All quiet on the transfer front
A senior club source told Claret and Hugh tonight “Anything inbound or outbound is currently sadly unlikely, nothing happening anywhere. It’s very slow out there”
West Ham remains in the chase for Maxi Gomez and has scouts out in Brazil watching him and others in the Copa America but the Hammers also have a number of other targets should they not be able to conclude them right deal with Celta Vigo.
The Hammers have also sent scouts to Italy to watch the European Under 21 Championships in which Hammer Pablo Fornals has scored two goals in two games. West Ham are said to be keeping a close eye on the French Under 21 with Mainz striker Jean-Philippe Mateta said to be on a list of possible alternatives if they couldn’t land Gomez.
The Hammers were linked to Mateta last June while he was at Lyon after he had an impressive season out on loan with Le Havre, where he scored 17 goals in 35 Ligue 2 games. He joined Mainz for a fee of just £9m but Newcastle has reportedly made a formal bid between £17m and £22m after Mateta enjoyed a stunning debut season in the Bundesliga last term, netting an impressive 14 goals. It is claimed the Bundesliga outfit value their young striker as much as £35m.