West Ham United could be surprise beneficiaries of Douglas Costa’s move from Bayern Munich to Juventus.
The Hammers have only brought in Pablo Zabaleta on a free transfer from Manchester City so far this summer much to the frustration of their supporters.
Slaven Bilic has been linked with a plethora of players with the emphasis on bringing in two strikers.
The East Londoners have reportedly had two bids turned down for Marko Arnautovic and are believed to be targeting Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez.
Douglas Costa has left Bayern Munich for Juventus
But one of the big transfers of the week could see Bilic benefit after Brazilian winger Douglas Costa completed his move from Bayern Munich to Juventus.
The deal, initially on loan but with an obligation for the Turin giants to buy at around £35 million, could spell the end of Croatian forward Mario Mandzukic’s time at the club.
And that will alert Bilic, who has long been linked with his compatriot.
Last month the director of football at Bilic’s former club Besiktas Onder Ozen was quoted by Turkish Football as saying that Mandzukic will be signing for West Ham this summer.
Given Juve’s plethora of expensive attacking talent, the hardworking Croat was deployed wide left of a front three last season and while he in no way disgraced himself, prefers to operate as a conventional striker.
Slaven Bilic talks tactics with Mario Mandzukic
Mandzukic’s hard graft, professional attitude and selflessness helped Juve to another season of glory in Serie A by lifting the title and making the final of the Champions League, in which he scored a stunning goal against Real Madrid.
But Costa will likely be first choice out on the left which will limit Mandzukic’s playing time further.
Should Bilic manage to get a player he knows well from his time as Croatia boss it could go a long way to persuading those unsure about a move to the Hammers that they will be a completely different proposition next season.
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