Breaking news: west ham united wins the race to sign…..

Halfway through the January transfer window, clubs across Europe remain busy looking to improve their squads ahead of the second half of the season or to sell players who are surplus to requirements.

Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy is a man in demand after scoring 17 goals in 19 Bundesliga games this season, with West Ham, Manchester United and Newcastle all keen to land the Guinea international.

Somewhat more surprisingly, Anthony Martial has also attracted interest from a number of clubs, with the Frenchman keen to remain in Europe once his contract with United expires in the summer.

Elsewhere, Liverpool are planning a overhaul of their goalkeeping department and are monitoring Lille’s 18-year-old defender Leny Yoro, who has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa are close to sign 19-year-old right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic from Red Star Belgrade and Napoli are interested in Chelsea defender Trevor Chalobah.

Manchester United and Newcastle are looking to hijack West Ham’s move for Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy. The Guinea international, who is on AC Milan’s radar, has scored 17 goals in 19 Bundesliga appearances this season.

Liverpool are among the clubs interested in Lille defender Leny Yoro. The France Under-21 international, who has been compared with Raphael Varane, is also on the radar of Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

Anthony Martial wants to remain in Europe when his contract at Manchester United runs out at the end of the season. The Frenchman has attracted interested from West Ham, Inter Milan and Fenerbahce.

Karim Benzema’s future at Al-Ittihad is in doubt after the former Real Madrid was excluded from the club’s winter training camp in Dubai.

Manchester United have officially recalled Alvaro Fernandez from his loan at Granada ahead of sending him to Benfica. The deal for the left-back, 20, will include a loan with option to buy plus a sell-on clause and buy-back option.

Aston Villa are close to sign Red Star Belgrade right-back Kosta Nedeljkovic for around £8million.

Liverpool are open to sell Caoimhin Kelleher for around £20m this summer and plan to replace the Republic of Ireland international with Sunderland goalkeeper Anthony Patterson.

Napoli are interested in signing Chelsea defender Trevor Chalobah in January. The 24-year-old has also been linked with Bayern Munich this month.

Juventus have asked about a loan for Nottingham Forest midfielder Orel Mangala. Forest have already rejected an approach from Galatasaray, but the main threat to Juventus comes from Serie A rivals Napoli.

West Ham’s pursuit of Feyenoord striker Santiago Gimenez could be complicated by Tottenham, Arsenal and Fulham all showing interest in the Mexico international. The 22-year-old has scored 19 goals in 17 Eredivisie appearances this season.