West Ham: 24-year-old; £26m striker close; Sunderland keen on forward

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At long last, West Ham United fans can breathe a sigh of relief following the acquisition of the much sought after Gokhan Tore. Contrary to what reports had previously suggested, the final deal was a loan agreement between Besiktas and the Hammers, with an option to buy at the end of the season.

Considering that Tore was omitted from a very average looking Turkey squad prior to Euro 2016 and that his transfer value was somewhere in the club record region, this should prove to be a sensible move from Slaven Bilic. The West Ham manager will also know the extent of Tore’s talent having coached the 24-year-old during his stint in Turkey.

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With Tore, Sofiane Feghouli, Dimitri Payet, Manuel Lanzini and Michail Antonio as potential attacking midfield options, focus must now be turned towards bolstering the striking and defensive departments, particularly the latter following the sale of long-term claret and blue servant James Tomkins to Crystal Palace.

With Michy Batshuayi now Chelsea-bound and Alexandre Lacazette seeming to be increasingly unlikely to be wearing claret and blue next season with every second that passes, it appears that West Ham have finally found their marquee striker in the form of Carlos Bacca.

The activation of a £26 million release clause means that Bacca and West Ham will thrash out wage negotiations, with the Colombia likely to demand a six figure salary. The potential signing of Bacca is a risk akin to the Dimitri Payet transfer last summer, as the forward is now 29 years of age and will surely be in/nearing the peak of his career in the not too distant future.

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Saying that, Bacca has consistently hit 20+ goals per season for the last four years and would be an asset to any club seeking Champions League action. Bacca is also comfortable playing in the 4-2-3-1 system likely to be deployed by the Hammers next season, often starring in the lone attacking role for Colombia.

Bacca’s imminent arrival would signal the end of the Carlos Tevez saga, which has been the romantic fantasy of virtually all Hammers fans since his departure from the club nearly a decade ago. Tevez would have become the highest paid player in West Ham history should he have accepted the £150,000 a week deal offered.

Alas, the fairytale came crashing down when the Argentinian lord and saviour of East London demanded £250,000 a week instead. Although Gold and Sullivan may have deep pockets following a Europa League finish last season, it would raise a lot of eyebrows to offer a 33-year-old that amount of money, despite cult status among fans.

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With Bacca and Carroll expected to compete for the sole striking position, many questions have been raised about the futures of Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia. The former has been a target of several mid-table and bottom half clubs over the last couple of months and submitted a transfer request last week. Sunderland seem to be the club in pole position to sign Sakho, particularly due to his close relationship with former West Ham manager Sam Allardyce. West Ham would be more than happy to let Sakho go considering the huge profit his sale could generate. The striker’s current release clause is £15 million, four times the amount he was bought for in 2014.

Meanwhile, Valencia has attracted the attention of Italian outfit Lazio who offered £10 million for the Ecuador attacker. This falls just short of West Ham’s £13 million valuation – which would give the Hammers a £1 million profit after his move from Pachuca two years ago. Valencia has failed to live up to expectations following a promising World Cup 2014 performance, scoring eight times in 51 appearances. Out of the two strikers, he would be the most easily forgotten.

One final potential signing that has been mentioned is that of midfielder Jose Sosa from Gokhan Tore’s former club Besiktas. According to Turkish sports outlet Ajansspor, Sosa has been attracting attention from China and Argentina, but his first choice of destination would be one in Europe. Those with particularly sharp memories may recall Sosa playing a minor role in the 2014 Champions League Final with Atlético Madrid as they lost 4-1 to their neighbours Real.

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Now in his early thirties, Sosa would add plenty of experience to the West Ham squad and with an asking price of just €5 million, it would prove to be a shrewd bit of business if he was bought in. With the signing of Tore however (who sees far less first-team action for Besiktas than Sosa), it is unlikely that Bilic would want to bring in another midfielder.

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