West Ham have been busy in the transfer market this summer as they prepare for Manuel Pellegrini’s first season at the helm.
Felipe Anderson has headed up a list of arrivals at London Stadium, where he’s joined by fellow fresh faces Ryan Fredericks, Issa Diop, Lukasz Fabianski, Jack Wilshere, Andriy Yarmolenko and Fabian Balbuena.
West Ham are ready to splash even more cash with a new centre-back high on their list of priorities.
And Marcelo is believed to be in Pellegrini’s sights following a stellar first campaign at the Groupama Stadium.
Lyon chief Aulas has npw revealed the Ligue 1 outfit have sent a message to the former Brazil Under-20 international as they look to retain his services.
“We made him understand that we were counting on him,” Aulas told Lyon-based newspaper Le Progres.
Marcelo was named as captain in place of Nabil Fekir as Lyon thrashed newly-promoted Fulham 4-0 in a friendly on Sunday.
And Le Progres reckon Lyon are putting responsibility on the 31-year-old’s shoulders to help persuade him to stay put.
West Ham are thought to be willing to give Marcelo a 50 per cent bump on the wages he currently pockets at Lyon.
Aulas has suggested his club have the financial might to fight off interest from Premier League sides though.
“I am not worried about either Nabil or Marcelo… The English have money, but so do we,” added Aulas.
West Ham received a warning regarding potentially excessive transfer activity from former Everton star Leon Osman last week.
“You hope it’s gonna be successful,” Osman said of West Ham bringing in a raft of new recruits.
“They’ve brought in Pellegrini to make sure that someone is really at the helm, that knows what they’re doing.
“You’ve just got to be careful bringing in all those players in one bunch. I mean, look at Everton last season.
“We brought so many players in with so much money that everyone expected the season would be fantastic. And it was far from it.”