Three clubs – including West Ham United – are involved in the chase for Porto’s Vincent Aboubakar according to A Bola, cited by Sport Witness. The others are league champions Leicester City and newly promoted Middlesbrough. This represents the latest in The Hammers’ chase for strikers which has lasted all summer and featured names including Gonzalo Higuain and Mario Gomez.
The Cameroonian forward had his most successful season yet in a Porto shirt last year, netting thirteen times as he helped his club finish third to champions Benfica and Sporting Lisbon. However, that seems to have led him to look elsewhere, with three Premier League clubs keen to bring him in before the transfer window closes in just under three weeks.
A Bola have said that The Foxes have been interested in the 24-year-old in the longest, but have cooled their interest since the club-record signing of Ahmed Musa from CSKA Moscow earlier in the window. Meanwhile, The Hammers and Aitor Karanka’s Boro have moved in on the former Lorient man due to the expectation he will leave.
The Portuguese giants are ready to let the striker leave this summer due to the players signed during the summer, including Laurent Depoitre of Gent. Aboubakar struggled in the closing months of the year, netting just four times since January, and the Dragoes are ready to let him depart two years on from his arrival from Ligue 1.
Slaven Bilic has been seeking new striking options all summer, and has recently confirmed the loan signing of Jonathan Calleri from Deportivo Maldonado while saying that new man Andre Ayew, a £20.5 million addition from Swansea, will play as a forward at the Olympic Stadium. However, The Hammers are still active in the transfer market, and could add more forwards before the window slams shut.
