West Ham have seen an ambitious approach to sign Fabian Ruiz instantly dismissed – but the Hammers know what it would take if they are to follow up in their efforts to sign one of his teammates.
The Hammers have been quietly assembling their squad for the forthcoming season. Boss David Moyes has spent £30m to bring in Nayef Aguerd from Rennes, while Alphonse Areola and Flynn Downes have arrived from PSG and Swansea, respectively. That takes their total spending so far to around the £46.5m mark.
However, their biggest arrival so far is due in the coming days with Moyes finally landing a new striker. To that end, the finer details of the exact fee West Ham will pay for Gianluca Scamacca have been detailed by Sassuolo’s delighted chief executive.
That deal will finally end West Ham’s long search to provide cover and competition for Michail Antonio up front.
But the Hammers are not stopping there with two more efforts to raid Serie A now also coming to light.
Indeed, as per Corriere dello Sport, West Ham have also made a move to bring Fabian to the London Stadium.
The Spaniard is regarded as one of the best midfielders in Serie A. Since arriving from Betis in summer 2018, Fabian has 22 goals and 15 assists in 168 appearances.
He’s also won 15 caps for Spain during that time.
His form, though, has alerted him to a number of big-name suitors. Barcelona and Real Madrid are regularly linked with Fabian. Premier League interest has also emerged with Arsenal and Newcastle regularly linked. Manchester United and Manchester City have also recently been linked; the former amid difficulty in trying to sign Frenkie de Jong.
Hammers sensed Fabian Ruiz opportunity
However, with just a year left on his deal, Napoli are desperately trying to get Fabian to renew.
Failure to sign that extension, though, will leave Napoli with little choice but to sell.
As such, the Hammers reportedly made an enquiry with the player’s agent over a prospective deal.
However, they were quickly told Fabian Ruiz has no desire to move to the London Stadium. As such, the 26-year-old is looking to depart Napoli for a team who can offer him Champions League football.
To that end, any firm approaches from Arsenal, Newcastle and Manchester United would also seemingly fall short.
Having seen a would-be approach for Fabian fail, West Ham reportedly then turned attention to a Napoli teammate.
And il Corriere dello Sport claims they also then made an apporoach for Piotr Zielinski.
As per the article, West Ham’s offer was worth £17m (€20m) – an offer Gli Azzurri were quick to reject.
However, the report claims Napoli have informed West Ham that a deal may be possible if they were to double their offer.
West Ham making waves with Piotr Zielinski offer
As such, an offer worth £34 (€40m) may yet convince Napoli to sell.
They claim West Ham are yet to come back with an improved bid, but it is something they could consider before the window shuts.
Napoli have Zielinski on a contract to 2024 at the Diego Maradona Stadium. Napoli also hold a one-year option to extend that.
A deal for Zielinski will certainly attract headlines. The attacking midfielder has 40 goals in his 281 appearances for the Neapolitans, regularly attracting attention from the likes of Liverpool.
Jesse Lingard recently spurned the chance to return to West Ham, so the interest in Zielinski certainly makes sense.
As such, you have to admire West Ham’s ambition this summer.
The capture of Scamacca has grabbed headlines in Italy; any deal for Zielinksi would also have a similar affect. As things stand, that remains a possibility.
West Ham, meanwhile, continue to make progress in their efforts to sign Filip Kostic from Eintracht Frankfurt.