The Hammers may now turn their attentions in the hunt for a striker back to Juventus as they seek to negotiate a deal which would see Simone Zaza return to Turin with Mario Mandzukic instead joining the London Stadium outfit for a fee of around £18 million, claim reports in Italy.
The 30-year-old has disappointed many in Italy since his move from Atletico Madrid two years ago, but the Croatian may now be moved on. West Ham believe that he would be a major upgrade on Zaza, who is still without a goal after 10 games for the club.
However, that could all change if Slaven Bilic is sacked, and the Northern Echo report that club owners are preparing an approach for Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez as they seek to lure him back to the Premier League to help recapture the form which saw the Irons qualify for Europe last season.
Initial reports seem to suggest that Benitez is not looking to leave St. James’ Park so it may take an extraordinary offer from the two Davids in order to persuade him to leave the north-east for London.
BBC Sport also claim that Blackburn Rovers have put an early end to the loan deal of young Norwegian winger Martin Samuelsen. The 19-year-old stood out on loan at Peterborough in League 1 last year but managed just four appearances for Rovers at the bottom end of the Championship with both parties agreeing that he should depart to earn more game time.
Samuelsen is highly rated by many coaches at the club, and it is expected that they will seek a new loan move for him in January whilst he plays for the under 23 side in the meantime.
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