West Ham have signed defensive midfielder, Soungoutou Magassa from AS Monaco in a £17.3m transfer.
Magassa’s move comes after two breakthrough seasons for the 21-year-old and sees him join as fresh reinforcement after Edson Alvarez joined Turkey’s Fenerbahce on loan last weekend.
West Ham have paid an initial £14.7m fixed fee but £2.6m in add-ons could see the total fee rise to £17.3m for Magassa who has signed a four-year contract until June 2029, whilst Monaco has inserted a 10% sell-on clause into the transfer in case of a future sale.
“I’m very happy to be here,” commented Magassa on his arrival in East London. “West Ham is a very big Club, it has a long-standing history in England, with many supporters and a very big stadium. It wasn’t complicated to say ‘yes’.
“It’s a dream to play for West Ham in the Premier League. It’s the best league in the world. I’m going to do everything I can to show that I’m up to the task.
“It gives me great pride to play for this Club. I’m really motivated, I hope to bring freshness and youth and I’m going to give my all on the pitch.”
Potter is “very happy” to sign Magassa who he believes has made similar progress to fellow new signing, Matheus Fernandes.
“Like Mateus Fernandes, he is a young player who has made very impressive progress right at the start of his senior career.
“He has played regularly for Monaco over the past two seasons, including in the Champions League last year, and stood up really well to that test.
“Again, he has a range of attributes and qualities that we feel will complement what we already have at the Club and also help to improve us.
“Soungoutou is a determined, hungry and focused young man – we are looking forward to working with him and excited to see him continue his development with us.”
Magassa spent his youth career at Sucy FC, RC Joinville, Lusitanos Saint-Maur and FC Gobelins before he moved to Monaco, where he broke through into the senior squad in January 2022 with his debut appearance in a 3-1 Coupe de France win away at Quevilly-Rouen.
The 21-year-old has since gone on to score one goal in 59 total senior appearances for Monaco, with his sole goal having been scored at home in a 3-2 defeat against Benfica in the League Phase of last season’s UEFA Champions League.