West Ham are hopeful that Pablo Zabaleta’s imminent arrival can help them land the £25million signature of Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho in the transfer window, according to the Sun.
Sky Sports recently revealed on their official twitter account that the 32-year-old Argentine full-back is very close to signing a deal with the Hammers as his nine year spell at the Etihad came to an end this season.
The Sun report that West Ham believe that Zabaleta will be the key to signing the 20-year-old Nigeria international because they were very close friends at Manchester City.
Slaven Bilic is desperate to bring in a new striker to the club as the Hammers only managed to score 47 Premier League goals in the entire season compared with the 65 goals scored during the 2015-16 campaign.
It’s also reported that the East London club are prepared to pay £25million for the striker and Ronald Koeman’s Everton are the only other Premier League side in the hunt.
The report also claims that Iheanacho currently earns £35,000-a-week but West Ham are willing to double his wages in their attempt to persuade him to join the club.
A source close to West Ham is quoted in the Sun as saying: “West Ham think Zaba can help get Kele to the club. They know each other pretty well.
“Zaba took the young lad under his wing during their time at the Etihad and they have a good relationship.
“Everton have also shown interest in him but West Ham look like they can blow them out of the water.
“They have learnt how little in comparison he earns and want to double the wages he currently is on at present.”
Iheanacho joined the Manchester club in the 2014 summer transfer window but he only broke into the first-team at the beginning of the 2015-16 campaign.
The Nigerian enjoyed success playing with Zabaleta at the club as both men were part of the Manchester City squad that beat Liverpool at Wembley Stadium on penalties to win the 2016 League Cup.
With new manager Pep Guardiola at the helm, both Zabaleta and Iheanacho have spent the majority of the season watching from the sidelines, with the Argentine only making 11 Premier League starts whilst the Nigerian has only started 5 league games.