West Ham are one of four Premier League clubs in the hunt to sign West Brom forward Jay Rodriguez, according to Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett.
The reliable journalist claimed on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday that Burnley, Bournemouth and Crystal Palace are also in the race to sign the one-time England international, but Albion will not sell him on the cheap after top scoring for them this season with 11 goals in 42 appearances across all competitions.
It is understood that the Black Country club could demand over £20million for the ex-Southampton star.
#burnleyfc and #afcb are interested in signing Jay Rodriguez from #wbafc, I’ve been told. #palace and #whufc also monitoring the situation. But Albion won’t sell him on the cheap – 3yrs left on contract. I expect they’d want £20m+ for him. Scored 11 times in a relegated team.
— Rob Dorsett (@RobDorsettSky) May 30, 2018
Good move for West Ham?
Rodriguez would be a brilliant addition for West Ham, but spending over £20million for him would yet again show that the club are willing to overspend on players this summer.
The 28-year-old was arguably one of West Brom’s better players as they suffered a shock relegation from the Premier League this season.
He put to bed worries about his fitness record by avoiding injury for the entire campaign, missing just one league fixture in which he failed to appear off the bench.
In a team that attacks more, Rodriguez would surely score more goals and given the current lack of striker options at the London Stadium, he would be a good fit.
However spending over £20million would be too much and the Hammers should try to whittle that down.
This is Futbol rating 8/10
Likely to happen?
West Brom will do all they can to hang on to Rodriguez as Darren Moore will more than likely see the ex-Burnley forward as someone who can fire the Black Country outfit back into the Premier League at the first time of asking.
Burnley are interested in re-signing the England international, and given the fact he is from Burnley and Sean Dyche’s men are in Europe, they would surely be in pole position.
This is Futbol rating 4/10