West Ham will be forced to make Edin Dzeko the highest paid player at the club if they agree a deal with AS Roma to sign the striker this summer.
According to the Shields Gazette, Sunderland are also interested in signing the Bosnian forward before the start of the season but would struggle to meet his wage demands which are reported to be £130,000-a-week.
The Black Cats launched an £11m bid for Dzeko last week after it was revealed that the Serie A club are considering offloading the striker for the right price.
Roma signed Dzeko on loan at the start of last season but the deal contained a fied agreement for the move to be made permanent this summer for a fee of £8m.
However, manager Luciano Spaletti is already looking to sell the striker who failed to live up to the hype when he first joined, scoring just eight Serie A goals in 31 appearances last season.
Dzeko’s wage demands will likely put Sunderland out of the running for the former Manchester City man, unless he takes a major pay-cut.
West Ham on the other hand have the financial structure in place to pay Dzeko what he wants. It would exceed the £120,000-a-week the club currently pay Dimitri Payet.
