West Ham are planning to finance their pursuit of Celta Vigo attacker Maximiliano Gomez by staging a clear-out, according to the Daily Mirror.
The British newspaper state that that after having a £27million bid rejected for the 21-year-old forward, the Hammers will continue their pursuit of him.
The Daily Mirror report that while Gomez has a £35million release clause, Manuel Pellegrini’s side are hoping to find a compromise with Celta Vigo in order to agree a deal that costs under that figure.
It is believed that in order to fund their pursuit of the 21-year-old then the club are set to ditch five players in the current transfer window.
The Mirror’s report claims that Sam Byram, Cheikhou Kouyate, Michail Antonio, Edimilson Fernandes and Reece Oxford are all set to leave with Pellegrini also informing the club that Andy Carroll no longer features in his plans.
OPINION
With Kouyate’s exit already sealed then it seems likely that the Hammers are starting to ditch anyone perceived as deadwood in order to continue to improve their team this summer. There have been mixed reports about Antonio’s future so despite being listed by the Mirror, he could still be set to stay at the London Stadium. However the other names on the list seem very likely to depart the club shortly, the only question is how much the Hammers can raise from their sales. Also while Carroll is no longer in Pellegrini’s plans it’s unlikely that the Hammers will be able to cash-in on him anytime soon as the experienced forward is yet again on the sidelines due to injury. It’s hard to imagine there being any club willing to take a gamble on a crocked forward who is always likely to end up injured again in no time. The Mirror’s report also states that the Hammers are looking for another midfielder and hopefully they’ve got their eyes on player who is defensive-minded.
