West Ham ponder John Mensah deal

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce could hand a contract to John Mensah after deciding not to pursue his interest in free agents Mikael Silvestre and Anthony Vanden Borre, according to talkSPORT.

Allardyce had been running the rule over the trio as he looks to bolster his defensive options outside the transfer window.

Allardyce enjoyed a fruitful transfer window, bringing in the attacking options of Andy Carroll, Matt Jarvis and Yossi Benayoun amongst others, but he finds himself light on cover at the back.

Silvestre, who is without a club since leaving Werder Bremen in the summer, was hoping to make West Ham his third Premier League club after stints at Manchester United and Arsenal.

Belgian international Vanden Borre, who spent the 2009-10 season on at Pompey, was released by Racing Genk this summer.

Ghanaian Mensah, 29, was released by Lyon this summer.