OPINION
West Ham are facing the giant possibility of losing out on one of their summer transfer targets unless the club can act fast.
The Telegraph has reported that the Hammers’ London rivals Crystal Palace are ready to make a bid for West Brom forward Jay Rodriguez – and Manuel Pellegrini must look to hijack any move the Eagles make in order to sign the man who has previously been reported to be on his radar.
Sky Sports reporter Rob Dorsett claimed on his personal Twitter account last month that West Ham, Burnley and Bournemouth were all interested in signing Rodriguez, 28, after the Baggies’ relegation from the Premier League.
West Ham are in need of strikers this summer and Rodriguez, who according to statistics website Spotrac earns £60,000-a-week at The Hawthorns, would be a top addition for Pellegrini.
He top scored for West Brom last season, finding the net 11 times across all competitions in a team that was managed by Tony Pulis and Alan Pardew, and seriously lacked a creative midfield outlet due to long term injuries to Nacer Chadli and James Morrison.
With someone like Manuel Lanzini behind him, Rodriguez could easily get around 20 goals a season and it would be crazy for Pellegrini to miss out on signing him up.
Palace manager Roy Hodgson has a good relationship with Albion and they would surely be kinder to him when negotiating a deal.
So the Irons should look to strike hard, and blow their London rivals out of the water by bettering any bid that they are soon to make.