Brentford playmaker Jota holds positive contract talks amid Everton and West Ham United interest

Brentford attacker and mooted Everton and West Ham United target Jota has held positive talks with the west London club about signing a new contract but it is too soon to tell whether the former Celta Vigo star will remain with the Bees beyond this summer, according to club chief Rasmus Ankersen.

The £8m-rated Spaniard is believed to be of interest to a host of Premier League clubs including Everton, West Ham and Newcastle United, but Brentford are working to try and tie the gifted playmaker down to a new long-term contract.

Dean Smith's side are aware of Jota's desire to ply his trade in the top flight of English football but Brentford chief executive Mark Devlin was unequivocal in his stance regarding the Spaniard last month, insisting that he will remain a part of the Brentford squad.

Ankersen was not as forthright as Smith over the subject of Jota's future but was pleased with way recent discussions had panned out. The 33-year-old, who is also FC Midtjylland chairman, was not surprised by the interest in his coveted star from Everton and West Ham United, who were unsuccessful in their pursuit of former Brentford forward Scott Hogan in January.

"Everyone saw Jota's level at the end of last season. It's no surprise that he's a player that has attracted attention," Ankersen told GetWestLondon.

"I think we've done a lot for Jota and he's done a lot for us. We've had positive conversations with him but it's still too early to see an outcome on that."

Everton have been rather busy in the transfer window already this summer. The Blues confirmed the £5.2m signing of Malaga forward Sandro Ramirez on Monday (3 July), the Spaniard becoming Ronald Koeman's side's fourth new recruit following Jordan Pickford, Davy Klaassen and Henry Onyekuru.

Their interest in Jota surfaced last month, but Everton's number one playmaker target is Swansea City's Gylfi Sigurdsson, a player long admired by Koeman and director of football Steve Walsh.

West Ham have not been anywhere near as active, with their sole acquisition Pablo Zabaleta arriving on a free transfer after he was released by Manchester City. The Hammers may be in the market for a new tricky attacker after losing Dimitri Payet and growing frustrated with Robert Snodgrass, but their primary focus seems to on recruiting a new centre-forward, with their pursuits of Manchester City's Kelechi Iheanacho and Arsenal's Olivier Giroud well publicised.