West Ham United view Leicester city left-back Luke Thomas as an alternative option for Eintracht Frankfurt’s Filip Kostic this summer, according to Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor.

As reported by MailOnline, the Hammers have already made a £12m offer for Kostic, who is seen as David Moyes’ number one option as a left-sided full-back.

The 29-year-old impressed against the Irons in the Europa League last season, and conveniently, his agent Alessandro Lucci also looks after Gianluca Scamacca, who was unveiled as a West Ham player on Tuesday night.

However, the same outlet suggests that the Irons are also keen on Thomas, but they claim that the Foxes are likely to demand £20m for the 21-year-old’s services.

The Latest: Taylor’s claim

If West Ham are unable to convince Kostic to join the club this summer, Taylor can see the East London outfit turning to Thomas instead.

In response to questions surrounding whether the Hammers are interested in the Leicester left-back, the journalist told GiveMeSport:

“There is. He’s one if Kostic wasn’t to happen. Left-back’s been one of the priorities for West Ham.

“Hassane Kamara was another one that they looked at, but they never followed up their interest.”

The Verdict: Good back-up option

Whilst it is obvious that Moyes has his sights set on signing Kostic this window, identifying Thomas as an alternative option seems like a smart move by the Irons.

The 21-year-old has already made 39 appearances in the Premier League, with 22 of these games played last season.

Compared with positional peers across Europe over the past year, Thomas ranks in the top nine percent for pressures and in the top ten percent for blocks (via FBRef). Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers lavished praise on the youngster, having claimed back in March: “Luke has probably been our player of the season.”

With such huge praise from the Leicester manager, this suggests that this won’t be an easy deal to get over the line for West Ham, with the Midlands club probably reluctant to let go of their young talent.