ClaretandHugh was previously told there is reluctance from the club to get into protracted discussions with the Merseysiders who have a reputation for pushing clubs to the limit on transfer deals.
Sturridge is linked to the Hammers every time his position comes under the media microscope so it is surprise that the Hammers were mentioned again in the Aubameyang story.
A club insider previously told ClaretandHugh on Sturridge: “They are a very hard club with which to do business as they demonstrated in the Andy Carroll transfer and again over Christian Benteke. They push for the absolute maximum and are pretty unrelenting.”