West Ham manager Alan Pardew has confirmed publicly he hopes to complete the signing of Fulham midfielder Steed Malbranque before the transfer window closes next Thursday night.

Pardew has been chasing an attacking midfielder all summer but his interest in Malbranque, 26, cooled over the Frenchman's wage demands, thought to have been around 40,000 a week net.

"We have made it clear he is a target for us and has been (during the summer)," said Pardew. "Conversations have taken place but there is such a complexity around that particular player - and complexities around other players - that at the moment we can't clarify anything."