West Ham United must give up Santiago Gimenez pursuit as £87m transfer news emerges
West Ham should definitely be in the market for a new striker in the near future if manager David Moyes has hopes of taking the club forward.
The boss currently has the likes of Michail Antonio and Danny Ings to call upon, but they aren’t exactly hitting the heights expected of them.
Young duo Divin Mubama and Callum Marshall may come into the picture soon, but a more proven striker is needed at this stage of the club’s plans.
Staying in Europe is clearly the long-term target, and that will be hard to do without a natural goalscorer leading the line.
One man who could have definitely solved the problem is Feyenoord sensation Santiago Gimenez, with the Hammers having enquired about the availability of the Mexican in the summer, according to Dutch outlet 1908 (14 August).
The 22-year-old has banged in a remarkable 15 goals from just 11 matches in all competitions this season, with 13 goals coming in just nine Eredivisie matches.
Unsurprisingly then, it is not just West Ham who are seemingly showing an interest in his services, with Real Madrid, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham all keeping tabs on Gimenez, according to 90min (27 October).
But the publication added that interested clubs will have to pay an Eredivisie-record fee to land the striker, and that figure currently stands at €100million (£87million), represented by Manchester United man Antony.
It is a fee that the Hammers must simply forget about, with the major clubs in Europe able to muster up that figure much more readily.
Moreover, the East London club proved with the signatures of James Ward-Prowse and Edson Alvarez that it is often smart to spend money on two talented players rather than one superstar.
In other West Ham news, a European giant is ready to sell a Hammers-linked ace for £17million, with a summer transfer on the cards.