According to Turkish source Turkish-Football, West Ham are on the verge of completing the signing of Besiktas winger Gokhan Tore.
The club have been in constant contact with the player’s representatives since Bilic joined the East London club last season following two seasons in Turkey managing Tore and Besiktas. After weeks of negotiations, it appears Bilic has finally got his man for a fee roughly what West Ham signed Dimitri Payet from Marseille for last summer – £10-11m.
Twitter: West Ham on the verge of signing the next Dimitri Payet in Gokhan Tore… will probably be signed for a similar fee https://t.co/zKZRdsl3B7 (@Turkish_Futbol)
Twitter: Gokhan Tore is a great talent. His off the field antics have let him down in the past but Slaven Bilic got the best out of him (@Turkish_Futbol)
Twitter: Gokhan Tore wants a West Ham move and to work with Slaven Bilic again. The deal has been held up by the clubs haggling over a transfer fee (@Turkish_Futbol)
The Hammers had been haggling with Besiktas over the deal for some time. Talks over a permanent transfer stalled so Bilic came in with two different loan offers for Tore, both of which were rejected. The Super Lig champions were eager for a permanent sale to stay in line with FFP regulations and it’s now believed they have come to an agreement both parties are happy with
Tore has been branded as ‘the new Payet’, a player with real finesse and skill who is not afraid of having the ball at his feet. He will be a real asset to the club and should slip into the starting XI along with Payet and Lanzini.
West Ham are still lacking that top-tier striker they’ve been promising fans since the end of last season. With Michy Batshuayi on the verge of signing for Chelsea, he’s a name we can cross off our wishlists.
The likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Carlos Bacca, Vincent Janssen and Simone Zaza all remain on the Hammers’ radar given the £40m burning a hole in their pocket, earmarked for a 20-goal-a-season striker.
