West Ham have made a last-ditch attempt to sign Celta Vigo forward Maxi Gomez, according to reports.
Valencia are said to be closing in on a deal for the striker, but the Hammers could make one last offer in order to hijack the transfer.
Fans on Twitter are not optimistic about West Ham’s chances:
Would be nice to be the hijacker rather than the hijacked for a change but fear we are a bit too late on this one. Hopefully we throw that same sort of budget at someone else though
— Simply moore (@simply_moore1) 5 July 2019
Just hope we don’t leave it to late he goes Valencia and we end up short on strikers
— Nicky ⚒ wolf (@nwolf1986) 5 July 2019
Balotelli it is then
— ⚒Mr Hyde⚒ (@Mr_Hyde91) 5 July 2019
Make it happen
— eric (@edoz10) 5 July 2019
If celta want players can we not throw in Oxford and then offer Silva on loan or permanent
— mark palazon (@PalazonMark) 5 July 2019
We still haven’t had a bid accepted though it seems.. So how hard are we really trying?
— Yorkshire_Hammer (@HammerYorkshire) 5 July 2019
I think the Gomez deal would cause us more heartache 12months down the line. Get Rondon to start with, I’d go with Barotelli on a free transfer. Both got prem experience and saving a bit of cash, see how we go and then look in the summer. COYI ⚒️
— IJ Wooly ⚒ (@Wooly3502) 5 July 2019
Has the guy shown any interest in signing for us? Why are we bothering?
— D4NNYP (@D4NNYP) 5 July 2019
Has anyone offered him pie & mash?
— Finegan Gringleberry (@FinGringle) 5 July 2019
this is bacca, lacazette and batshuayi all over again….
— Rob (@Robfruin) 5 July 2019
With Marko Arnautovic close to leaving for China in a £22.5m deal, the Irons should have the resources to trigger Gomez’s €50m (£45m) release clause if they choose to do so.
However, even if they have a bid accepted, they may have a tough time persuading the player to move to England.
Valencia will be playing in the Champions League next season, and while the Hammers could offer higher wages, Gomez may prefer to stay in Spain.
If West Ham do miss out on their primary target, they may then look towards alternatives with Moussa Marega, Salomon Rondon and Wout Weghorst all possible options.