David Moyes is a big ‘admirer’ of Lucas Ocampos with West Ham United hoping to lure the La Liga star to the Premier League in the summer transfer window, as reported by ABC de Sevilla.
Less than three years ago, Burnley made a £10 million for a well-travelled winger who was plying his trade in France for Marseille at the time.
But, since moving to Andalusia instead, Ocampos has shone brighter than Ross Gellar’s gnashers after an impromptu teeth whitening session.
To the extent that, with Burnley’s Premier League rivals weighing up bids of their own, Sevilla have made it clear that Ocampos will be going nowhere for a penny less than his near-£60 million release clause.
He’s come a long way since Sean Dyche tried to lure him to Turf Moor, that’s for sure.
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Such a fee would make the former Milan and Monaco forward by far and away the most expensive signing in West Ham’s history. The Hammers have shown a willingness to shatter their transfer record in the right circumstances, however.
They reportedly made a pair of £50 million bids for Leeds United duo Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, while stumping up £60 million for Benfica’s unstoppable goal-machine Darwin Nunez.
Nunez is in the form of his life. He took his tally to 32 for the season with a trademark finish at Anfield on Wednesday night. The same cannot really be said of Ocampos though.
He’s scored nine times for Sevilla. A number bettered only by former Wolves youngster Rafa Mir. But the ten-time Argentina international has not come close to matching the standards he set during a dazzling debut season at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.
Ocampos scored 17 goals in a stellar 2019/20 campaign, including one against West Ham’s rival suitors – Wolverhampton Wanderers – in the Europa League quarter-finals. That’s more than he’s managed in the last two seasons put together (16).
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Nonetheless, ABC de Sevilla claim that Moyes remains a big admirer of Ocampos. The Hammers boss came up against him in European competition just last month.
An artist with the spirit of a warrior, Ocampos is a typically ‘Argentine’ attacker; Overflowing with quality but not averse to dipping into the dark arts either.
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