According to a report from Spanish media outlet AS, West Ham were willing to pay €30 million (£25 million) for Athletic Bilbao centre-back Unai Nunez, but the player himself was not keen on a move to the London Stadium.

The Hammers have already signed Darren Randolph and Tomas Soucek this month, whilst Jarrod Bowen is edging closer to completing his switch to the east London outfit from Hull City (Sky Sports).

It could be argued that David Moyes still needs to add at least one or two more bodies to his ranks before tonight’s 11pm deadline, however.

And the addition of a strong centre-back would not go a miss.

Spanish publication AS claims that West Ham were ready to pay £25 million for Bilbao centre-back Nunez, but the Spaniard had no interest in joining the club.

Missing out on Nunez is a real shame

The 23-year-old has made 11 appearances for Athletic Bilbao this season.

At 6ft 1in tall, Nunez isn’t the tallest of central defenders. He is still very strong in the air, however, winning three aerial duals on average per game in eight La Liga outings this season (Who Scored).

He is also a very solid all-round defender. In those La Liga outings, the Spaniard has averaged 1.1 tackles, 1.5 interceptions, 5.3 clearances and 0.9 blocks per game (Who Scored).

And Totalfootballanalysis.com describe the Bilbao ace as having very good pace.

So missing out on Nunez will be a real disappointment for West Ham.

He could have been a real coup for the reported fee of just £25 million.