West Ham United call Napoli for midfield pair Fabian Ruiz and Piotr Zielinski, made bid
West Ham suffered a double rejection in the hunt for midfield help after calling Napoli about Fabian Ruiz and Piotr Zielinski, Corriere dello Sport reports.
The Hammers are looking for further reinforcements in the midfield despite landing Flynn Downes, with Tomas Soucek’s future still in question, and have been chasing highly rated Belgian youngster Amadou Onana who has a hefty price tag.
They reportedly contacted the Serie A side to enquire about Spanish international Fabian and received a flat rejection from the player.
They then moved onto his 72-cap Polish teammate and made an offer of €20million [£17million], but were told by Aurelio De Laurentiis’ club that they will need to fork out double that for the 28-year-old.
The Naples side are reportedly also considering whether to reopen attempts to sign Chelsea striker Armando Broja, who Corriere dello Sport note had “seemed destined” for the London Stadium.
The situation has become bogged down at the Stamford Bridge end and Irons are closing in on Sassuolo’s Gianluca Scamacca in the mean time.
Stung
If West Ham had hoped they could turn to Napoli to find a cheaper and more accessible target to Onana then they have had that idea trampled on.
Ruiz would appear not to be a goer from the off if he immediately refused advances and an offer wasn’t even made.
There must be a greater willingness from De Laurentiis to let Zielinski go if the Hammers were encouraged enough to make an offer, but there is a vast gap between the two sides’ valuations.
With two years on his contract and an option to extend for a third [Mirror] there is little compelling the Italians to settle for less.
They have also already sold Kalidou Koulibaly this summer, who was down to the final year of his own contract, to Chelsea for for well over £30million so aren’t desperate for cash.
The Polish international has scored 40 times and assisted 33 more since he moved to the Armando Diego Maradona Stadium six seasons ago so would certainly appear to represent a strong addition to David Moyes’ squad if they could get him.
But with 20-year-old Onana eight years younger and the club’s original choice they would presumably prefer to spend the big money on him if the alternative is still going to cost a lot.