West Ham abandon pursuit of Nikola Milenkovic and Kurt Zouma
West Ham United are no longer interested in signing Nikola Milenkovic and Kurt Zouma this summer, according to 90min.
The Hammers have been in advanced negotiations with the representatives of Fiorentina centre-back Milenkovic for a couple of weeks, but manager David Moyes pulled the plug after the deal was further complicated by interest from Tottenham Hotspur.
The North London side began talks with the 23-year-old Serbian international last Friday, but progress between his representatives and West Ham have been very slow and they are now out of the race.
Meanwhile, Zouma’s wage demands have been deemed too excessive and the east London outfit are also not willing to meet Chelsea’s £25million asking price for the France international.
Moving on
West Ham kicked off the new Premier League campaign with a 4-2 victory at Newcastle United at the weekend, with Angelo Ogbonna returning to full fitness in time for selection.
The Italian was paired with Craig Dawson who did not particularly look convincing, and we need to get in a quality option capable of improving our defence.
With Spurs looking to land Milenkovic, they are likely to offer better terms and likely to be a more attractive side for him.
Chelsea and Zouma are making things difficult for us, and with two weeks left in the summer, Moyes knows he cannot afford to waste any more time.
The Irons need to move on to other targets, and it will be interesting to see who we look to sign now.
Strengthening our defence is key if we are to challenge in Europe and finish in the top-six again this season, and we need to act fast.
Given how we refused to replace Sebastien Haller in January, it really would not surprise us if West Ham fail to bring in another centre-back after the release of Fabian Balbuena earlier this summer.
In other West Ham news, Hammers have been offered the chance to sign contract rebel midfielder.
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