West Ham United set sights on Genoa attacker Albert Gudmundsson as £25m+ transfer detail emerges
West Ham United have set their sights on signing Genoa forward Albert Gudmundsson, according to Calciomercato.it.
The Italian news outlet (16 January) shared that the forward’s “crazy” season in Serie A is not going unnoticed at clubs around Europe and Serie A, so far scoring 10 goals and registering four assists.
Several English clubs have been paying close attention to the Icelandic forward who has seen his value soar this season. West Ham and Aston Villa are closely monitoring his situation.
It is reported that Genoa would not think of selling the forward for less than €30million (£25.7m) having arrived at the Italian outfit for around £1.7m.
Talented option
West Ham United are currently desperate for attacking targets right now given manager David Moyes is having difficulties trusting the likes of Said Benrahma, Maxwel Cornet and Pablo Fornals on that left flank.
The Hammers game has been hampered as a result with the West Ham manager having to deploy Lucas Paqueta out wide or even Mohammed Kudus down that side at numerous points, which certainly begs the question of what the club will be planning during January.
With Bowen and Paqueta currently out injured and Kudus representing Ghana at AFCON, the Hammers’ need for attacking signings have greatly increased and it’s no wonder why they’ve rejected a loan bid from a French club for Benrahma’s services (Foot Mercato, 16 January) despite his struggles this season.
Gudmundsson certainly represents a stellar option for the Hammers given his tremendous upward trajectory over the last season.
The Icelandic international registered bagged 11 goals and four assists in Serie B last season forming a crucial component as Genoa enjoyed promotion back to the Italian top flight but has stepped it up a level so far this campaign, recording eight goals in 18 Serie A games.
In fact, Gudmundsson has already proven one of the most devastating attackers in Serie A till this point, ranking 1st out of all players for key passes (45), fifth for crosses (96) and fifth for successful take-ons (31) (FBRef).
Moyes needs more invention in the final third and Gudmundsson represents a talented bet but his £25m price tag represents a sticking point.
In other West Ham news, early team news has broken ahead of the Bristol City game.