West Ham’s £8m bid for Premier League midfielder rejected

West Ham have failed with an opening offer of £8m for Bournemouth midfielder Harry Arter, reports The Sunday Express.

New West Ham manager David Moyes has earmarked Arter as one of his top January transfer targets and hopes to prise the midfielder away from Dean Court next month.

Arter has played an integral part in Bournemouth’s success through the leagues but his status as a key player under Eddie Howe seems to have changed this season.

The 27-year-old has struggled to nail down a regular starting berth for the Cherries this season, only starting 10 Premier League games thus far.

However, Bournemouth do not want to lose the Ireland international and have already turned down West Ham’s £8m offer.

West Ham are expected to return with another bid next month but will have to shell out more than double their opening offer to have any chance of forcing Bournemouth’s arm.

Arter would certainly provide West Ham with an intensity in midfield that they have been lacking this season. However, that does come at a cost as Arter usually lands himself in the referee’s book.

In fact, Arter has been booked 22 times in the last three Premier League campaigns – more than any other Bournemouth team-mate.