers left-back Jacques Ekomie, according to a report from Foot Mercato, leaving the newly relegated Hammers searching for defensive reinforcements in the final days of the transfer window.

The 23-year-old Gabonese international had been valued at €10 million (£8.7m) by the Ligue 1 club, with French sports newspaper L’Équipe previously reporting West Ham’s interest. German side Hamburger SV were also said to be in the running, but Wrexham are now understood to have moved fastest to finalise terms with Angers.

The miss compounds a difficult start to life in the Championship for West Ham, who have taken just one point from their opening two fixtures — a draw and a defeat against Burnley and Charlton Athletic respectively — despite retaining one of the highest-salaried squads in the second tier following their relegation from the Premier League last season.

West Ham do hold considerable transfer capital after selling Crysencio Summerville and Mateus Fernandes earlier in the window, with the fees from those two departures providing financial flexibility for new signings. However, that resource did not translate into an agreement for Ekomie on this occasion.

Ekomie joined Angers from Bordeaux in 2024 and made more than 50 appearances in French football before his anticipated move to Wrexham. His departure leaves West Ham’s backline short of the reinforcement they had been pursuing, with the transfer window closing imminently.