West Ham United want to sign Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun as Gianluca Scamacca replacement, potential stumbling block shared
West Ham have asked to be kept informed on Folarin Balogun’s situation at Arsenal as they search for a replacement for Gianluca Scamacca, according to talkSPORT.
Writing on their official website (3 August), the national radio station report that the Hammers are eyeing a swoop for the 20-year-old striker who hit 21 goals in Ligue 1 last season while on loan at Reims.
Scamacca looks set to join Inter Milan, with an agreement expected within days, but Balogun’s future could be held up after Gabriel Jesus suffered a knee injury which will rule him out of the start of the season.
“West Ham are eyeing a potential swoop for wantaway Arsenal striker Folarin Balogun,” they wrote.
“The Hammers are looking to reinforce their front-line with flop Italian Gianluca Scamacca sizing up a move to Inter Milan and doubts over the future of Michail Antonio.
“The Europa Conference League winners are believed to be among a cluster of Premier League sides who have asked to be kept informed on Balogun’s situation.
“One potential stumbling block to a departure from the Emirates Stadium in this window is the knee injury ruling Gabriel Jesus out of the opening weeks of the season.”
Excellent
The Hammers have been chasing a top striker for years and we thought we had finally landed one when Scamacca arrived last summer in a £35m deal.
But injuries and poor form hampered that and now he looks set to head back to Italy the hunt needs to start once again.
Balogun is young, but he has already proven he is capable of scoring a bucket-load of goals if given service despite the quality of the team not being the best and that could be ideal for West Ham.
Arsenal are said to be asking for a lot of money for him, but negotiations will be key and if the player is open to a move to east London then it’s definitely something that the club should be looking to get over the line.
His ceiling is high and with Michail Antonio’s future up in the air plus Danny Ings struggling since his move, this could be the start of a new era and a new fan-favourite relationship.
In other West Ham news, the club have “gone quiet” on another transfer after “advanced” talks on a £15m deal.