West Ham United in early contact to sign Spanish forward Tete Morente, valued £7million
West Ham have been in early contact with Elche over a deal to sign forward Tete Morente, according to The Sunday Mirror.
The newspaper reports via their print edition [1 May, page 74] that Morente, 25, is a long-term target at the London Stadium with Elche demanding £7million for the versatile attacker.
It is understood that there has been “early contact” between the two clubs and those initial talks have been positive.
The Sunday Mirror adds that agents are also involved and Morente is keen on a move to the Premier League in the summer.
Who’s Morente?
It’s unlikely that many West Ham fans will have heard of Morente.
The Spanish attacker is hardly one of the best players in La Liga and his season with Elche has been rather underwhelming.
Morente has scored just three goals and supplied three assists in 29 appearances across all competitions for Elche, who are 14th in La Liga.
He’s also only started 16 of their 33 league games.
Why do West Ham need Morente?
If anything our wide areas aren’t too badly stocked and if David Moyes sees the Spaniard as a striker signing, he only plays up front every now and then and isn’t natural in that role.
At £7million, he wouldn’t be an expensive signing and would probably only be brought in to add some depth should Andriy Yarmolenko move on.
West Ham can do better than this in the summer, we hope.
If they don’t, Moyes will only be able to do so much to get this team to finish where they currently are in the Premier League.
In other West Ham news, the Irons have just hours to stop this big-name player from leaving.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Hammers plus more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.