A West Ham deal to sign a coveted attacker is now said to be in the balance despite a personal presentation from Julen Lopetegui.
West Ham have so many irons in the fire for the summer window it’s getting difficult to keep up for some fans.
The Hammers are effectively looking for reinforcements in every area of the pitch.
From goalkeeper to full-backs, central defence, midfield, attack and up front.
With just 16 players on their books by the end of June, West Ham will need at least eight signings in the summer window.
Technical director Tim Steidten has been hard at work trying to get deals done as early as possible for West Ham’s new head coach Julen Lopetegui.
A plethora of players have been linked with moves to the London Stadium.
Many irons in the fire
The summer transfer window for domestic deals officially opens on June 14th. West Ham can do international deals from July 1st.
But there is nothing stopping clubs getting deals agreed and signed off ready to process on those dates.
That’s what Steidten has been busy trying to do. He is currently in Brazil where a move for Luis Guilherme looks to be reaching a favourable conclusion.
Fabrizio Romano claimed the exciting attacker will fly in for a medical this week after a £25m plus 20 per cent sell-on deal was agreed.
Hammers fans are cautious in their optimism, though, having already seen a deal for defender Fabricio Bruno collapse.
Now a West Ham deal to sign an attacker is reportedly in the balance despite a personal plea from Lopetegui.
Deal to sign attacker now in the balance despite Lopetegui plea
Striker Simon Banza is said to be a big target for West Ham this summer.
The 27-year-old Braga hitman has been on fire this season, finishing second to Viktor Gyokeres in the Portguese goalscoring stakes.
Reports recently claimed Banza is of interest to West Ham.
And Braga are said to be open to selling the striker with the club’s sporting director Antonio Salvador publicly admitting as much over the weekend.
“The club has to be sustainable, it has to create working conditions and, therefore, if a good proposal appears for the club, Banza will be on the market”, he said.
Great news for West Ham then one might think.
On the face of it yes but Salvador’s admission has attracted rival suitors from Saudi.
No Banza bonanza for West Ham
And now OJogo claims West Ham face missing out on Banza due to the greater riches on offer from Arabia.
That’s despite Lopetegui personally presenting his West Ham plans to Banza.
Although the good news is the player himself does have a desire to play in the Premier League.
“Arabs want to take Banza and West Ham also presented a proposal,” the report states.
“Striker received a very financially advantageous offer from a club in the United Arab Emirates…
“Banza has the desire to play in England, in the Premier League, and West Ham, who will be coached by Julen Lopetegui who has also presented him with a proposal.
“But financially (West Ham’s offer is) far from the values that the Arabs are willing to pay.”
West Ham reportedly have a transfer budget of £100m this summer.
That won’t go far given the number of players needed.
So Steidten and Lopetegui must spend every penny carefully.
If the Arabs are over-inflating the price for Banza and the deal no longer makes sense from West Ham’s point of view then the club must walk away.
There are plenty of other targets out there – namely a Lopetegui favourite Youssef En-Nesyri.
And this Banza update may explain why a move for the Moroccan suddenly took a big step forward yesterday evening.