West Ham have been handed a boost after reports emerged claiming that reported transfer target Arkadiusz Milik would be available for just £13.5m.
The Poland international, who has scored 112 goals in his club career, has fallen out of favour at current club Napoli, whose manager Gennaro Gattuso had previously taken the bold step of excluding Milik from both Napoli’s Serie A and European squads. That rendered the 26-year-old ineligible to feature in the bulk of his club’s matches.
He has been ripe to be offloaded for some time as a result, with Napoli keen to raise funds and sell the player. His contract expires in the summer and he can sign a pre-contract agreement with a non-Italian club next month.
However, any prospective suitors such as the Hammers may wish to procure his services with more immediacy and can pay a bargain fee of just £13.5m in January.
To put that figure into perspective, his phenomenal goal record and relatively young age means that Transfermarkt have valued him at £24.3m.
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In terms of his record with Napoli alone, Milik remains a prolific option. He has scored 48 goals in 122 appearances for Gattuso’s side but is reportedly keen to leave as soon as possible.
He could represent a better value-for-money signing than Joshua King, with the Norwegian forward linked heavily with a switch to the London Stadium over the summer but coming with a valuation of £17.5m.
The Partenopei are reportedly willing to ‘compromise slightly on the proposed £13.5m fee’ in the knowledge that non-Italian clubs could snap him up on a free transfer at the end of the year. This could be the Irons’ opportunity to pounce.
