West Ham United to kickstart transfer spree after Gianluca Scamacca exit, Denis Zakaria deal agreed
West Ham United are set to kickstart their summer transfer business after the expected sale of Gianluca Scamacca to Inter Milan, with a deal for Denis Zakaria already said to be agreed, according to the Daily Star.
The newspaper reported in their print edition on 2 August (page 39) that the Irons are set to sell their Italian forward to the Nerazzurri for £24m and will use that added money to kick off a four-player transfer spree.
Swiss midfielder Zakaria is expected to be the first addition at the London Stadium, with a £17m deal agreed with Juventus already, but a move for Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse appears more unlikely.
Discussing the state of affairs in East London, Darren Lewis reported: “Once he (Scamacca) leaves West Ham will look to add his fee to the £105m raked in from selling Declan Rice to Arsenal and move for up to four players. A £17m deal for Juventus midfielder Denis Zakaria is already understood to have been agreed.
“Moyes also intends to sign Conor Gallagher from Chelsea. But the Hammers have backed out of a move for Southampton midfielder Ward-Prowse, with Saints demanding £40m.
“Moyes wants more firepower, but the Hammers have missed out on City forward Borges after Ajax agreed a deal in principle to sign him for a fee worth £17m.”
Time to get signing
It seems slightly strange that a £24m sale would kickstart more transfer business than a £105m departure, but that is the strange world of football, what is important is that it finally seems as though West Ham are getting their transfer business up and running.
Zakaria is an excellent purchase, especially for such a nominal fee when other clubs are asking for £40m and up for their midfield talent. The Swiss midfielder will go a long way in filling the void left by Rice’s departure earlier in the window, and it looks as though he may have a new midfield partner.
One of Gallagher or Ward-Prowse would fit well alongside Zakaria, but whether the Irons are willing to foot the bill for either player is yet to be seen. Hopefully, the extra money that Scamacca’s sale brings in will be the difference between rejected approaches and confirmed transfers.
Goals are the most important part of football and the sale of the 24-year-old striker places the Hammers right back where they were 12 months ago. They need a new centre-forward through the door and really shouldn’t have let Borges slip through their clutches, that could well be a move they live to regret.
No obvious targets have been mentioned up-front yet for the Irons, but they’re going to have to find somebody and quickly before the Premier League gets underway.
In other West Ham news, Southampton are expecting the Hammers to submit another bid for their captain this summer