Maxwel Cornet: Ivory Coast forward completes £17.5m transfer to West Ham from Burnley

West Ham United have completed the signing of Ivory Coast forward Maxwel Cornet from EFL Championship side Burnley.

Cornet, who was in London on Friday to complete his medical, has put pen to paper on a five-year deal worth £17.5 million to become David Moyes’ fifth summer signing.

West Ham have been looking to beef up their left flank, especially after Moyes sanctioned the departure of Arthur Masuaku this week with Cornet one of the players the Hammers have been pursuing.

“He’s in the building now, so hopefully we can get that one done,” Moyes had told the press when asked about the arrival of Cornet earlier on Friday.

“We’ve made good signings. We’ve had one or two injuries as well, which we have to take into consideration, but we’re far from finished in that regard.

“We lost three outfield players and a goalkeeper this summer. We didn’t bring any players in during January so we need to fill these voids. We want to being in quality players and we’re working to do that.”

Cornet joined Burnley when they were still in the Premier League in August 2021 for €15 million, signing a five-year contract from Ligue 1 giants Lyon.

He scored nine goals and provided an assist but his efforts could not save the Clarets from Premier League relegation, as they went down after finishing 18^th to end their six-year stay in the top flight.

Cornet joined Burnley after eight years at Lyon where he made 252 appearances while scoring 51 goals, that stint being preceded by three years at Metz where he began his professional career.

Moyes had last month said he was looking to add up to five new players after he had already signed Moroccan defender Nayef Aguerd, midfielder Flynn Downes and goalkeeper Alphonse Areola, who turned his loan into a permanent deal, at the time.

“You look at Arsenal have strengthened and Tottenham have strengthened very well so I’m hoping that we will add another four or five players before the start of the season, maybe more,” said Moyes during an interview with Egyptian outlet Remontada.

The Hammers have since added Italian striker Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo and now Cornet, who has six goals in 29 appearances for the Ivory Coast.

Moyes is reportedly in the market for a left-back, central midfielder, another attacking player and a left-sided centre-back in light of the surgery to Aguerd, who suffered a knee injury during a pre-season match and will be out for a number of months.

West Ham host champions Manchester City in their opening Premier League encounter on Sunday.