West Ham ‘the most persistent’ in chase for £13m striker – Report

West Ham are playing catch up in the international transfer market

Full-on transfer season is upon us with West Ham now trying to play catch up in the market place. The arrival of their director of football and the Mateus Fernandes cash has re-energised the Irons who have some serious business to do in the next four weeks as their Carabao Cup first round fixture is exactly one month away today.

Forty five thousand Hammers fans and about nine thousand Portsmouth supporters will converge on London Stadium for what will be a season opener – and there’s a whole lot of transfer business to undertake in the meantime.

Football365.com claim the Hammers are falling behind in their efforts to sign Sevilla striker Rubén Vargas:

“Tottenham are one of the clubs attempting to hijack a deal for Sevilla striker Rubén Vargas with the La Liga side setting an asking price of €15m (£13m) for the Switzerland international.

The report adds: ‘West Ham has been the most persistent club in recent hours, considering submitting a formal offer to bring the two sides closer. However, Tottenham and Brighton continue to monitor the market and could intervene if negotiations progress towards figures closer to the player’s market value.’

Can’t see Spurs lodging a serious bid for the player with the level they’re attempting to buy-in at this season: £85m and £100m additions would make it counter intuitive that Tottenham would move forward for Vargas with players like Solanke and Richarlison on the books.

West Ham do face an uphill battle recruiting Vargas into the second tier of English football, though, whilst his continued involvement in Switzerland’s World Cup campaign delays any form of serious dialogue in the short term.  Aston Villa or Brighton would seem far more likely destinations than east London – let us hope that Nuno has a plan B ready.