West Ham look set to miss out on striker target Maxi Gomez, according to Guardian journalist Jacob Steinberg.
He posted a tweet on Friday morning that said their attempt to hijack his move to Valencia would fail.
Gomez wants Champions League football, which Valencia can offer after finishing fourth in La Liga.
Sounds like West Ham’s late attempt to hijack Maxi Gomez’s move to Valencia isn’t going to end in success. They feared from start striker was set on playing in the Champions League #whufc
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) July 5, 2019
This comes after it had been reported by West Ham blog Claret & Hugh that West Ham were in talks with Gomez’s representatives.
That report had said West Ham were willing to pay £40million upfront for Gomez as they look to shift the wantaway Marko Arnautovic.
VERDICT
West Ham are facing a striker problem this summer and it needs to be sorted fast. Arnautovic wants to leave and after agitating for a move in January too, the Hammers should really ship him out as soon as they can. They can’t afford to let this develop into a big issue over the summer. A report in the Telegraph has said they’re now willing to let him go for £22.5million, a lot less than the £35million bid they rejected for him in January before getting him to sign a lucrative new contract. Perhaps Arnautovic should have been dealt with back then – the warning signs were there after he submitted a transfer request at former club Stoke too – but it’s tough to replace a star player in January. Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez have already left and Javier Hernandez is happy to leave or see out the final year of his contract. If they do lose out on Gomez then it leaves Salomon Rondon as a solid option. They’ve reportedly had a £10million offer rejected for him but should just pay the £16.5million release clause before someone else does. It’s not a lot of money for a player who proved himself at Premier League level at Newcastle, where he won their Player of the Year award for the 18/19 season.