BBC Sport’s South American football expert Tim Vickery has urged West Ham United to wrap up a deal for Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez.
Sky Sports reported on Friday that both the Hammers and La Liga side Valencia have had £29million bids accepted for the Uruguay international, and Vickery feels it’s a no-brainer for the Premier League outfit.
“Get him in,” he told talkSPORT [15/06; 14:46]. “Quite often with South American players the first question we ask is ‘how are they going to cope physically?’ With Maxi Gomez you can say absolutely no problem.
“In fact, he comes with a warning for defenders. He is a big bull-like figure. He’s had two terrific seasons with Celta Vigo, two great seasons there. The timing is right for him to move on – Celta are obviously going to be selling him. I think he may even have wider choices before the next few weeks are out in terms of where he’s going to go.”
OPINION
This is a really glowing review from Vickery on a player who he’ll know well. He covers all things South American football and Gomez is therefore obviously someone he will have kept his eye on. It’s safe to say that the Celta star has made quite the impression on him. West Ham have seemingly been tracking the 22-year-old for some time now, which you’d think would give them the advantage over Valencia. As Vickery says, the physical adaptation to the Premier League would likely be no problem at all for Gomez. He is a big guy, a real powerful figure who is capable of bullying even the stoutest of defenders. He should be able to flourish if he does make the switch to the London Stadium. Vickery does include a warning at the end, though, that the Hammers should try and conclude a deal for him as soon as possible. He feels that other teams will soon be looking at him, so Mario Husillos better get a move on.
