West Ham move for ex-Liverpool hero ‘well underway’, with £20m exit to quickly follow
A collapsed Chelsea raid has seen West Ham move for a former Liverpool forward, and the potential arrival could send Gianluca Scamacca back to Italy, per a report.
The Times recently reported David Moyes has taken a dim view of the three frontline strikers at his disposal. Michail Antonio, Danny Ings and Gianluca Scamacca are the trio in question, with none of the three finding the net with any regularity last term.
On the back of selling Declan Rice to Arsenal for a package worth £105m, West Ham now have the funds they require to revamp their side.
A direct replacement for Rice is wanted and a £45m bid for Fulham’s Joao Palhinha has been rejected. Elsewhere, a £14m move for Man City winger Carlos Borges is at the “final stages”, per Fabrizio Romano.
Chelsea pair Conor Gallagher and Ian Maatsen are both wanted. However, of more pressing concern is signing a striker Moyes can rely on.
The Times claimed West Ham were sizing up another Blues star in the form of Armando Broja. The 21-year-old is believed to be exploring a move away on the back of Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson arriving.
However, according to Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport, doubts over Broja’s recovery from surgery to repair an ACL injury have halted West Ham’s desire to sign the Albanian.
Combined with an asking price of around £30m, Gazzetta claim West Ham are turning their attention elsewhere.
Origi returning to England with West Ham?
To that end, it’s claimed AC Milan’s Divock Origi is in their sights. The Belgian could leave Milan after just one year following a poor first season away from Liverpool.
Origi is known to English audiences through his time at Anfield in which he notched vital goal after vital goal on the biggest of occasions.
Moyes reportedly believes Origi will thrive once again if brought back to England and it’s stated a move is ‘well underway’.
How much Origi might cost wasn’t stated in the piece. However, if the Belgian were to return to England by joining West Ham, it’s suggested the greenlight would be given for Scamacca to leave.
The Italy international laboured throughout his maiden campaign with the Hammers. Antonio displaced Scamacca as Moyes’ starting striker in the second half of the season and a premature return to Serie A could await.
Scamacca recently revealed his admiration of Jose Mourinho who manages his boyhood club Roma. The former Sassuolo hitman suggested Mourinho would be able to bring the best out of him, something Moyes has thus far failed to do.
Gazzetta add a switch to Roma could be on the cards if Origi signs. Roma prefer a loan with an option to buy, whereas West Ham would push for the option to be a conditional obligation at the very least.
Per the report, the obligation would hinge on factors such as appearances and Roma qualifying for the 2024/25 Champions League.
In any case, Gazzetta concluded an option or obligation set at around €23m-€24m would suit both parties.
That equates to roughly £20m and would see West Ham make a loss on the initial £30.5m paid to Sassuolo last summer.
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