West Ham are to trigger the £43.5million release clause of striker Maxi Gomez – and then loan him back to Celta Vigo, according to the Times.
The newspaper claim the Hammers are working on signing the Uruguayan 22-year-old on a buy-to-loan deal that would smash their transfer record.
The Times report West Ham are “expected” to activate Gomez’s release clause but would then loan him back to relegation-threatened Celtic as they look to finalise the transfer by Thursday night.
OPINION
West Ham fans should start to get very excited about the prospect of landing Gomez. Marko Arnautovic may have signed a contract extension on Saturday night, but that appears just to be a short-term device before he is sold permanently in the summer. Gomez is the man earmarked to replace the Austrian powerhouse. He will not come cheap. As reported by the Daily Telegraph, West Ham’s current record outlay is the £35million rising to a potential £42million they paid for Anderson in the most recent window. That has proved to be money well spent, and the ex-Lazio man has provided new cutting edge from the left flank. Gomez can make a similar impact for the Hammers. Celtic clearly hold him in high regard and his record for the club is outstanding – 27 goals and 10 assists from 59 matches, including nine goals and five assists from 19 league matches in the current campaign. Even the ego that is Arnautovic wouldn’t sniff at those numbers.