West Ham have bid £20million for Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney, according to Sky Sports.
The broadcaster claim that the Cottagers, who are set to be in the Premier League next season, have rejected the offer for their club captain.
Sky Sports report that the Hammers previously had two offers rejected for Cairney in January with one being in the region of £18million according to the original report.
Cairney is a sublime passer of the ball and he racked up five assists during his 37 outings in his 2017/18 campaign.
Good move for West Ham?
No.
The pursuit of Fulham’s left-footed playmaker will be a costly one even if the club manage to change their London rival’s minds about selling him.
While Cairney did dazzle in some of the 37 appearances he made for his club last season in the Championship, there are several reasons why the club shouldn’t be willing to spend a lot of money on him.
Firstly he struggled with a knee injury last season which constantly hampered his ability to perform to his best and he doesn’t have much Premier League experience so he’s not guaranteed to be a success in England’s top-flight.
Cairney only managed to make 11 appearances for Hull City when they were in the Premier League during the 2009/10 season and didn’t really stand out.
This Is Futbol Rating: 5/10
Likely to happen?
The Hammers have seemingly not given up on signing the 27-year-old midfielder despite their bids constantly being rejected.
However with this latest bid being in the region of £20million, surely Manuel Pellegrini will end the club’s pursuit of Cairney’s signature as paying any more for him would be reckless.
Despite this being the case as the Hammers have continued to chase the 27-year-old after rejection before, until the transfer window shuts who knows if Pellegrini’s side will keep trying to add him to their squad.
This deal will no doubt end up hinging on whether the Hammers are successfully able to strengthen their midfield in other ways by pursing other targets on their radar.
This is Futbol Rating: 6/10