West Ham are not interested in a move for Russia captain and Kuban Krasnodar striker Fyodor Smolov, according to the Evening Standard.
The newspaper claim that recent reports suggesting the Hammers were closing in on a deal to sign the 28-year-old are well wide of the mark, as were those indicating a loan move in the January transfer window.
The Standard report that West Ham were never close to agreeing a deal with Krasnodar in January, are are not likely to move for the prolific Smolov this summer.
It is said that manager David Moyes’ has prioritised a holding midfielder in the summer window, with Fulham’s Tom Cairney on the club’s radar.
Cairney’s teammates Ryan Fredericks and Aleksandar Mitrovic are also reportedly of interest to the Hammers.
News of the Hammers non-interest in Smolov is a massively unexpected twist after so many reports of their desire to sign him, both in January and the summer.
The Russia captain has an incredible record with current club Krasnodar, having netted 61 goals in 94 appearances for the club.
Good move for West Ham?
Yes.
Smolov may be prolific in Russia, but there remain massive questions about his ability to translate that into the Premier League.
His poor goalscoring record before Krasnodar is a big red flag, with Smolov failing to reach double figures at any of those four clubs, including just four goals in 77 apps for Dinamo Moscow.
West Ham would be better off looking elsewhere to solve their striker problem.
This is Futbol rating: 8/10
Likely to happen?
It looks like West Ham are not interested in Smolov, despite so many reports suggesting they were.
The reasons behind this is unknown, but the Russians agent may have had something to do with it, as he has been very vocal about his client leaving Krasnodar in recent weeks.
This is Futbol rating: 2/10