In fact, before the Hammers beat Nottingham Forest and Eintracht Frankfurt<\/a> to the France Under-21 international, a handful of rival Ligue 1 prospects were brought up in conversation.<\/p>\n The Guardia<\/a>n<\/a> reported that Lens\u2019 Andy Diouf and Rennes\u2019 Djaoui Cisse<\/a> had been considered. Lille\u2019s Ngal\u2019ayel Mukau clearly caught the eye<\/a>, too, during a pre-season clash at the London Stadium in early-August.<\/p>\n Stade Reims starlet Valentin Atangana was mentioned<\/a> as well, albeit rather briefly.<\/p>\n Now, according to French publication Le10 Sport<\/a>, West Ham actually made a bigger offer for another of those leggy Ligue 1 dynamos before luring Magassa away from the picturesque Principality.<\/p>\n Le10 Sport claim that West Ham submitted a \u00a321.8 million package for the aforementioned Djaoui Cisse. They were willing to pay just over \u00a319 million up front, plus a further \u00a33 million in bonuses.<\/p>\n Rennes rejected that approach, though, determined as they are to build their team around the 21-year-old for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n While reserve coach Mark Robson likened Mohamadou Kante to a young Patrick Vieira<\/a> recently \u2013 the former Paris FC starlet has made a flying start to life in East London \u2013 the manner in which Djaoui Cisse took the summer\u2019s Under-21 European Championships by storm was also somewhat reminiscent of the Arsenal icon.<\/p>\n \ud83d\ude80 Pied droit, pied gauche\u2026 notre milieu de terrain \ud835\udc03\ud835\udc23\ud835\udc1a\ud835\udc28\ud835\udc2e\ud835\udc22 \ud835\udc02\ud835\udc22\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc2c\ud835\udc1e\u0301 a envoy\u00e9 2\ufe0f\u20e3 missiles depuis l\u2019ext\u00e9rieur de la surface contre la Pologne \ud83e\udd29#U21EURO<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/FPH5mnfHWf<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Equipe de France \u2b50\u2b50 (@equipedefrance) June 18, 2025<\/a> <\/p>\n View Tweet<\/p>\n Striding forward from deep, Cisse curled a sublime right-footed shot into the top corner as France beat Poland 4-2 in the group stages. Not content with that, he then lashed in a thunderous second with his left boot.<\/p>\n His third goal of the tournament came from much closer in, but it was no less impressive.<\/p>\n This time, Cisse breezed past a Danish defender with a turn of pace and a shake of his hips before slotting home coolly.<\/p>\n Therefore, considering that Cisse likes to carry and shoot from a more advanced midfield role, it is probably safe to assume that he was not viewed as an alternative to the more defensively-minded Soungoutou Magassa, but instead a potential back-up if Southampton had refused to cash in on Mateus Fernandes.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s shown all his qualities. He\u2019s become a French [youth] international, and expectations are going to be higher than last year,\u201d\u00a0Rennes coach Habib Beye told Ouest France<\/a> after that reported West Ham bid was rejected.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be very demanding of him, but that\u2019s normal. He also understands that he\u2019s no longer looked at in the same way, that he\u2019s no longer expected [to perform] in the same way, that we no longer defend him in the same way.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll impose this requirement on him every day, not to cause him problems, but to help him improve.\u201d<\/p>\n Graham Potter on why West Ham signed Soungoutou Magassa from Monaco<\/p>\n As for Magassa, who also represented France\u2019s Under-21s and played as a centre-back in the 3-0 semi-final defeat by Germany in June, a first West Ham start could come his way away to David Moyes\u2019 Everton on Monday night.<\/p>\n Magassa impressed the West Ham fans<\/a> off the bench during his Premier League bow at home to Tottenham. Now, up against an athletic Everton midfield including the box-crashing Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, his energy out of possession feels especially valuable.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very happy to welcome Soungoutou to West Ham United,\u201d Potter said during the youngster\u2019s unveiling. \u201cLike Mateus Fernandes, he is a young player who has made very impressive progress right at the start of his senior career.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSoungoutou is a determined, hungry and focused young man \u2013 we are looking forward to working with him and excited to see him continue his development with us.\u201d<\/p>\n Another promising Frenchman made his first appearance in claret and blue last week. Versatile defender Dimitri Colau featured for West Ham<\/a> for the first time since his arrival from Paris FC in the 5-1 EFL Cup beating of MK Dons.<\/p>\n ![\"Djaoui](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/GettyImages-2221515976-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Boris Streubel \u2013 UEFA\/UEFA via Getty ImagesRennes rejected West Ham United\u2019s reported Djaoui Cisse offer<\/p>\n