West Ham United continue to hold doubts over the viability of a move for Bournemouth striker Callum Wilson due to concerns over his injury history, according to Claret & Hugh.
The reliable Hammers news source claims that, despite continued links to the England international, as first reported by the Evening Standard, he is likely not a realistic alternative to Celta Vigo frontman Maxi Gomez.
The club’s interests remains firmly on getting a deal over the line for the Uruguay international, with the size of the fee involved for a player with a chequered injury record dampening enthusiasm for a Wilson deal.
The 27-year-old has suffered two major injuries since making the step up to the Premier League with the Cherries in 2014.
OPINION
At this point it does seem as if West Ham are placing all their eggs in Gomez’s basket. The Celta man is clearly the striker they want to take their team forward, even if Wilson represents a more proven Premier League attacker. To be fair to the Hammers, they’re right to have concerns over a deal for the Bournemouth star. Yes, he has proven himself to be a terrific frontman at this level, but he has had severe injury problems in the past. That, coupled with the crazy amount of money it would likely take to snare him from the south coast side, means that they have deemed a move for him impossible. That’s fair enough, and that’s their right, but you do wonder if they are playing a dangerous game by going all in for Gomez like this. What if the 22-year-old picks Valencia, where does that leave West Ham? They’d be in trouble, wouldn’t they? Still, they appear to have very much made their decision now.