West Ham United have been linked with a move for Florian Thauvin.
West Ham United’s search for attacking reinforcements has taken a blow this week, as Celta Vigo hitman Maxi Gomez has now join Valencia despite being chased by Manuel Pellegrini for much of the summer.
The Hammers have seen Andy Carroll, Lucas Perez and Marko Arnautovic leave the club this summer, so it’s imperative that Pellegrini lands new firepower ahead of the new season.
Gomez won’t be arriving having joined Valencia instead, but a new name in the frame is Marseile’s Florian Thauvin – even though he is far from an out-and-out striker.
The French attacker plays predominantly as a right-sided winger, cutting in on his left foot, which sounds a lot like the winger West Ham currently have in Andriy Yarmolenko.
Thauvin isn’t a striker by any means, though he has been hugely prolific for Marseille, racking up 53 league goals in the last three seasons; numbers any striker would be proud of.
Tuttomercatoweb note that West Ham have been offered the chance to sign Thauvin this summer, in a deal which would be worth €40million (£36million) plus striker Javier Hernandez.
Hernandez is the only recognised striker left at the club outside of the unwanted Jordan Hugill, and Thauvin’s dismal record with Newcastle United in 2015 has left some worried.
West Ham fans have been taking to Twitter to react to the rumour, with some admitting they would rather keep Hernandez as taking this swap deal would be ‘terrible’ business.
Some would prefer to take Dimitri Payet rather than Thauvin, with a few fans believing that the 26-year-old would be a great addition working in tandem with Felipe Anderson, even branding it ‘the best rumour’.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
