West Ham are eying a £24million bid for AC Milan’s striker Carlos Bacca after a shock reunion with Carlo Tevez failed. According to reports from Daily Star, Hammers discussed a potential return with Tevez but the Argentine striker is happy at his native club Boca Juniors and is not looking for a move to the Premier League.
West Ham’s striker pursuit hit an overdrive last night after losing their first pre-season game 3-0 against Seattle Sounders. Following the match manager Slaven Bilic said:
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“With strikers, it’s not a secret that we want a top one but we are not so desperate because we have really good strikers.
“If we could get one top striker, he would add to those we have already.”
West Ham were first keen on bringing Christian Benteke to the Olympic Stadium but they were priced out of a deal by Liverpool after demanding over £31m for the Belgian International. According to London Evening Standard, West Ham have a budget of £25m to spend on a top striker and that is why Bacca is seen as the ideal fit both in terms of style and transfer fee.
Also read: Rumours: Arsenal submit £42.5million bid for Julian Draxler
AC Milan will accept any offer beyond £22million as Bacca has hinted towards his will to join a new club this summer. The Colombian prefers a move to Premier League and is interested in making the most of West Ham’s interest before it fizzles out.
West Ham need to act swiftly in order to bring Bacca to Premier League as PSG and Atletico Madrid are also keen on signing the 29-year-old forward. He scored 18 times last season for Milan and has been a consistent striker for last 3-4 seasons.
After missing out on Michy Batshuayi and Alexandre Lacazette, Hammers need to bring players of substance if they are to keep hold of their star performer Dimitri Payet.
For now, the French International is willing to commit his future to West Ham but if the Premier League side do not show the intent to better their last season’s display, Payet will have entire Europe waiting with an offer to sign him given the season he has had.
Bilic faces a tricky 3-4 weeks from now where he needs to get rid of failed bids and sign a proper goal-scorer to further convince Payet to remain with West Ham next season and possibly beyond that as well.
You can find all the completed transfers so far this season over here.
