Fabrizio Romano: West Ham still want to sign Tammy Abraham, Atalanta plan London talks for him
West Ham are still interested in Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham but Atalanta are bidding to beat them to the 23-year-old’s signature.
That’s according to Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, writing via his personal Twitter profile on Saturday night [07/08/21].
He said: “The Atalanta board have a meeting scheduled in London with Chelsea in the next 48 hours to ask for Tammy Abraham as their main target. The price tag is around €40m [£33.9million]. Arsenal and West Ham are interested too.”
“Atalanta are going to bid for Tammy if Inter will ask for Duván Zapata as [Romelu] Lukaku’s replacement.”
The last we heard regarding Abraham was from ExWHUemployee on the West Ham Way Patreon at the start of this week when he claimed that the “player doesn’t really want to join the club” and made reference to his “excessive” demands.
However, it looks likes the club have not yet given up on the six-cap England international.
Bold move from Atalanta
If we can’t match Abraham’s wages, it’s hard to believe that the Italian side could either.
Atalanta have enjoyed a sensational few years under the guidance of manager Gian Piero Gasperini, who has led them to repeated Champions league qualification on a relatively shoestring budget, buying players at modest prices before selling on them on for more.
Their wage bill is dwarfed by the likes of Juventus and AC Milan, yet they still more than compete with them.
West Ham will be paying much bigger wages on the whole than Atalanta, so unless they are changing tact or are prepared to roack the boat to sign him, how will they afford Abraham?
On his part, he may be tempted to play in an attractive, attacking side that is in the Champions League, but does he want to leave London?
His stance on a potential deal remains to be seen, but there is still surely a chance of securing his services this summer. We certainly need him.
In other West Ham news, Roshane Thomas has delivered an update on this Euros star after a Friday report of an Irons bid.
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