West Ham have reportedly submitted a £7m bid for Cardiff City goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
Doubt was cast over the goalkeeper's future with the Bluebirds after manager Neil Harris revealed he dropped Etheridge for the South Wales derby .
And now, according to Football Insider , the Premier League outfit have tabled a sizeable bid to take the Philippines international to East London this month.
The offer, it is claimed, is worth an initial £6m, which has the potential to rise a further £1m with add-ons.
It is believed West Ham are still mulling over the potential transfer of Middlesbrough's Darren Randolph, a former Irons man, with the player set to undergo a second medical today.
But David Moyes and his staff have identified alternative targets, with first choice Lukasz Fabianski set to be sidelined once again after sustaining a hamstring injury against Sheffield United on Friday night.
And it is thought Etheridge is one of those alternative targets, with Bluebirds boss Harris having acknowledged there has been interest in the player.
"I won’t go into too much detail at the moment," .
"There’s been a lot of talk around Neil, not just in this window but in the previous one as well.
"I had a really good couple of conversations with Neil in the week about his standards and where he wants to get to. I think he's been a bit up and down.
"He wants to be consistent, settled and wants to play football. To do that sometimes you need to be at your best and focused.
"I made the decision to leave him out and he understands."
Alex Smithies, who did a stellar job in Etheridge's stead at the start of the season, was entrusted with the gloves against Swansea and stood up to the task well.
With summer signing Joe Day also waiting in the wings, and youngster George Ratcliffe a promising academy product, Harris has something of an imbalance in his squad when it comes to goalkeepers.
And given the back-up City have in that position, Harris suggested one goalkeeper might have to leave the Welsh capital this month.
"Alex and Joe Day want to play as well," he added. "It’s nice to have three senior goalkeepers that are talented, but they all want to play and develop.
"And it's not an ideal situation moving forward that you have three senior goalkeepers.
"So we’ll see what unfolds during the window."
