West Ham United hold talks for days for new £16.8m attacker transfer

West Ham United have been in talks with AC Milan “for days” about a deal to sign Alexis Saelemaekers, according to Calciomercato.

Writing on their website (20 July), the news outlet report that the Serie A giants are open to a move but are not in a rush to sell the Belgian as they want £16.8m to let him go.

And they have held talks with West Ham and Leicester in recent days but also have interest from Nottingham Forest and Ipswich, with official offers expected to arrive early next week.

West Ham United to sign Alexis Saelemaekers?

Julen Lopetegui will have known that attack was an area of the pitch at the London Stadium that needed strengthening this summer, and they’re clearly going to work for it.

Luis Guilherme has already joined from Palmeiras in Brazil, but there are still question marks about the future of Michail Antonio [Athletic, 15 May] and Danny Ings [talkSPORT, 28 May], while Maxwel Cornet isn’t guaranteed to be at the club either once the transfer window shuts.

So it’s no shock to see a host of attackers linked with a move to east London such as Jhon Duran [AreaNapoli], Karim Adeyemi [HITC], Steven Bergwijn [Telegraaf] and David Datro Fofana [AfricaFoot], but Saelemaekers offers something different.

West Ham United Julen Lopetegui
West Ham manager Julen Lopetegui

Capable of playing on the wing, as a number ten or as a central striker, his versatility would be a huge boost to the squad and the fact he is left footed will be helpful for the balance of the squad too.

For a player with Champions League and international experience, £16.8million is peanuts in this day and age and it could be a bargain deal to be had if talks can progress in the coming days.

In other West Ham news, a two-time league winner wants a London transfer after the Hammers held talks about a deal.

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