According to TEAMtalk, West Ham are interested in signing Orlando City striker Daryl Dike, who is also a target for Newcastle and Leeds.
What’s the story?
Well, the 21-year-old is a man in demand, with West Brom and Crystal Palace also said to be keen on his services in January.
Dike announced himself in England last season while on a six-month loan at Barnsley, where he scored nine goals in 19 Championship outings.
The 8-cap United States international has continued to impress for Orlando City, leading to interest from a number of Premier League clubs.
Brighton are also interested, according to TEAMtalk.
Interestingly, Dike has been compared to Chelsea and Belgium hitman Romelu Lukaku, which in itself is high praise indeed.
The comparison was made by Jordan Williams, who played alongside the American at Barnsley last season.
As quoted by the BBC, Williams said: “Daryl has got a rocket of a right foot. I think he’s similar to Lukaku. He hasn’t scored as many goals yet, but he can hit a ball just as hard”.
If Dike is even 20% as good as the Chelsea No.9, someone is going to land a special forward this winter.
West Ham, Newcastle and Leeds could lose out
In our view, the Premier League sides interested in Dike should be wary of West Brom, which sounds strange to say.
You might be wondering why top-flight sides would be wary of interest from a second-tier outfit.
Well, it was Valérien Ismaël who signed Dike for Barnsley last season, and the 46-year-old has since been appointed by West Brom.
Ismaël clearly enjoyed having Dike around, as the Express and Star believe West Brom are ‘moving heaven and earth’ in a bid to reunite the pair.
Having said that, the Premier League is the Premier League, and Dike has already shown he can perform in the Championship.
Therefore, he might want to test himself at a higher level, and of course, the Premier League clubs have the financial superiority over West Brom.
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