West Ham United are ‘very interested’ in Newcastle target Amine Gouiri, but Lucien Favre is loath to let the striker leave OGC Nice after he took charge of the Ligue 1 side this summer.
That’s according to Foot Mercato, who note the Hammers have paid close attention to the 22-year-old’s situation with Les Aiglons. Gouiri alerted a host of teams to his potential last season, after scoring 12 goals and 10 assists in 43 games with Christophe Galtier in charge.
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Several French and European outfits would now like to prise the France U21 gem from the Allianz Riviera. But Favre views Gouiri as indispensable, given what the World Cup hopeful has offered Nice since he joined from Lyon for €7m (£6m) on a four-year contract in 2020.
Favre also plans on relying on Gouiri to occupy a more central, attacking presence than he had toward the end of Galtier’s tenure. The now-Paris Saint-Germain head coach regularly utilised the Lyon product as more of a wider, left option over the latter half of last season.
Nonetheless, West Ham and Stade Rennais have been ‘very interested’ in a deal for Gouiri with Nice this summer. However, it would take a ‘fantastic offer’ for Favre to part with the forward, who France dynamo Kylian Mbappe praised last year, via quotes by Ligue1.com:
“I follow OGC Nice closely, and Gouiri’s not bad at all! He has affirmed his talent. He had already put in a good season last year [with 16 goals in 41 games] and he is building on it.”
West Ham very interested in Gouiri who Newcastle also want from Nice
Newcastle have also shown an interest in signing Gouiri from Nice during the summer, per The Northern Echo. But the Toon have always sensed Les Aiglons would demand a fee way above what they would be prepared to pay, with iNews citing a valuation of around £30m.
West Ham may now cool their interest in Gouiri if Nice do demand such a figure after they signed Gianluca Scamacca from Sassuolo for £30.5m. But the French talent can also offer a solid investment with his quick feet and eye for goal that could send him to the World Cup.
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