West Ham United 'close in on Swedish defender'

West Ham United are reportedly close to the capture of Swedish defender Ludwig Augustinsson.

The 22-year-old left-back had previously been earmarked by Hammers boss Slaven Bilic as a potential understudy for Aaron Cresswell, but with Cresswell now out for four months with knee ligament damage, the West Ham hierarchy have stepped up their efforts to get the deal done.

According to the Sunday Mirror, West Ham will pay around £5m to FC Copenhagen for Augustinsson's services, just 18 months after he signed for the Danish Superliga winners for around £1.2m.

Augustinsson has featured 48 times for Copenhagen, scoring once, and has earned as a reputation as a set-piece specialist.

As a Sweden international, Augustinsson has four caps and was part of the Euro 2016 squad but failed to feature at the tournament in France.