West Ham United are set to go toe-to-toe with Crystal Palace to sign Blackburn Rovers star Bradley Dack in January, according to The Sun.
The newspaper report that Manuel Pellegrini is seeking a new goalscoring playmaker in the upcoming market, with the Hammers still waiting on Manuel Lanzini to recover from a serious knee injury.
The Sun claim that West Ham and Palace are both set to slap down bids around the £20million mark in an attempt to get Rovers to sell on Dack, who has been in red-hot form with 11 goals in all competitions this season.
It is said that Blackburn are desperate to keep hold of Dack in January and may offer him a fresh contract with much-improved terms to ward off suitors.
OPINION
This would be an extremely interesting move for West Ham to make, with Pellegrini set to welcome back Manuel Lanzini to the fold sometime early in the New Year. Dack’s arrival would give the Hammers two quality options in the number ten position, and while that is obviously positive for the club, it may raise questions as to whether this £20million swoop would be worth it. Dack is clearly a quality player, with the 24-year-old ripping up the Championship this season after Rovers’ promotion from League One. Blackburn paid just £750,000 for his services from Gillingham, meaning they are set to make a huge profit on him, but there would still be questions over whether he can hack it at the top level. West Ham may be better off looking to loan someone for the rest of the season before making a more informed decision on Dack when the summer rolls around.
