Sky Sports Reporter Claims West Ham Had £15m 'Time Wasting' Bid Rejected for Fulham Star Midfielder

Sky Sports' Kaveh Solhekol has claimed that West Ham United had a £15m bid for Fulham's Tom Cairney turned down last week, with their London rivals branding the move as being a waste of their time.

Tweeting the news on his official Twitter page, the correspondent claimed that Fulham had emphatically rejected the offer, and claimed that even a bid of £40m would have been rejected. Cairney has been pivotal to Fulham's impressive run in the Championship this season - which has seen the Londoners rise to sixth in the table, leaving them in contention for a playoff spot.

The Hammers crashed out of the FA Cup against Wigan on Saturday, with a Will Griggs double seeing the League One side pull off an upset against David Moyes' men. With his side just four points away from the relegation zone, Moyes will be desperate to recruit new signings to ensure survival, and has already secured Inter's João Mário on loan until the end of the season.

With the Hammers having earned a reputation as a slow-moving outfit this season, Cairney could certainly add some zip to their stodgy midfield. However, Fulham's apparent reaction signals that they are unwilling to part ways with their stat player at such an important point in the season, and Moyes may have to look elsewhere for new signings to galvanise his side.

Meanwhile, rumours have suggest that West Ham could be set to bring Graziano Pelle back to the Premier League from Chinese side Shandong Luneng, but the Italian international's wages are thought to be the stumbling block preventing a potential move. Pelle starred during his time with Southampton - scoring 30 goals in 81 games for the Saints over two seasons.