West Ham ‘ready to pounce on Arsenal outcast Walcott’

Oli Fisher
Theo Walcott: May havea future away from the Emirates Stadium

Theo Walcott: May havea future away from the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal outcast Theo Walcott has emerged as a target for London rivals West Ham United as part of a bumper summer of recruitment ahead of their stadium swap.

The Hammers have, according to the Daily Mail, offered Walcott regular first-team football in an attempt to coax him to the Olympic Stadium next season.

This comes with news that West Ham are plotting a move for a pair of strikers, namely Michy Batshuayi and Christian Benteke as they hope to propel themselves into the top four next season.

The 27-year-old has struggled for regular first team football this season since the emergence of Alex Iwobi, and reports suggest he may be part of a summer exodus at Arsenal.

Slaven Bilic has first-hand experience of Walcott’s potential as Croatia boss, when he scored hat-trick for England in a World Cup qualifier in September 2008.

The Sun state that Arsene Wenger would accept an offer in the region of £20million for the England international in order to fund his own summer overhaul.

The ex-Southampton man was the subject of reported interest from Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola apparently an admirer of the player.

Last month, AC Milan emerged as a surprise candidate for his signature in a potential swap deal involving youth player Manuel Locatelli.

Wenger admitted earlier this season that the future of Walcott was uncertain.

“I don’t know yet, I’m not in transfer mode at the moment, but I think he has gone through a bad spell,” Wenger said about the winger.

“Let’s see how well he finishes the season.”