West Ham United are, perhaps ambitiously, reportedly hoping that Middlesbrough will sign Jordan Hugill permanently this summer.
According to a report from the Northern Echo, West Ham will offer Middlesbrough the chance to sign Jordan Hugill permanently at the end of the season, with Manuel Pellegrini convinced that the striker does not feature in his plans at the London Stadium.
Hugill left for the Riverside Stadium in the summer hoping for the kind of loan spell that saw Robert Snodgrass earn a second chance with the Irons upon his return from Aston Villa.
However, the striker’s spell with Boro has not been an overwhelming success by any means. The 26-year-old has scored six times in 31 Championship games and some of his displays have attracted criticism from the Middlesbrough fans.
Nevertheless, the Northern Echo is reporting that West Ham are, perhaps ambitiously, hoping that the Championship side will be interested in signing Hugill permanently in the summer.
The report adds that the Hammers are determined to not make a substantial loss on the £10 million that they spent on Hugill in January 2018 – and that leaves it unlikely that Boro will be interested in keeping the former Preston North End man.
It does appear that West Ham are setting their sights too high if they hope to get anything like what they paid for Hugill just over a year ago. Unfortunately for the Premier League side, the forward’s record in the second tier does not jump off the page by any means.
It seems that the Irons will either have to accept a significant loss on Hugill, or be willing to loan him out once again next year in the hope that something clicks for him elsewhere and his asking price no longer looks so ambitious.
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