Wolves and Aston Villa competing to sign Craig Dawson from West Ham

West Ham United defender Craig Dawson is expected to leave the club before the transfer deadline, with Wolves leading Aston Villa in the race to sign him.

The 32-year-old has expressed an interest in leaving London Stadium to be closer to his family, having grown tired of commuting to the capital from his Manchester home.

Dawson has just one-year remaining on his contract in east London, and although David Moyes would ideally like to keep him at the club, 90min understands that West Ham are preparing for his exit with a new signing and will allow him to move on.

Sources have confirmed to 90min that Wolves and Aston Villa are leading the race for Dawson, with both sides looking to boost their defensive reinforcements after indifferent starts to the new Premier League season.

At this stage, Bruno Lage's Wolves are seen as favourites to sign Dawson, as they look to replace Conor Coady, who joined Everton on loan earlier this summer, and Willy Boly, who is on his way to big-spending Nottingham Forest.

Signed from Watford in October on loan in October 2020, Dawson's arrival at West Ham was initially met with skepticism from the club's supporters, who questioned whether he was the right profile of player to push the team on.

However, he has established himself as a firm fans' favourite with a number of outstanding performances in central defence, and has become a cult hero to many.

Dawson was particularly impressive for West Ham in last season's Europa League, scoring the opening goal of the famous 3-0 win over Lyon, and played through the pain barrier towards the end of the campaign after a catalogue of injuries left him as the only senior central defender available to Moyes.

He has made 74 appearances for West Ham in his two seasons at the club, scoring eight times.