West Ham’s seemingly never-ending chase for a top-tier striker is rumbling on well into July and David Sullivan isn’t terribly happy about that.
West Ham lost out to Chelsea in the £33m race to sign Michy Batshuayi from Marseille. Lyon are determined to reject every bid made for Alexandre Lacazette and Inter Milan are pricing West Ham out of a move for Mauro Icardi.
These three things have left the Hammers with the very real reality of missing out on that ‘marquee’ striker signing David Sullivan promised West Ham fans at the start of the summer.
But speaking to the Daily Mail, the co-owner is worried about the lack of activity regarding an incoming striker.
I am a little concerned because I’d like to have signed one [striker] by now. But it is what it is.
West Ham have three senior strikers on their books. One in Diafra Sakho who’s unlikely to play for West Ham again after refusing to travel on their pre-season tour of Austria and is actively seeking a move; one in Enner Valencia who wants the same but is being professional about it, and finally Andy Carroll who will eventually succumb to injury two or three times a season.
The Hammers have spent the last three weeks trying to sign Carlos Bacca from AC Milan. The Hammers have had a £25.6m bid accepted by the Serie A club but have struggled to find similar enjoyment in talks with the players representatives.
The 29-year-old has requested to be West Ham’s joint-highest paid player at the club along with Dimitri Payet who earns £120,000-a-week (including bonuses).
According to the Mirror, the Hammers’ offer comes a little shy of that. On the table is a four-year contract worth £90,000-a-week. Bacca has given himself time to weigh up the offer, but really he’s hoping a Champions League calibre club comes in and makes him an offer as well.
Atletico Madrid were believed to be that Champions League club to come and do just that, but club president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed today that his club will not be signing Carlos Bacca this summer.
Bacca? He’s a very good striker, but we will not buy him. And we know he is not in our plans. Carlos Bacca will not come to Atletico Madrid.
West Ham remain the only offer on the table to Bacca, who looks certain to leave the San Siro as AC Milan are eager for his departure to be wrapped up by the end of the week.
Milan cannot invest in their squad until funds are freed up from Bacca’s sale. They have deals in the pipeline for Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio and Udinese midfielder Piotr Zielinski and neither can join until Bacca leaves.
Sullivan has confirmed that Bacca is holding off making his decision as he looking around to secure the best deal, which Sullivan can appreciate.
The problem is every striker you go for there are 10 others clubs interested in him. So the player is just hanging about looking to get the best deal. I can’t say I blame him.
West Ham were one of the more prolific scorers in the Premier League, and Sullivan believes it’s not a crisis situation if the Hammers fail to sign a striker – despite two of their three senior forwards both handing in transfer requests this summer and one (Sakho) is refusing to take part in first-team activities in order to force a move.
I would say to people if we don’t bring anyone in it is not the end of the world as we were the fourth highest scorers in the Premier League last season – and we haven’t lost a striker. In a perfect world I would like to think we will bring in a top class striker but we’ve all got limits on what we can pay.
The club have brought in two strikers this summer, 20-year-old Ashley Fletcher from Manchester United on a free transfer and Antonio Martinez from Valencia for a fee which could rise to £2.4m in years to come. Both are highly-rated by their former clubs and Slaven Bilic & co. believe they could be key contributors in the not too distant future.
West Ham remain hopeful that Bacca will opt to sign for the Hammers but the deal very much remains in the balance. Alternatives are being lined up, with Atletico Madrid’s Borja Baston and Juventus’ Mario Mandzukic said to be on our radar.
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