West Ham United have missed out on Troy Parrott after Real Betis agreed a deal worth around €20million to sign the AZ Alkmaar striker.
The Hammers had pursued Parrott during their search for another centre-forward and were previously prepared to spend more than £20m to bring him back to England.
However, Real Betis have now won the race for the Republic of Ireland international.
Fabrizio Romano reports that Betis have agreed a €20m deal with AZ Alkmaar, with documents being exchanged between the clubs after Parrott gave the move the green light.
AS also reports that the transfer has been agreed at around €20m including variables.
Troy Parrott transfer ends West Ham pursuit
West Ham had shown serious interest in Parrott earlier this month.
ReadWestHam reported that the club were prepared to go beyond £20m for the 24-year-old after he emerged as one of Nuno Espírito Santo’s leading attacking targets.
Parrott had scored 51 goals across his first two seasons with AZ and attracted interest from several clubs across Europe.
West Ham’s pursuit ultimately failed to develop into an agreement.
The Hammers instead moved for Joel Piroe, who had initially been viewed as an alternative to Parrott during the striker search.
talkSPORT reported earlier this week that Piroe was being considered as West Ham’s alternative option as competition for Parrott intensified.
That decision now looks increasingly definitive.
Parrott will head to Spain while West Ham move forward with a different attacking plan ahead of their Championship promotion push.
The outcome also closes one of the club’s longer-running striker stories of the summer.
West Ham had the financial power to compete for Parrott, but Betis could offer La Liga and Champions League football.
With the Irish striker now choosing Spain, Nuno can turn his attention towards integrating West Ham’s new attacking options rather than allowing another transfer pursuit to drag deeper into the window.
