West Ham should move on from Celtic man and look elsewhere.
Wanted… Celtic’s Moussa Dembele
West Ham had an offer of £20 million refused by Celtic in early January, The Mirror reported – and face an even tougher task to land him this summer.
Dembele has been in prolific form for Celtic this season having racked up 27 goals already this campaign.
Celtic did not want to lose Dembele mid-season, and value the former Fulham ace far higher than West Ham’s reported bid.
Now European giants Bayern Munich are on alert over Dembele’s form, with The Mirror reporting they along with Chelsea and Real Madrid are keen on offering £30 million this summer, while a bidding war could drive the price up further.
West Ham are also claimed to be maintaining their interest, but they should take the hint from Bayern Munich and Real Madrid’s interest in the striker, and move on.
The Hammers’ transfer efforts last summer were blighted by being too ambitious, unable to land Carlos Bacca, Michy Batshuayi or Alexandre Lacazette.
West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic speaks with Simone Zaza
This left them scrambling for a loan deal for Simone Zaza, which proved disastrous with the Italian already moved on after failing to score.
Even if West Ham were able to get a bid together to match Real or Bayern’s top offer for Dembele, they will face a tough challenge to persuade him to choose to join them instead, while offering parity in terms of wages will likely be impossible.
West Ham need to focus their efforts on landing the next Dembele, and look for an up and coming striker who is not going to cost the earth, and take the hint that the Celtic forward will likely head elsewhere, rather than waste their time.
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