Ajax have successfully hijacked West Ham's pursuit of Manchester City youngster Carlos Borges after the player agreed on a move to the Netherlands.
The Hammers were hoping to secure a deal for the 19-year-old winger, but have conceded defeat as the City youth product prepares to join Ajax.
Borges will fly to Amsterdam and undergo his medical before being announced as the Dutch outfit's newest addition of the summer transfer window.
A verbal agreement is in place between the two clubs with Borges additionally already accepting a four-year deal offered by Ajax.
West Ham initially believed their £14million offer to the Premier League champions was enough to complete a deal and were in the process of finalising terms before Ajax stepped in with an improved £17million bid.
City wanted a buy-back clause inserted into the agreement with West Ham and will likely have done so with Ajax as well.
The Hammers have been interested in a move for City's Portuguese forward for some time, with Mail Sport's Transfer Confidential first alerting readers to links back in April.
The 19-year-old enjoyed a prolific season in the Premier League 2 competition - netting 21 goals in 24 games, as well as providing a further 11 assists for his team-mates as City's youngsters finished 13 points clear at the top of the table.
He made 79 appearances for the various academy teams at City but was never handed a first-team opportunity by boss Pep Guardiola.
David Moyes will likely be growing frustrated with his club's lack of investment ahead of the new season with West Ham the only Premier League side yet to sign a player.
There are funds available after Arsenal forked out £105million for Declan Rice, but the Hammers have so far struggled to bring new talent through the door.
Meanwhile, West Ham face the prospect of needing to bring in another proven goalscorer with Gianluca Scamacca being chased by Inter Milan.