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Hammers Striker Pursuit in Doubt Amid €35m Bid Claims

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Reports that West Ham are set to make a second bid for USA striker Ricardo Pepi appear to be wide of the mark.

Fabrizio Romano reported that the Hammers had a €25m bid rejected by PSV Eindhoven last night, and the news has been picked up by all the usual mainstream media outlets.

The 22-year-old striker scored for PSV against Liverpool last night and looks to be a decent player, but it seems the Hammers’ interest is lukewarm at best. Having spoken to ExWHUEmployee this morning, neither of us has been able to confirm a serious bid for Pepi, though there may have been a tentative enquiry from the club.

Therefore, it seems highly unlikely that West Ham would return with an improved €35m transfer bid for the player, as reported in the Dutch press this morning.

Aside from anything else, this is not how the Hammers typically negotiate for players. The more this story develops, the more likely it appears to be a tactic to apply pressure on Brighton for Evan Ferguson.

However, if the club is bidding for a player and doing so quietly, who could blame them? Pepi appears to be an incredibly talented forward who is clearly going places, and I, for one, would be delighted to see him join

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Kris Gonzo (commonly known to the West Ham community as Gonzo) is the co-founder of Hammers Chat (established 2014) and the lead video content creator and columnist for Claret and Hugh.

With over a decade of professional sports media experience, he is a frequent West Ham United analyst and contributor for Sky Sports News, BBC Football Focus, and BBC Radio 5 Live. He previously served as an official video and content creator for West Ham United FC during the club's tenure at Upton Park and featured in the official documentary commemorating the historic final game at the Boleyn Ground.

A lifelong Hammer since the legendary 10-0 victory over Bury, when he isn't providing daily match analysis on the Hammers Chat YouTube Channel or broadcasting on X (@GONZObignose), he can be found walking his dog and restoring classic pinball machines.

8 comments

  • Esexiron42 says:

    He suffered a knee injury last night so another potential signing bites the dust. Gutted as he would be a great signing.

  • Jeeps says:

    Spot odd one out?
    Ferguson / Pepi / De Paul / Raspadari / Boniface / Fullkrug / Silva
    Clue: Whose the fittest
    Whoopie, clap your hands and wave buntings we’ve signed 17 year old Scots lad for £100,000.
    Another one destined for academy never mind recruitments needed for Potters requirements.

  • Benny the Aussie says:

    Why can’t we find players like Pepi etc at a young age, before the likes of PSV & Co.
    We are a joke whilst Sully uses us as a management sim.
    We are supposed to be a big boy club, but we couldn’t run a chook raffle.
    Aussie Rule clubs are run more professionally

    • mark wiggins says:

      Sullivan mate ,he should back potter think he’s a good manager . We need to be decisive and go for potter targets. Sullivan show some ambition for us fans ⚒⚒

  • mark wiggins says:

    FFS can we actually make a decision and get a striker and box to box midfielder

  • Terry says:

    This whole transfer window has a complete ploy to fool the fans to think that the West Ham board have a target to sign the probability is that we don’t sign anyone and Sullivan will expect that potter keeps us up and we go through the same nonsense in the summer

  • Essexiron42 says:

    For God’s sake where is our ambition? This is what the BBC had to say this morning: about Ferguson

    ” The Republic of Ireland forward has made 12 Premier League appearances this season but 10 of those have been as a substitute.

    The 20-year-old’s only goal this season was in the draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers in October.

    That is his only goal since November 2023, as the form that shot him to prominence in the 2022-23 campaign and led to him being nominated for the PFA Young Player of the Year award has deserted him.”.

  • Pat says:

    Can we just stop this nonsense and sign Callum Wilson and Silva because it wont be any of the other strikers mentioned

Comments are closed.