Hammers talk on Fuego link

West Ham made it crystal clear again today that there is little money in the wage pot to fund January raids on players as speculation arose that we are eyeing Valencia midfielder Javi Fuego.

According to Spanish newspaper Marca the Irons are looking hard at the 30 year old and that he was watched in his club’s recent Copa del Rey victory over Rayo Vallecano.

Fuego has become a key player for Valencia in recent months, and the former Spanish youth international has featured in every one of their La Liga games this season which suggests it would be hard to prise him out of the club anyway.

However, a source told ClaretandHugh this afternoon: “We fully expect to be linked with anybody and everybody over the next few weeks with the window approaching but with wages as they are people will have to leave for us to bring any in.

“We are strong in midfield and that would not be a key area should we manage to get into the market so this looks a bit of a longshot at best.”