West Ham United tried to sign AC Milan’s Carlos Bacca.
West Ham United boss Slaven Bilic has admitted he missed out on AC Milan’s Carlos Bacca as the striker was holding out for a move to Premier League rivals Arsenal or Atletico Madrid, GianlucaDiMarzio report.
The Hammers made no secret of their desire to sign a top-class striker in the summer, going after the likes of Alexandre Lacazette, Michy Batshuayi and Bacca (the Telegraph) before landing Simone Zaza.
A move for Bacca was said to be very close after the clubs agreed a fee, yet the transfer saga went on and on with plenty of negotiations taking place before a potential deal was ultimately called off.
Speaking to reporters on the matter, Bilic admits being turned down by the Colombia international because he instead was holding out for a move to Arsenal or La Liga side Atletico Madrid.
“Yes, at the beginning, Bacca turned down a transfer to us, I’ve got no problems admitting it. We weren’t the Colombian’s first choice, he was waiting for Atletico and Arsenal, in the end he chose to stay in Milan, we are very happy as we signed Zaza who a year ago was our first choice,” Bilic told GianlucaDiMarzio.
Despite missing out on Bacca, West Ham did still manage to sign a top-class international forward in Zaza and the former Juventus man will be keen to make an impact with the Hammers.
Arsenal, on the other hand, opted to sign Lucas Perez from Deportivo La Coruna on deadline day to bolster their attacking options, though many will wonder why they did not push for Bacca.
The former Sevilla man topped Milan’s scoring charts last season and would have been a terrific option for the Gunners as Wenger searched for a viable alternative to Olivier Giroud.
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