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Transfer Gossip

Transfer update summary

It is four days until the summer transfer window officially opens and Sofiane Feghouli and Havard Nordtveit join West Ham on 1st July.

Despite being so called freebies we are likely to invest over £25m in the pair over the life of their contracts.

Feghouli signed a three year deal worth between £60k and £65k a week plus add ons after leaving Valencia on a free transfer. Had he been sold by Valencia with several years left on his contract it is claimed he could have reached a transfer fee as high as £12m .

Meanwhile, Nordtveit, who was Borussia’s most expensive wage earner at £51k per week is set to pick up a new salary at West Ham around £55k-£60k per week plus bonuses on a five year deal. Collectively the pair will cost up to £6.5m per year in wages which means we will invest up to £10m in Feghouli over his three year term and up to £15.6m in Nordtveit over his five year contract. Nothing is truly free in this game and free transfers often demand higher wages.

The most likely next signing is Gokhan Tore, Bilic wants to reunite with his former player, the player wants to reunite with his former manager but Beksiktas want a massive transfer fee for the permanent signing of the winger. I understand the board are not convinced he is worth a £11m+ investment up front and would rather take him on loan for the season with an option to buy like the Lanzini deal. Beksiktas are in financial difficulty after being sanctioned for breaching FFP rules and must conform to an agreement to bring their annual losses to under 10 millions euros by next May. I understand the deal is not yet done as Besiktas want a massive loan fee of millions for the 24 year old.

West Ham also had a 3 million Euro bid for Atiba Hutchinson rejected and it remains to be seen whether he will form part of any deal including Tore.

It now seems likley that Slaven Bilic is comfortable to make Michail Antonio his first choice right back this coming season with Sam Byram as backup meaning we are unlikely to see a big name right back join the club this summer.

The primary goal is land a prolific striker but this is proving more difficult as everyone wants one of those. As a consequence prices have been inflated with many clubs are just not willing to part with their most prized possessions understandable.

Alexandre Lacazette’s agents have told West Ham he doesn’t want to play for us or Spurs and wants to hold out for PSG. Arsenal and Atlético Madrid have been linked in recent days but I think there is a very soon chance the player will remain at Lyon this season. I don’t hold out much hope he will change his mind despite a £31m bid from the Hammers.\

Michy Batshuayi is another target which West Ham have bid but nowhere near the £31m reported in the press. Marseille value him at 40 million euros and they must find 25 million Euros by 5th July to avoid a possible transfer ban by French football authorities. Standard Liege will receive 35% of any transfer fee as part of a sell on clause. Tonight the Batman has been linked with a 38 milloin Euro transfer to Crystal Palace with the Guardian suggesting a bid has been accepted.

West Ham have already had a reported 20 million Euro (£16.7m) bid for Carlos Bacca rejected and were waiting for him to decide his future after involvement in Copa America which ended yesterday for Columbia. Ac Milan are said to want a 25 million Euros (£20.8m) for their 29 year old striker.

Liverpool striker Christian Benteke is also said to be in the top five of a long list of strikers targeted by Slaven Bilic. The 25 year old striker could be let go for around £19m, a huge discount on the £32.5m Liverpool paid in 2015. He does command wages of £140,000 per week which could be the sticking point unless he is prepared to take a drop for the chance of first team football. The gamble is whether he can find his Aston Villa form again.

West Ham are also thought to have submitted a bid to Juventus for Italy striker Simone Zaza, believed to be in the region of €20m (£16.7m), however Wolfsburg are said to have submitted a €25m bid while Juventus are though to want to hold out for a bid of €30m (£25m).

We seem to be at a stalemate position at the moment with regards to a new striker with Sullivan unwilling to pay over the odds and taken for a ride.

On the outbound front, it appears James Tomkins, Pedro Obiang, Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho are all on the market and available to leave West Ham if club valuations are met. Sakho has a club valuation of £15m , while Valencia and Tomkins are valued at £12m each with Obiang anything more £7m

That’s all for now

Sean

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