OPINION
New West Ham United manager Manuel Pellegrini has seemingly focused on strengthening his back line this summer, with the club’s first three signings all being defensive options.
However, the club have now been linked with a move for Nice forward Alassane Plea, with Sky Sports reporting that the Hammers had submitted a £27million bid for the 25-year-old, with three other Premier League clubs in the hunt.
The Sun furthered those claims by reporting that Plea was ready to jet into London for talks with club bosses this week, with the Hammers said to be likely to match any offer made by other clubs.
A club insider has now given the most definitive update on the situation yet, and it looks like the club are set to dodge a bullet on this one.
ExWHUemployee, who is a reliable source for insider information on Twitter, claimed on Monday afternoon that the club had confirmed to him that there had been no bid launched for the Nice striker.
The club have since confirmed that this is correct and no bid was launched despite sky reporting there was https://t.co/8WMhkboELh
— ExWHUEmployee (@ExWHUEmployee) July 2, 2018
Now, there is little doubt that Plea is a good player.
The 25-year-old scored 21 goals in 49 games in all competitions for Nice last season, and that campaign followed one in which he netted 14 times for the club.
Overall, the striker has 44 goals in 135 appearances for Nice, and that is not a bad record when all things are considered.
However, West Ham have no need of a new striker this summer, unless it is someone world-class that the club can acquire for a reasonable price.
Shelling out £27million on Plea would achieve nothing for the Irons, who already have Marko Arnautovic and Javier Hernandez raring to go up front for them next season.
Back-up options include Andy Carroll, and therefore there is little point in the club splashing out on a striker who is yet to prove himself at the highest level.
Plea has only had one season in his career where he has scored more than 20 goals, and that simply does not warrant a £27million price tag.
Luckily, it looks like the club are indeed focusing on their other priorities for now, and they look to have dodged a bullet on this one with their rivals set to battle it out for Plea’s signature.
