West Ham manager Slaven Bilic has revealed in an interview with Socrates magazine that he tried to sign Besiktas winger Gokhan Tore at the start of the summer transfer window.
Tore played under Bilic for two years in Turkey and wanted a reunion with the Turkey international in London, who made a name for himself in Chelsea’s youth system before switching a sporadic first-team role for more regular appearances at Hamburg.
The Croatian boss publicly revealed that he is a big fan Tore and that he is desperate for the wide midfielder to join West Ham.
“Gökhan is a legend he is a top guy and a great player of course I would love to have him in the team,” Bilic said. “I tried to sign him at the start of the season but it was not the right time.”
Although, West Ham made two deadline day signings – Victor Moses and Michael Antonio – which occupy the same position as Tore and a move for the ex-Rubin Kazan man may be put on hold, despite Arsenal reportedly poised to bid £14.5m for the 23-year-old, who currently leads the assists leaderboard in Turkey with five in seven matches.
