View: West Ham face competition for Ben Brereton Diaz transfer in January
West Ham face stiff competition from Newcastle in January if they want to complete the signing of Ben Brereton Diaz from Blackburn.
The Hammers are keen to add an attacking option to their ranks to help ease the load on Michail Antonio and provide competition, with Chile international Brereton Diaz a noted target.
But they now face competition from Newcastle for the 22-year-old striker’s signature, with the Magpies reportedly making him a top target to help boost their bid for survival.
According to Sky Sports, Brereton Diaz is among a host of targets for Newcastle in January but with them targeting ‘the best players in the Championship’ he has become a top target.
Diaz is expected to cost in the region of £20m, with Blackburn’s promotion hopes hinging on whether or not they can keep hold of him.
Hitman
Brereton Diaz has found a new lease of life since declaring for the Chilean international team and has scored 19 goals in the Championship this season, only behind Aleksandar Mitrovic of Fulham.
His goals would surely transfer up to the Premier League with West Ham’s style of play suiting his physical style, but they do risk his hot-streak going cold if he doesn’t hit the ground running.
With Antonio the certified first-choice striker, Brereton Diaz could find immediate starts hard to come by and if that affects his form and confidence then it could be money wasted.
With the chase for the top four far from over and West Ham needing their squad bolstered, the last thing they need is to spend money on a key area and the signing to be a dud so they may be better off looking for someone more experienced at the top level in January.
In other West Ham news, Mark Lawrenson predicts the result of Southampton’s trip to the London Stadium.