Hammers coy over Celta Vigo duo

West Ham insiders are being very coy over reports they are in talks with Celta Vigo over the signings of Maxi Gómez and Stanislav Lobotka. They are refusing to confirm or deny speculation in Italy that they could land one or both players who each have a 50 million Euro release clause.

Manuel Pellegrini is determined to strengthen the defensive midfield this summer and is said to see Lobotka as the perfect partner to Declan Rice after attempts to sign Andre Gomes ended last week as he chose Everton over the Irons. West Ham is thought to have bid £30m for the 24-year-old Slovakian international who has been compared to Real Madrid’s Luka Modric.

While Lobotka may be their prime target they have never given up hope of signing Maxi Gomez and may try to do a deal with Celat Vigo for both players.

Officially the pair are valued at 100m Euros (£89m) but if Italian reports are to be believed West Ham will offer 60m Euros (£53.5m) for the pair.

The next seven days are said to be crucial in the negotiations with Celta Vigo and we understand we should know one way or the other within the next week