The 20-year-old is to be made available as Pep Guardiola changes his squad but with such interest in a proven Premier League goalscorer who is still in the early stages of his career, City are insisting on the buy-back clause in order to cover themselves in the event that they want Iheanacho back.

He is valued at around £25 million and his buy-back clause will be worth at least another £10 million on top of that sum to the club that signs him.

Leicester want the player, as reported by Telegraph Sport this month. For West Ham, who have already given a contract to former City full-back Pablo Zabaleta this summer, Iheanacho is an attractive proposition.

There has been concern that Slaven Bilic’s side lack pace and also that the average age of the squad is high. Iheanacho would be a good fit for West Ham and they are eager to take fewer risks than they did last summer when loan signings such as Simone Zaza and Jonathan Calleri proved such a disappointment.