Leon Goretzka stance on West Ham United move revealed as £34.4m update emerges
West Ham United have placed Bayern Munich midfielder Leon Goretzka on their list as a possible replacement for Declan Rice but the German wants to stay at the club, according to Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg.
The Hammers are in the market for reinforcement in the engine room after Declan Rice finally completed his £105million move to Arsenal on Saturday.
And according to Plettenberg, taking to his personal Twitter account (17 July), Bayern are expecting a bid of around £34.4m to sell the midfielder as Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel seeks another midfield option.
However, the German’s preference is to remain at FC Bayern and has rejected every request or offer from potential suitors.
Plettenberg tweeted: “News Goretzka: He’s on the list of West Ham United as a potential top replacement for Rice!
“Tuchel is still pushing for a new No. 6.
“But Goretzka has rejected every offer & request as he definitely wants to stay at FC Bayern!
“Bayern‘s price expectation at this stage: €40-50m!”
Accept stance and look elsewhere
After receiving a whopping £105m windfall, the Hammers are well inclined to be seeking some ambitious and exciting moves in the market to compensate for the loss of Rice.
Goretzka is certainly an ambitious and attractive name given his European and international experience coupled with his untold quality in midfield.
However, the German’s stance is abundantly clear with the experienced midfielder wanting to stay and prove himself at Bayern.
With the Premier League campaign just under a month away, West Ham United need to get a move on to try and rebuild the squad and it’s best if they accept Goretzka’s stance and seek other potential midfield targets who desire to move to East London.
The Hammers have already initiated talks to sign Chelsea’s Conor Gallagher and that’s where the Hammers must place all their eggs right now.
In other West Ham news, a super-rich club has launched an enquiry into a star player who could follow Declan Rice out of the door as his agent may engineer a transfer.