West Ham to return in summer for £35m-rated striker after failed January bid – report
West Ham will make a renewed bid to sign Sevilla star Youssef En-Nesyri in the summer after their January rejection, according to the Daily Star.
The Hammers failed in a £22.5million offer for the Moroccan striker in the middle of the winter transfer window with the La Liga club holding out for at least £35million.
After selling club-record signing Sebastien Haller West Ham were rebuffed in their attempts to bring in a new forward and are now entering the second half of the season with just Michail Antonio as a senior striking option.
Jesse Lingard was brought in from Manchester United on loan and made a superb start to life in London by scoring twice against Aston Villa on Wednesday but he is a midfielder and there is still a clear lack of viable options to cover for Antonio.
As such the Daily Star report that the Irons are “expected to make another bid” this summer as they are still tracking his progress.
They say that Sevilla are likely to hold out for around £35million as they did in January.
One of Europe’s most feared forwards
En-Nesyri certainly hasn’t let speculation get the better of him as he continues to fire in the goals in Spain.
After hitting a hat trick against Real Sociedad on January 9 he scored the opener in a 2-1 win over Alaves on January 19 before helping himself to another treble v Cadiz four days later.
He is now level with Lionel Messi on 12 La Liga goals this season with only Atletico Madrid’s Luis Suarez ranking above them with 14.
En-Nesyri’s stock is only likely to get higher so the Irons can expect some stiff competition if they do indeed renew their efforts to sign him.
It would represent something of a coup with the forward showcasing his pedigree with four goals in six Champions League appearances this season.
However David Moyes and his charges are aiming high and will hope to be in some form of European competition themselves next season after a run of five Premier League wins in their last six.
This is certainly a deal to keep an eye on and would be a real statement of intent from the club.
In other West Ham news, report details likelihood of injured Irons player featuring again this season.