Report: West Ham open talks to sign Abdallah Sima from Slavia Prague
Slavia Prague manager Jindrich Trpisovsky has confirmed West Ham have opened talks to sign talented attacker Abdallah Sima.
The 19-year-old has taken the Czech league by storm this season, scoring 11 and assisting five in 20 games.
West Ham are looking for a number nine in the summer, and while Sima isn’t a traditional centre forward, he occupies positions akin to those of an out-and-out striker and would be an option worth considering for David Moyes.
Transfermarkt have valued the player at £10m, but per The Evening Standard, Prague are holding out for £50m – having already turned down a £25m bid from an unknown club.
They have also reported that top European sides like Manchester United, Paris St. Germain and Juventus have been linked with the player, but it appears that he has his heart set on a move to England.
However, thus far, West Ham remain the only side to have officially opened talks with the club and player.
Via the club’s official Twitter handle, Trpisovsky said, “There is interest in Abdallah Sima. There’s a set price at which he could leave. We’re currently focusing on him playing the rest of the season with us.
“We talked about it with the boys from West Ham, where they have him very high on the list of possible reinforcements.”
Excitement building
While reports suggest we have £35m to shell out on a striker this summer, Sima would be out of our budget.
However, that was only an initial price set by Prague and negotiations have just started.
The fact that the Hammers have moved so early shows that they’re keen on getting the signing over the line and want to finalise it before other clubs step in.
That’s easier said than done, however, now that Trpisovsky has made a public declaration, but it shows the ambition of the club to target players chased by some of the best teams in the world,
Sima would be an important acquisition no matter where he plays. He’s already outperforming his xG by 7.5 goals – which tells you how clinical a player he is.
Apart from being a good goal scorer, he’s also an impressive dribbler – averaging 4.24 dribbles per game. [WyScout]
His defensive output is also noteworthy when compared to other players in his position in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Averaging 2.15 blocks per 90 minutes, Sima is in the top 97 percentile while he is in the top 75 percentile for interceptions and clearances. [StatsBomb]
A player like him would be a trump card for Moyes as his versatility coupled with his killer goal-scoring instinct could make him one of our best transfer acquisitions of the last few seasons.
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