West Ham United have joined the race to sign Atletico Madrid midfielder Geoffrey Kondogbia, according to reports in Spain. 

The lowdown

Kondogbia, 29, joined Atletico from Valencia less than 18 months ago for a fee of £13.5million (which remains his estimated Transfermarkt value).

He has just over two years left on the £107,000-per-week contract he signed on his arrival at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Kondogbia, who's started four of the last six games following his return from a muscle injury, is predominantly a defensive midfielder but he can also operate as a centre-back.

A summer transfer 'revolution' could apparently take place at Atletico as a result of their disappointing title defence. They currently sit fourth in La Liga, a full 15 points behind pace-setting city rivals Real Madrid.

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The latest

Diego Simeone is reportedly reluctant to let Kondogbia leave, but interested clubs are queuing up.

'The siren songs have already begun' from the Premier League, with West Ham one of the most recent additions to the 'list of candidates'.

Reigning champions Manchester City are also interested as they scout potential replacements for Fernandinho.

The verdict

Kondogbia could potentially serve as a replacement for Declan Rice, should he leave the London Stadium in the summer.

Indeed, transfer insider Dean Jones believes that Rice will be 'gettable' in the upcoming transfer window and says he's 'willing to consider his options'.

Alternatively, David Moyes may view him as a competitor for Rice and Tomas Soucek in the middle of the park, and as potential cover at centre-back. From that point of view, the signing would significantly boost West Ham's squad depth.

The Central African has already shown how good he can be against PL opposition, having 'absolutely devoured' the Manchester United midfield in the Champions League Round of 16 (in the words of La Liga TV presenter Phil Kitromilides).

In other news, The Athletic have broken a big West Ham story.