West Ham submit bid for Super Eagles hopeful Jordan Torunarigha to Hertha Berlin

ENGLISH Premier League side West Ham are hoping to sign Hertha Berlin defender Jordan Torunarigha over the nest dew weeks having submitted an official bid for him in the hope of wrapping up a deal very soon.

Torunarigha, 26, an overlapping defender, is the son of former Shooting Stars of Ibadan midfielder Ojokolo Torunarigha. He has been at Hertha Berlin since 2006, starting out as an eight-year-old schoolboy, before turning professional at the age of 18 and then left the club for the first time ever in January, joining Belgian club Gent on a six-month loan deal, which has just ended.

According to Belgian news outlet Voetbal Nieuws, the Hammers have submitted an official bid for the player. Impressed with the defender’s quality, Gent reportedly offered Hertha €2m plus bonuses for Torunarigha but the Berliners laughed off the offer as nothing but €5m on the table could convince them to part with the former German youth international.

It is not clear yet how much West Ham are willing to pay for the defender, who has five goals, and five assists in the Bundesliga. Born in Chemnitz, Germany, Torunarigha has featured for Germany at different youth levels, including at the Rio Olympics but is yet to make a senior appearance for the country.

Former Super Eagles head coach Gernot Rohr, failed in his attempt to convince Torunarigha to play for his father’s country of birth. There are, however, indications that the Hertha Berlin star may now be open to representing Niger at senior level given that he has not attracted any attention from Germany.