West Ham United have suddenly burst into life in the transfer window and reports claim they have agreed a club record deal for a Serie A striker.
The Hammers have signed Pablo Zabaleta and Joe Hart from Manchester City so far this summer and are reportedly on the verge of sealing deals for Stoke City’s Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez.
Slaven Bilic said earlier this summer he was targeting quality of quantity and wanted four “game-changer” signings.
But it seems he has other irons in the fire too if reports are to be believed after West Ham were said to have agreed a club record fee of around £27.5m – potentially rising to more than £30m – for Lazio striker Keita Balde Diao.
Keita Balde Diao in action for Lazio
Reports from Goal in Italy claim a deal between the Hammers and Lazio has been agreed and the decision now rests with the 22-year-old, who scored 16 goals as one of the surprise packages of Serie A last season.
According to the report, West Ham have come to an agreement with Lazio president Claudio Lotito with just some finer details over the way the transfer payment is structured to be ironed out.
Spanish-born Balde chose to represent Senegal internationally and would join compatriots Diafra Sakho and Cheikhou Kouyate in East London.
If Balde does arrive he will have followed a similar path to Hammers midfield star and Spaniard Pedro Obiang, who was born in Spain but moved to play in Italy before his big transfer to the Premier League.
West Ham manager Slaven Bilic
West Ham might not have things all their own way, though, because the player is also wanted by Inter Milan, Manchester United, Chelsea and Everton.
And the waters could be further muddied by claims that Roberto Calenda, the player’s agent, has not yet had his say on the deal with West Ham.
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