Montpellier are preparing for life without West Ham United target Gaetan Laborde with former Tottenham Hotspur striker Carlos Vinicius potentially heading to France, as reported by Le10 Sport.
After seven months and more title-tattle than a Gossip Girl omnibus, West Ham have just five days left if they are serious about bringing a new centre-forward to the London Stadium.
The Premier League pacesetters missed out on Patson Daka to Leicester City, suffered the humiliation of a very public rebuttal from Martin Braithwaite and, despite holding talks over Abdallah Sima, appear to have cooled their interest in Slavia Prague’s rising star.
With next week’s deadline in sight, however, West Ham have a new target in mind.
After failing with a January bid for Gaetan Laborde, the 27-year-old Frenchman is back on the radar for the first time since the winter.
According to Le10 Sport, West Ham were set to submit a bid in the region of £16 million on Tuesday, although it is uncertain whether or not that actually came to pass.
What is clear, however, is that Montpellier are planning for life without a man who scored 16 times last season, finishing as their top scorer as an unfancied side made a push for the European places.
Reports coming out of France this afternoon claim that Montpellier are pressing ahead with a deal for Carlos Vinicius, the battling Brazilian who scored ten goals in just 11 starts during a loan spell at West Ham’s bitter rivals Tottenham last term.
Vinicius has played six minutes of football since returning to parent club Benfica and it is understood that he can be sold for the right price this summer (A Bola).
Crystal Palace and Wolverhampton Wanderers have been linked with the Jorge Mendes client, although both clubs now appear to be looking elsewhere, with Cardiff City’s Kieffer Moore in Bruno Lage’s sights.
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