EVERTON were left bemused last night when West Ham United made a fresh bid for Yakubu – for less than their rejected initial offer.

The Hammers have been tracking the Nigeria international all summer having seen a £6million bid dismissed by the Goodison outfit six weeks ago.

However, the Londoners returned yesterday with a new offer of £5m to sign the 27-year-old. Follow our EFC Twitter account by clicking here, for the latest updates

And an astonished Everton have slammed the approach as derisory, particularly given manager David Moyes’ insistence this week that he has no intention of letting players leave on the cheap.

Having seen Mikel Arteta agree a five-year contract earlier this week, Everton manager Moyes said it sent out a message Everton were no longer a selling club and didn’t need to part with any of their players.

But new West Ham manager Avram Grant is keen to bolster his strikeforce with Yakubu, having worked with the forward when in charge at Israeli side Maccabi Haifa.

The Londoners are now prepared to try their luck again but will be rebuffed unless they improve their bid, with Moyes looking to recoup most of the £11.25m fee paid to Middlesbrough to sign Yakubu three years ago.

Yakubu has been restricted during pre-season to a brief substitute appearance against Wolfsburg on Saturday following his World Cup exertions with Nigeria. And with the summer arrival of Jermaine Beckford on a free transfer from Leeds United, the striker faces increased competition for a starting role.