West Ham are still planning a late move for Porto striker Moussa Marega, despite having a £26million bid rejected, according to the Mirror.
Their live transfer blog (5.46am) states that manager Manuel Pellegrini is still keen on the striker, although Porto are holding out for close to £35million for the 27-year-old, and it is claimed an agreement could be reached before the 5pm deadline.
West Ham will face deadline day competition from Premier League rivals Everton.
Good move for West Ham?
We love the idea of Marega at West Ham. The striker scored 22 goals in 29 league games last season, and although some detractors say that he is flattered by the league he plays in, we think he could bring much the same to the Premier League. The striker position is the one that Pellegrini needs to strengthen now after a fantastic summer and would would expect someone to come in. Marega looks like the best of the lot to us but it’s all going to come down to price.
This is Futbol rating: 7/10
Likely to happen?
Plenty of talk emanating from West Ham has said that they’ve done their spending and that any more signings will be done for free or as loan deals. That would seem to rule out Marega, although the Mirror say Pellegrini is still convinced a deal can be done. That could depend on the price that Porto will let him leave for. Do they have a real will to sell so late on in the window, or would they rather hold out for the full £35million for a player who still has two years left on his contract? Today’s deadline only applies to permanent deals as well, which means Pellegrini still has the best part of a month to secure a striker on loan once the dust has settled from today’s mad panic. We think that’s the more likely route for a striker to come to West Ham.
This is Futbol rating: 3/10