West Ham to obliterate transfer record with huge move for Arsenal striker target; three Irons stars up for sale

West Ham United are plotting a big-money swoop to make Bundesliga star Victor Boniface their new striker, with Irons chief Tim Steidten also being tipped to ruthlessly sell three players.

David Moyes has relied on Michail Antonio heavily in the last few seasons, though that has not been the case this term. The centre-forward has been limited to just 14 appearances across all competitions due to a knee injury and is not expected to return until early February.

Moyes also has Danny Ings and Divin Mubama as striker options in his squad. But the Scot does not fancy Ings to start every game, while Mubama lacks experience at the top level.

Those factors have seen winger Jarrod Bowen play up front in recent months, and he has done brilliantly to lead the forward line while also chipping in with vital goal contributions.

Bowen recently joined Antonio in the treatment room, but he is pushing to return in the near future. Although, Bowen’s injury has once again shown that the Irons need to sign a new striker, and they look set to do just that before the winter deadline.

According to The Sun, West Ham are ready to smash their transfer record in order to land Boniface from Bayer Leverkusen.

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The 23-year-old has been in fantastic form this season, having notched 16 goals and eight assists in 23 games. And that has seen West Ham chiefs land on him as a prime target.

West Ham’s current record signing is midfielder Lucas Paqueta, who signed from Lyon for £51million in August 2022. But Irons technical director Steidten will need to surpass that figure to sign Boniface as Leverkusen have strong hopes of keeping the Nigerian.

West Ham in for Victor Boniface

On January 2, Arsenal were backed to try and snare Boniface after learning that Ivan Toney would be staying at Brentford this month. But the Gunners may now have to watch on as Boniface heads to one of their London rivals.

Spending more than £51m on a single player would represent a significant outlay for West Ham. Luckily for them, Steidten has a plan to create funds for the deal.

The report explains how Antonio, Ings and winger Said Benrahma could all be sold in the next 10 days.

The latter has previously been linked with a move to one of West Ham’s Premier League competitors in Wolverhampton Wanderers or Fulham. But it is now more likely that Benrahma heads abroad, as Marseille are rivalling Lyon for his services.

Marseille have already made a loan bid for the 28-year-old, but this was rejected by West Ham as they will only consider offers for a permanent transfer.

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