West Ham United are reportedly ramping up their interest in Maxi Gomez.
According to The Guardian, West Ham United fear that Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez will reject them in favour of joining Valencia this summer.
The Hammers have already let Andy Carroll and Lucas Perez go, meaning Manuel Pellegrini needs a new striker – and he’s made Gomez his top target.
Despite claims that a bid has been accepted for Gomez, The Guardian claim that isn’t the case, and their £25million bid is still shy of Celta’s actual asking price.
It’s also added that West Ham fear Gomez will pick Valencia because they can offer Champions League football, whilst Gomez himself is seeing promises that he will not be signed as mere backup to Marko Arnautovic.
Gomez, 22, has hit 30 goals in 73 games for Celta, so it’s no surprise he’s attracting interest. Two years on from leaving Defensor Sporting for Celta, he now faces a huge decision.
The Uruguayan forward must decide between playing in the Premier League – and the financial benefits that come with that – or staying in Spain and playing in the Champions League with Valencia.
West Ham may not be playing in the Champions League any time soon, so it’s understandable why he would be tempted by such a move, and the ambitious Hammers are right to have fear that he’ll go elsewhere.
As for his concerns about Arnautovic, Gomez should be arriving – if he does – as Pellegrini’s first-choice striker, as he has been pursuing his signature for around a year now.
There’s surely no way West Ham would go in so strongly for Gomez if they didn’t have big plans for him, so whilst that matter shouldn’t be a problem, the Champions League issue is the biggest concern for Pellegrini and co.
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