West Ham must hurry as Atalanta try to hijack £21m move for Kevin Danso

Atalanta are advancing in talks to sign West Ham United target Kevin Danso, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.

The RC Lens central defender is available for around €25 million, and several clubs want to sign him including West Ham, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Napoli.

However, Atalanta are in pole position to sign Danso. The Europa League champions want to reinforce their rearguard this summer after losing Giorgio Scalvini to a long-term injury.

They have already signed Ben Godfrey and are keen on adding another centre-half before the transfer window closes.

West Ham are looking to improve a defence that shipped 74 goals in 38 Premier League games last term and also have the former Southampton star on their radar.

Danso has been one of the standout defenders in Ligue 1 for the last three seasons. He features at the centre of Lens’ back three.

The 25-year-old helped Lens keep 12 clean sheets in 30 Ligue 1 outings last term. Only four teams conceded fewer goals than Lens in the French top flight.

Danso is a formidable force, winning 67 percent of his aerial and 63% of his ground duels while maintaining an 88% passing accuracy.

He is physically dominant but combines his athletic features with superb quality on the ball, registering 4.19 progressive passes and 0.88 progressive carries per game.

He could be the perfect partner for Max Kilman under manager Julen Lopetegui, with the Hammers looking to play a more expansive brand of football under the Spaniard.