West Ham lose out to Leeds in hunt for Aston Villa defender

West Ham United have been gazumped by a Championship club, believed to be Leeds United, in their bid to sign Aston Villa's Stephen Warnock.

The Hammers, who tied up a loan deal for Emanuel Pogatetz on Monday evening, are in desperate need of a new left-back after George McCartney suffered a knee injury.

West Ham were known to be closing in on the signing of an unnamed left-back - believed to be Warnock - but manager Sam Allardyce says the former Liverpool man has snubbed Upton Park in favour of a move elsewhere.

When asked about Warnock, he said: "[A transfer] was a goer yesterday, but another club in the Championship have made him a more long-term offer and he has decided to take it.

"That is another lot of hard work wasted. Only a small percentage of the time does it pay off. Ninety-nine percent of the time you are wasting time."

It has been reported Leeds United is now Warnock's most likely destination.