West Ham United ready to shell out £13.8m for January Boulaye Dia transfer
West Ham United are ready to shell out £13.8million to sign Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia during the January window, according to Il Mattino.
The Italian outlet reported on its website on Wednesday (3 January) that the Hammers are interested in signing the 27-year-old striker this month, with both Eintracht Frankfurt and Napoli also hoping to secure his services.
Salernitana CEO Danilo Iervolino has already asked Napoli for three players during the summer transfer window and, in return, the Italian giant’s chairman has requested the services of Senegal striker Dia.
But David Moyes’ side and Bundesliga giants Frankfurt are said to be ready to foot the £13.8million [€16million] fee to beat Napoli to the 27-year-old’s signature this January.
A new number nine
If there is one area of the field West Ham United have to strengthen in this January, it is up top. Moyes’ options currently at the London Stadium are nowhere near good enough and money has to be spent to solve that problem sooner rather than later.
Jarrod Bowen has managed to thrive out of position to ensure that the absence of a 20-goal-a-season forward hasn’t been felt at the London Stadium, but the Hammers cannot continuously rely on the winger’s excellent form.
Neither Michail Antonio nor Danny Ings have shown that they are capable of firing the Irons into European football once again this season, but Dia may finally be the solution. The Senegalese forward has scored four goals in 10 Serie A starts this season and found the net 16 times last term.
Whether the 27-year-old would be keen to make the switch to the Premier League remains to be seen, but West Ham should be able to beat Frankfurt and Napoli financially to the striker’s services if they enter a bidding war this January.
Hopefully, if this transfer happens, it will be a more successful move than the addition of Gianluca Scamacca last season.
In other West Ham news, one journalist has offered a fresh verdict on Mohammed Kudus’ future at the London Stadium