According to the Daily Star, West Ham have been offered Raul Meireles for a cut-price deal of £3 million.
Sam Allardyce is known to be fond of the Portuguese World Cup midfielder after he tried to signed him in January from Fenerbahce.
The deal was blocked by the Turkish club so West Ham signed Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino.Fenerbahce are looking to reduce their large wage bill meaning he likely to be available. Meireles is one of the clubs’ highest earners at Fenerbahce.and they are likely to take a major financial hit should the Hammers take him off their hands on the cheap. His wage demands could be an issue.
The former Chelsea and Liverpool man Raul Meireles started his career as a trainee with Boavista but was loaned to Desportivo das Aves in the Liga de Honra, where he made his professional debut. After a two-year loan spell he returned to Boavista where he made his Primeira Liga debut. His performances brought Meireles to the Portuguese powerhouse, FC Porto, winning three Primeira Liga titles in a row, adding two Portuguese Cups and three Portuguese Supercups. In 2010 he moved to Liverpool for £11.5m where he won the 2011 PFA Fans’ Player of the Year award following a very successful first season in Premier League. In 2011, Meireles signed for Chelsea for £12m, joining his former manager André Villas-Boas with whom he had spent a short period of time. During his debut season at Stamford Bridge, he won the 2012 UEFA Champions League and the 2011–12 FA Cup, his first titles since his arrival in England. In 2012 Chelsea agreed to sell Meireles to Turkish club Fenerbahçe for £8 million. Meireles earns €3 million per season (around £45k per week) in addition to a €10,000 (£8k) per-match bonus at Fenerbahçe.
In international football Meireles’ national career began at youth level when he represented the Under-16 side at the 2000 UEFA European Under-16 Football Championship in Israel. In November 2006 he was called up to the senior squad for the first time. He later represented Portugal in the UEFA Euro 2008, 2010 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 2012. Meireles got absolutely clattered mid-way through the first half by US midfielder Kyle Beckerman, before Beckerman appeared to elbow him in the face.After lengthy treatment, Meireles got up and quickly checked his beard was neat in place, being spotted stroking it on TV.
Someone close to the club confirmed that Meireles was offered to us at a discounted price, whetether we are seriously interested is harder to determine.