West Ham Make Preparations to Capture £25m Swansea City Defender Alfie Mawson This January

West Ham are reportedly about to offer Swansea £25m for the services of defender Alfie Mawson.

The English defender has been a rare ray of light during an overwhelmingly dull and disappointing campaign for the Swans, and the Daily Mail reports that West Ham are looking to snap him up.

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The Mail reports that the Hammers are making early moves for the 23-year-old to ensure a deal can be completed early on once the January window opens.

Swansea have reportedly already rejected an offer of £18m telling West Ham they would only consider offers worth £25m.

The Mail claims the east London club are ready to meet that price tag, with an offer of £20m plus £5m in add-ons on the way.

West Ham, who currently sit in 17th, are in need of competent defenders themselves and the addition of Mawson would potentially fill the cracks that have seen them severely under-perform this campaign.

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It remains to be seen whether the offer will pry the defender from Swansea, but with Swansea needing reinforcements themselves, the money offered could be enough to tempt the Swans to sell.

Reports also suggest that 15 percent of any fee for Mawson will go to Barnsley, with the club agreeing the sell-on clause when Mawson moved to Swansea in August 2016.