West Ham have “hedged their bets” on signing Celta Vigo striker Maxi Gomez this summer, according to talkSPORT pundit David Connolly.
The 22-year-old has been heavily linked with a move to the Hammers in recent times, as reported by Sky, but appears to be on his way to Valencia instead.
And Connolly has suggested that the Irons had a lot riding on bringing him in.
Speaking on talkSPORT, he said: “He is a terrific talent. He’s a man mountain, he can basically do a little bit of everything.
“But it looks like they’ve hedged their bets on him thinking ‘right, we’re going to get him’, but obviously he’s gone for Valencia.”
OPINION
You can’t help worrying that Connolly might be right on this one. Gomez has been a target for so long, and there has been so much effort put into to trying to snap him up, that you have to ask whether the Irons have a a proper Plan B. You would hope so, and Manuel Pellegrini hardly seems like the type to be caught short by a lack of organisation, but whoever he brings in now will clearly not be his first choice. That doesn’t mean that they won’t be a more fitting addition though. Gomez has a lot of promise, and he could go on to become a truly world class striker, but at the moment, there are still parts of his game that could do with some improvement. Just 0.4 dribbles and 0.9 key passes per match [Whoscored] show a player who still has things to learn if he is to become an all round performer, and maybe losing out on him could prove to be a blessing in disguise.
