West Ham: Striker search narrowed; Oxford’s future uncertain; Bacca latest

Add as preferred source on Google

Another week and more inevitable disappointment. West Ham’s search for a striker continues having been rebuffed by Lyon and Marseille for their prized striking possessions of Alexandre Lacazette and Michy Batshuayi, with no end in sight. Thanks to the EU kerfuffle that the UK now finds itself in (kerfuffle is a nice way of putting it, don’t you think?), the price of European strikers has risen following the decline of the pound. This is bad news for the Hammers, who refuse to pay over the odds for either attacker. However, it’s not all doom and gloom; Sofiane Feghouli will join up with the squad on July 1 on a free transfer from Valencia in what has been West Ham’s shrewdest piece of business since the signing of a certain Dimitri Payet.

Lyon believe that Lacazette is worth €50 million, a valuation that is far over double the record transfer fee that West Ham shelled out for Andy Carroll all those years ago. It is highly doubtful that Messrs Gold and Sullivan would pay out that much on a single player, so it seems far more plausible that Batshuayi will be the main transfer target this summer.

With a fresh €35 million bid made for the Belgian, who is a certainty to move away from France this summer, the Hammers are in pole position to win the bidding war, having undercut the likes of Tottenham and Juventus with their latest offer. It has also been revealed that Marseille will have to cut ties with the 22-year-old sooner than hoped, to avoid a potential transfer ban as a result of unbalanced books. If Batshuayi decides to go elsewhere, expect the Hammers to continue to thrash out a compromise in order to sign Lacazette.

One transfer saga that has been ripe in the media in recent times is that of 17-year-old Reece Oxford. The highly rated youngster has alerted a host of top clubs to his name having rejected a extension on his current deal earlier this summer, despite his contract not ending until 2018. Whilst Manchester City and Liverpool have been mentioned as possible suitors, one surprising contender for his signature is newly promoted Bundesliga outfit Red Bull Leipzig.

It is much more likely that Oxford would be able to contend for a starting birth there than at any other Premier League side. Despite this, the West Ham wonderkid, who once captained the side during a pre-season friendly, would prefer to stay in England. The Hammers will be unwilling to let Oxford leave having been touted as a future captain and England international, but it is probable that he will move down the pecking order at the Olympic Stadium as Bilic aims to sign up more defensive options.

One of these possibilities could be the Cameroonian international Nicolas N’Koulou, who’s set to become a free agent following the expiry of his contract with Lyon at the start of July. The French giants want to keep their centre-back, but it’s been rumoured that Besiktas and West Ham are waiting in the wings should the dispute not be resolved. N’Koulou is in his mid-twenties, has won 68 caps for Cameroon and has made a further 162 appearances for Marseille – scoring six goals in total for club and country. He would battle to partner Winston Reid or Angelo Ogbonna in the West Ham defence.

Other potential deals that could be happening, if you happen to believe murmurings on Twitter, are those of Carlos Bacca and Gokhan Tore. The Tore saga is one that most fans are sick to death of following disputes over the eventual transfer fee. Figures between £10.7 million and £17 million have been mentioned but the final sum is set to be a lot closer to the former. Bilic has said that he’s found it difficult to complete deals whilst Euro 2016 action is still ongoing so expect Tore to be a West Ham signing come mid-July (hopefully of this year).

AC Milan had previously rejected an initial £15 million offer for Bacca – who would be a much cheaper alternative to the previously mentioned Lacazette and Batashuayi – but would be willing to let him depart for around €25 million according to the Italian website Calciomercato. Bacca seems to have become surplus to requirements following AC’s purchase of Gianluca Lapadula from Pescara. Bacca’s wage demands of €75,000 per week also seem fairly reasonable, so there is potential for this deal to go through if West Ham reignite their interest.

Featured image: All rights reserved by federicociverchia