Marseille could be willing to sell Duje Caleta-Car in 2021 after West Ham United had a £20 million bid rejected for the Croatia international, according to Buzz Sport.
The Hammers might be flying high in the Premier League, thrashing Leicester and Wolves before earning creditable draws against Manchester City and Tottenham, but, as ever, not everything is as rosy as it seems at the London Stadium.
The controversial sale of Grady Diangana to West Brom was supposed to bring in funds for a new, top-level centre-half – not for 30-year-old Craig Dawson on loan.
Try as they might, West Ham failed again and again to reinvest that Diangana windfall, with Marseille turning down a £20 million offer for Caleta-Car late in the transfer window (Sky).
Marseille’s well-publicised financial problems have not just disappeared, however.
According to Buzz Sport, there is a real chance that Caleta-Car will be sold either in January or at the end of the season; albeit for probably far more than the £20 million West Ham offered.
The report adds that Andre Villas-Boas’s side have already lined up a replacement with Napoli powerhouse Nikola Maksimovic, who will become a free agent in July, a cut-price successor.
£20 million-plus in the bank while a replacement arrives on a free? That certainly makes good business sense.
Whether Caleta-Car will be any more open to joining West Ham in the New Year, however, remains to be seen.
Speaking to Le10 Sport, the former Salzburg ace made it clear that the Champions League is where he wants to be.
“This summer I received a good offer from a Premier League club, which was interesting for me and for the club,” the Croatian said ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Manchester City.
“But I decided to stay here because it was my dream to play in the Champions League. I’m glad to be staying.”
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