West Ham United pursuit of Piotr Zielinski helped by Napoli’s situation with Fabian Ruiz
Napoli will return to negotiations with West Ham over selling Piotr Zielinski because they need help to re-sign Fabian Ruiz, La Gazetta dello Sport reports.
The Spaniard, who the Hammers also asked about signing but were rejected by before moving onto his Polish teammate, is down to the last year of his deal and the Serie A side need cash to renew it.
That means they will return to the negotiating table despite being €15million apart in their valuation of Zielinski, with the asking price set at €40million [£33.7million] and the Irons’ bids stopping at €25million plus bonuses.
According to La Gazetta, the chances of signing the 28-year-old Polish international are boosted not only by his club’s need for extra breathing room financially, but also by manager Luciano Spalletti potentially feeling his form fell away last season.
Zielinski is seen as a “perfect for the definitive leap in quality” that David Moyes is looking to bring to his midfield this summer.
But the big-money deal for Sassuolo striker Gianluca Scamacca has had an effect, with the €42million due for that imminent move meaning the Hammers can’t afford to “squander” cash.
Positive
The chances of an agreement being reached on this one appear to be improving, even if it is probably going to take some haggling from both sides for a deal to be reached.
If West Ham can continue closing the gap it now seems that there is a reason compelling the sellers to find a compromise.
Having already sold Kalidou Koulibaly to Chelsea it might have been assumed that they would have the ability to sort a new contract for Ruiz fairly comfortably, and with multiple years left on Zielinski’s current deal they could have held firm.
But if the manager is less bothered about losing him and they do need help to keep hold of their preferred midfielder that means both sides of these negotiations have an interest in getting it done.
The Hammers likely can afford to meet the asking price, but spending big on multiple targets is clearly a risk, so if an agreement can be reached to bridge the gap between the two teams’ valuations of the 72-cap international using bonuses it could be the right option for everyone.
Amadou Onana looked like the preferred option to strengthen Moyes’ midfield but progress looks to have stalled there, with Lille in a stronger negotiating position that Napoli apparently are, so eyes presumably will turn to this deal as a priority in the mean time.