By Dave Langton
West Ham’s potential pursuit of Blackburn Rovers goal machine Ben Brereton Diaz is not going to be as straightforward as first thought!
The striker has been in remarkable form this season and has netted 19 goals in the second-tier, firing Blackburn firmly into the promotion hunt.
However, Rovers have an option on his contract, allowing them to extend his deal by a further year should they so wish.
They are almost certain to do that and club insiders have confirmed that Blackburn have precious little desire to let him go in the January window, particularly as the club are currently just three points behind leaders Fulham.
They have a real sniff of automatic promotion, all the more so if Diaz is able to stick around, and a deal to bring him in would be expensive, given Blackburn’s hold over the Chile international.
David Moyes remains desperate to sign a striker in January and he may well go shopping in the second-tier, as he has done before, but Diaz may just have to wait.