Nikola Milenkovic not joining West Ham this summer
Fiorentina centre-back Nikola Milenkovic will not be joining West Ham United this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The Serbian international, 23, is now expected to put pen to paper on a three-year deal at the Serie A club.
The Sky Sports journalist posted on his personal Twitter account on Wednesday night: “Confirmed. Nikola Milenkovic won’t sign for West Ham or Tottenham this summer.
“He’s expected to accept a new contract proposal until June 2024 from Fiorentina.”
Expected
Hammers manager David Moyes already pulled the plug on the deal [Sky Sports], and it is only normal for Milenkovic to now opt to remain with Fiorentina for the time being.
Talks between both parties went on for a while, but an agreement could not be reached and we have moved on to other targets.
As of now, Chelsea centre-back Kurt Zouma is the other defender West Ham have been linked with consistently this summer.
It appears that those two were the only ones in the running, and with a move for the Serbian all but off, we are assuming the club will now go all in for the France international.
Zouma has Premier League experience and Moyes has seen him live in action for the Blues a couple of times and knows exactly what he will be getting.
Milenkovic could have ended up being a perfect fit for us too and hit the ground running had a move worked out, but nothing is ever guaranteed with players newly moving to the English top-flight.
West Ham have to bring in a new centre-back before the summer transfer window shuts, and we can only hope it happens and the chosen one turns out to be a solid addition to our backline.
In other West Ham news, Hammers made last-ditch attempt to complete major striker signing.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Hammers and more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.